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We recently completed a large residential outdoor project that was broken down into several phases due to the scope of the overall project. In this phase of work, our job was to extend the capabilities of the house and pool area out to a boat dock so that it could have security, network, and audio, just like the rest of the property.

To enhance the dock’s security, we added cameras and a recorder to capture all angles of the dock. We used cameras with built-in heaters to make them more reliable in harsh weather conditions. Control4 is the home automation system that our client already uses in the main home, and we wanted to use that here as well so that everything would be consistent and compatible. In doing so, the homeowners are able to view the camera feeds for all four cameras at the boat dock from their Control4 mobile apps, or from the touchscreens inside the home.

To bring the network out to the dock, we installed a network switch with fiber to ethernet conversion to connect the dock to the existing home network. We then placed an outdoor-rated wireless access point inside the dock’s utility closet to provide Wi-Fi. The customer’s mobile devices connect to the dock’s Wi-Fi when they are down at the dock.

To bring audio to the dock, we placed two 8″ all-weather in-ceiling speakers over the seating area, and we installed a Control4 streaming music amplifier to provide streaming music to the dock. The homeowner can use the mobile app to select and playback music configured to the existing Control4 system.

Finally, an IP power conditioner was installed to allow for remote rebooting of the dock equipment, if needed. The integration of the boat dock, with a few straightforward measures, now extends the functionality of the home to the farthest reaches of the property.