Smart Homeruns Itself

Joe Laskowski doesn't like stale coffee. And he wanted a view of the lake.

So he turned his little Lake Bloomington summer cabin into a 6,000-square-foot smart house where he starts the coffee by tapping a palm-sized screen on the nightstand.

Sure, he could get an automatic timer coffeepot, but if he got delayed in the steam shower, the brew wouldn't be as fresh.

His alarm goes off at 6:15 a.m. and the lights above his bed click on one minute later. At the bathroom sink, he doesn't have to fight with cords. Razors and hair dryers never come out of the drawer, with its built-in outlets.

As visitors drive through the metal-detecting gate to his lakefront home, an alarm sounds and he flips on one of a dozen TVs to see who's there. Every light, the gargoyle fountain, even the hot tub, is controlled from his laptop.

"My command post is right there," he said, pointing to a plum leather recliner with a flipped-open laptop.

On the kitchen counter sits a computer monitor that turns into a closed-circuit TV, showing a row of flowerpots lining the cedar fence just outside the kitchen window. If they're a little dry, he points and clicks, watering them remotely through tiny hoses dipping into each pot. A nearby remote-controlled awning unfolds, covering the gas grill.

"That's in case it's raining," he said. "I like convenience, that's for sure."

Wiring his house to do everything but take out the trash is something the Hudson general contractor does for his clients, but it's something that he does for fun too.

"It's just being inventive," he said. "From the time I was 5 years old, my dad baby-sat me on heating and air conditioning jobs. When I got bored doing heating and cooling, I picked up plumbing and electrical, so all that became second nature."

At the University of Illinois, he studied architecture, combining his love of design with his familiarity with switches and ductwork.

"The type of thing I like to do is integrate," he said, walking over to a panel with thumb-sized buttons for each light, from the kitchen island to the dock. "You're only limited by your imagination in terms of what you can control."

Twelve years ago, he built a Lake Bloomington home for neighbors Darrell and Karen Kehl, with a home surveillance system and remote- controlled lighting. From their bedroom, they can turn on every light in the house.

"When it all boils down, security is my issue," Darrell Kehl said. "And comfort, the ability to move from room to room and have lights come on. It's very habit-forming."

Sometimes the technology is too smart, his wife said. Occasionally, she finds herself in the dark when the lights click off while she's at the computer. Although she doesn't share her husband's interest in technology, she likes the smart house conveniences, including a sound system that allows her to listen to her music in one room while a grandchild tunes into Disney next door.

"You do get spoiled," she said.

On and off

For the past 30 years, Laskowski has been working on his home, knocking out walls in the original 960-square-foot cabin, turning a flat roof into a pitched roof and adding a skylight-lit attic. Now he's ready to begin again, putting the $1.2 million home up for sale. If the future owner is intimidated by technology, he can undo it all, turning the wired house back into one where the light switches simply flip on and off.

The prospect of starting over is anything but daunting for him.

"It'd be kind of exciting to do one from scratch. I do this kind of thing all the time for my clients, but it would be nice to do something for myself."

Until then, he'll continue to control his house by laptop, heating the hot tub to a perfect 104 degrees, flipping on the fireplace or programming lights to come on 10 minutes before sunset. The program automatically adjusts to the length of the days. At 3 a.m., the computer runs a check of the house, shutting off anything he may have missed.

As he starts up the stairs to his 1,100-square-foot master suite, the lights dim behind him. There's a sitting area and a 42-inch plasma TV that swivels to reveal artwork. Wood blinds close automatically. A walk-in closet has a washer and dryer, along with a TV mounted in a ceiling corner.

Two guest bedrooms share a steam room and balcony. Throughout the home are skylights ringed in light. In the windowed attic sits a Singer sewing machine, along with jewel-toned spools of thread.

"I couldn't decide what to get myself for Christmas one year," he said, adding he's embroidered gifts for friends.

And he has a lot of friends, whom he entertains in a basement leading to a 2,700-square-foot multi-level deck shaded by a towering sycamore tree. Lighted, of course.

At the custom-built stainless steel bar, there's always beer on tap and a view of a 50-inch plasma with a digital message board. A camera above the pool table allows friends soaking in the hot tub to see when it's their turn to play, he said, only half-joking. The pool table also serves as a buffet table so they see when the shrimp arrives from the caterer's kitchen.

There are two bathrooms, one for men, one for women, with a steam room in-between.

And the music never ends, with 4,000 stored songs and Disney- like outdoor ground speakers. Two weddings have been held there, one with 150 guests.

The exterior is cedar, to blend with the lake surroundings. What looks a little curious is a PVC pipe water cannon along the deck.

"It's to shoot other boats," he said with a grin. He later admitted to floating along in his boat and using remote technology to turn on a neighbor's sprinklers.

Now in his mid-50s, accessibility is a factor for his next home. But he isn't just thinking wide doorways and few steps.

"It will have an elevator for sure," he said.

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Smart house

In a smart house, you can turn down the air conditioning on your way home or get an e-mail if the sump pump quits. Wired homes are becoming more common as technology prices drop. Joe Laskowski's control system sends a signal over the wiring to switches and other devices he wants to control. Here are some of the things he can do through a laptop: - Turn lights on and off with a program that adjusts for lengthening days- Adjust the thermostat - Be alerted to a visitor by an alarm that sounds when a car passes through a metal- detecting gate- See who is at the front door through a surveillance system- Water plants, including hanging pots and containers; turn on the sprinkler system- Turn on the hot tub and see when it's reached the desired temperature- Start the fireplace- Open and close blinds - Control the home entertainment system

(c) 2007 Pantagraph. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.