Santa Monica Condos, Bungalows and Offices

Salt air, ocean fog and a lot of people who work from home. Santa Monica is a place where the big question is how to get a strong Wi-Fi signal to the back bedroom or the home office over the garage.

Condos with rules

A large share of Santa Monica housing is condos and apartments, some from the 1960s and 1970s, with concrete floors and shared walls. HOA rules often say what you may drill or run in common areas. I ask about these first and keep the work inside the unit. A wired access point connected by a thin run along the baseboard, plus a better router in a better place, often does what you want.

Bungalows and small houses

North of Wilshire and in Ocean Park, many homes are older bungalows and Spanish-style houses with plaster walls and tight attics. I plan cable around those and use closets and the garage. In many of them, a single wired access point at the far end of the house makes a big change.

Coastal conditions

Salt air is hard on exterior equipment. Cameras should be rated for outdoor use and mounted under the eave if they can be, with cable ends sealed properly. I choose hardware and mounting spots to hold up near the coast.

Offices and shops

Montana Avenue and Main Street have many small shops, studios and creative offices. I set up networks that cover the whole space, with wired connections for registers and desks, and cameras on the entrance.

Home offices

Plenty of Santa Monica residents work remotely or run a small consultancy. I wire the desk so that calls hold steady, then put a separate access point near the room with the most traffic.

Over the Sepulveda Pass

Santa Monica is on the far side of the Sepulveda Pass from Van Nuys, so I plan trips carefully. Call or write and I will set up a walkthrough.