Camera mounting and camera type suggestions for stucco home?

[shojus102]

Hello, I am not new to this board, but I have mostly just been a lurker, and I have read several threads about cams I have been interested in, etc. I am buying my first home and it's a stucco exterior, without many places to easily mount cameras underneath eves, like I have done with my current home that I rent. I plan on doing 100% POE and will be doing all of the wiring straight up through into my attic where I will have a POE switch to power everything. The cameras that I currently use at my home are all PTZ cameras, and I have (3) of them that monitor the majority of my rental home, but those are mounted underneath eves, so it was fairly easy to do without making my home look like a FBI spyhouse! I would like to get all NEW cameras and wanted to ask what everyone would recommend for my specific home and mounting requirements....? I realize there are probably much better options than going with PTZ like what I have now, but I am wanting something with great picture quality and something that will cover a good size area without going with some large crazy looking cameras. ANY info or tip and recommendations would be MUCH appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this!

 

[mat200]

Hello, I am not new to this board, but I have mostly just been a lurker, and I have read several threads about cams I have been interested in, etc. I am buying my first home and it's a stucco exterior, without many places to easily mount cameras underneath eves, like I have done with my current home that I rent. I plan on doing 100% POE and will be doing all of the wiring straight up through into my attic where I will have a POE switch to power everything. The cameras that I currently use at my home are all PTZ cameras, and I have (3) of them that monitor the majority of my rental home, but those are mounted underneath eves, so it was fairly easy to do without making my home look like a FBI spyhouse! I would like to get all NEW cameras and wanted to ask what everyone would recommend for my specific home and mounting requirements....? I realize there are probably much better options than going with PTZ like what I have now, but I am wanting something with great picture quality and something that will cover a good size area without going with some large crazy looking cameras. ANY info or tip and recommendations would be MUCH appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this!



View attachment 69968

Hi @shojus102

Please let us know more about the home

From the looks of the image:

1) looks like an older home ( looking at electrical lines which iirc does not meet newer code coming into the building - the poles should be above the roof and they are not )
2) looks like the original siding was removed and stucco put on.
3) looks like new doors and windows

So the question is now, what sort of work was done in the walls, and how well did they insulate and what type did they use.

Older homes which have not been remodeled typically have hollow exterior walls and once you understand the construction is is not too hard to run wires install the other wall to good locations for cameras.

I've done this before, and if you plan to keep the house you can do this also.

Normally I am concerned when I see a fix and flip which only fixed the "cosmetic" / surface or visible elements for a quick profit.

Has the electrical been properly upgraded in the home? Or are there older tube and barrel style electrical still in the house?

 

[shojus102]

The home was always stucco, and the garage is just sided because it's a newer garage and was upgraded from a 1 to a 2 stall garage. As far as the electrical, it meets all codes in the state of MI and has an upgraded 100 amp service as well as a newer meter box at the pole. This home has been WELL maintained, and has had a thorough inspection as well as termites and radon, etc. I am a Veteran and am going with a VA loan, so there are strict requirements on what I can buy and a window cannot even be cracked or have bad seals. They are newer vinyl windows and no way would inspection have passed if it had the older tube & barrel style electrical. Now that all those details are out of the way, my bedroom will likely be in the upper part of the home, thus why I was considering just running the cameras inside the attic, cause I have lots of access to that space, and it is well insulated. Everything is still up in the air, but just wanted to try and get opinions and suggestions. Thanks

 

[mat200]

The home was always stucco, and the garage is just sided because it's a newer garage and was upgraded from a 1 to a 2 stall garage. As far as the electrical, it meets all codes in the state of MI and has an upgraded 100 amp service as well as a newer meter box at the pole. This home has been WELL maintained, and has had a thorough inspection as well as termites and radon, etc. I am a Veteran and am going with a VA loan, so there are strict requirements on what I can buy and a window cannot even be cracked or have bad seals. They are newer vinyl windows and no way would inspection have passed if it had the older tube & barrel style electrical. Now that all those details are out of the way, my bedroom will likely be in the upper part of the home, thus why I was considering just running the cameras inside the attic, cause I have lots of access to that space, and it is well insulated. Everything is still up in the air, but just wanted to try and get opinions and suggestions. Thanks

Wondering about how well the sealing is on the home as there are basically no eves, thus I am concerned about water intrusion for any holes made.

