Security cameras & video doorbells — recent installs in Vancouver, WA

Outdoor cameras go where they actually see something: a wedge camera tucked under the soffit of a front gable, another at the porch corner angled across the entry door, and floodlight cameras on a garage gable and under a back eave so the lights and the recording cover the driveway and yard at night. Each one is mounted level on a solid fixing point, at a height that keeps the lens out of easy reach.

Video doorbells sit flush on the siding beside the door — a black ecobee on a textured wall and a white doorbell on lap siding — levelled, paired to the home's Wi-Fi, and checked on the phone before we leave so the chime and the motion alerts both work.

For a wired system we hung a locking, vented wall cabinet in a utility closet for the recorder, mounted a monitor on the wall underneath it, and brought the camera lines back to the cabinet so the live grid is on screen without a laptop. Every install ends with the app set up on the owner's phone and a short walkthrough of alerts and playback.