Horton House, San Diego: Occupied Senior Housing Renovation

Horton House: occupied senior housing, five systems#

Horton House is a senior housing building in San Diego that was renovated while its residents continued to live there. The low voltage scope covered five systems: a nurse call system, property-wide Wi-Fi, CATV distribution, surveillance cameras and access control.

Senior housing carries constraints an empty building does not. The residents were older, some used mobility aids, and the building ran on a daily routine of meals, activities and staff rounds that the work had to fit around. The nurse call system drove the sequence, because a unit with an out-of-service pull cord has no way to reach staff. The scope therefore required replacing every system without a gap in the call system, without dust or noise in occupied areas during meals, medication passes and scheduled activities, and with every unit left clean when the crew moved on. Telelink Business Services is a licensed C-7 Low Voltage Systems Contractor, CSLB License #472017. This project is the basis for our senior and assisted living approach.

Scope Telelink performed#

Nurse call system. A nurse call and emergency call system with stations in the units, corridor annunciation and a staff annunciation point, installed to the manufacturer’s listing and the specification and tested station by station from the pull to the annunciator.

Property-wide Wi-Fi. A managed wireless network covering units and common areas, designed from a site survey of the building and cabled from the riser closets to each access point location, with configuration that separates resident traffic from staff traffic.

CATV distribution. A documented MDU distribution system from the headend through riser trunks and floor taps to each unit, built for the video provider’s signal.

Surveillance cameras. Cameras at entries and in common areas only, never inside units, recorded to a system that property staff can view, with each camera’s manufacturer and model documented.

Access control. Readers, controllers, power supplies and credentials at the common doors, integrated with the door release. Electrified door hardware was coordinated with the project’s door hardware scope.

Fire alarm systems fall outside the C-7 classification. Telelink does not design, install, or service fire alarm systems and coordinated with the project’s fire alarm contractor. Power and network room circuits were the electrician’s scope.

How the work was phased#

The sequence was set before mobilization with the building’s management: which hours were open for noisy work, which were closed for meals and activities, how residents were notified, and how the crew entered units. No crew member entered an occupied unit alone, and a runner knocked ahead of the crew on every floor.

Risers and pathways came first, with each closet opened once for the backbone, the coax trunks and the nurse call corridor wiring. The nurse call head end was installed and brought live alongside the call system the building was still using. Units were then converted one at a time: the new stations were installed and tested on the new head end, and only then was the unit released from the old system. No unit was left without a working call station at any point in the schedule.

Wi-Fi, coax and data work in each unit was combined into a single scheduled visit wherever possible, so residents saw the crew once. Corridor ceiling openings were contained with drop cloths and HEPA vacuums, drilling was held to the agreed windows, and each unit was wiped down before the crew moved on. Cameras and access control panels were cut over so each door stayed secured through the transition, and staff were trained on every system before turnover. The occupied building guide describes the notification and scheduling practice.

What the owner received at closeout#

At turnover the owner received:

• A nurse call test log recording every station tested from the unit to the annunciator.
• Test results for the copper drops and signal level readings for the CATV distribution.
• As-built drawings showing nurse call stations, access points, cameras, outlets and equipment locations.
• A labeling schedule matching the labels on every outlet, panel and cable, following TIA-606.
• The manufacturer and model list for every installed system.
• The access control credential database and administrator training for management staff.
• Manufacturer documentation and warranty letters for the installed systems.

Next step#

If you operate senior housing or assisted living that needs a nurse call conversion, Wi-Fi, cameras or entry systems with residents in place, send the drawings and the building’s working-hour rules and we will return a bid phased by floor. Start at request a bid. General contractors on senior housing renovations can read how we fit your schedule on the general contractor page.