Would need to do a good job with sealing.

If you're comfortable DIY dry wall you can open up a section of dry wall between the studs by the upper wall in the corner ( i.e. by the ceiling ) and drill a hole into the attic area to bring your cables down. ( I'd go with 3+ ( N+1 ) bulk cables in each corner planning for 2 cameras in each corner )

Small hole out to a junction box, and seal it well with silicone ...

 

[shojus102]

Wondering about how well the sealing is on the home as there are basically no eves, thus I am concerned about water intrusion for any holes made.

Would need to do a good job with sealing.

If you're comfortable DIY dry wall you can open up a section of dry wall between the studs by the upper wall in the corner ( i.e. by the ceiling ) and drill a hole into the attic area to bring your cables down. ( I'd go with 3+ ( N+1 ) bulk cables in each corner planning for 2 cameras in each corner )

Small hole out to a junction box, and seal it well with silicone ...

Thanks, that sounds like the best option! I'm no professional, but I'm very good at reading and figuring things out by myself. I used to install DirecTV and was very anal when it came to wires showing. You're right though, stucco is something that needs to be super well sealed, especially when you live in a climate where temps change pretty drastically. Thanks again for the tips!

 

[samplenhold]

I am wanting something with great picture quality and something that will cover a good size area without going with some large crazy looking cameras

Turrets are probably the smallest, non-crazy looking cameras. Current cam of choice is the Dahua 5442 series. For turrets it comes in 2.8, 3.6, and 6mm fixed lens and also in a varifocal 2.7-12mm. It has a 4MP 1/1.8" sensor and is very good in color at low light. It is also good in B&W with the IR on. They also come in a bullet version.

Here is a review.

Dahua T5442TM-AS quick review

Hi folks. I bought a set of T5442TM-ASs from Andy, so here is a quick review of this model. This camera is identical to T5442TM-AS-LED, which I reviewed here some time ago. The only difference is that this one owns infrared LEDs instead of white light LEDs, and has an ICR (removable IR filter)...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[shojus102]

Turrets are probably the smallest, non-crazy looking cameras. Current cam of choice is the Dahua 5442 series. For turrets it comes in 2.8, 3.6, and 6mm fixed lens and also in a varifocal 2.7-12mm. It has a 4MP 1/1.8" sensor and is very good in color at low light. It is also good in B&W with the IR on. They also come in a bullet version.

Here is a review.

Dahua T5442TM-AS quick review

Hi folks. I bought a set of T5442TM-ASs from Andy, so here is a quick review of this model. This camera is identical to T5442TM-AS-LED, which I reviewed here some time ago. The only difference is that this one owns infrared LEDs instead of white light LEDs, and has an ICR (removable IR filter)...

ipcamtalk.com

Thanks for the recommendation! I am going to do a lot of reading before I make a decision, but I too think turrets are one of the better choices, as they seem most compact and they look like they don't put a lot of pressure on the mounting surface because of their lightweight. I am grateful that there are such great communities like this!

 

[JNDATHP]

I’m wondering if the heat in the attic would prematurely kill your POE switch.

We have a UniFi 16x250w in a wiring can in one of our bedroom closets and another UniFi 8x150w in the garage. I monitor the heat in both and sometimes worry about the one in the garage although it has survived two cold winters and hot summers.

As has been written, seal around the cameras so water doesn’t get behind the stucco. If you can protect them at all, I would try to do that as well.

 

[shojus102]

I’m wondering if the heat in the attic would prematurely kill your POE switch.

We have a UniFi 16x250w in a wiring can in one of our bedroom closets and another UniFi 8x150w in the garage. I monitor the heat in both and sometimes worry about the one in the garage although it has survived two cold winters and hot summers.

As has been written, seal around the cameras so water doesn’t get behind the stucco. If you can protect them at all, I would try to do that as well.

View attachment 70033View attachment 70034

Thanks for posting those pics and I really hadn't thought about the heat, but that's could definitely be an issue. Your setup looks nice!