Building or remodeling in Los Angeles means hearing a lot of jargon from your integrator and architect. Below are 28 terms LA Techs uses every week, defined plainly. Bookmark it before your next design meeting.
Construction and planning
Pre-wire: The low-voltage wiring installed after framing and before drywall. It's the cheapest moment to put cable anywhere.
Trim-out: The finish stage, when keypads, speakers, TVs and devices get installed after paint.
Rough-in: The general term for running wire, boxes and conduit before walls close. Pre-wire is our rough-in.
Low-voltage: Wiring for network, audio, video, lighting control, security and shades (as opposed to standard electrical).
Conduit: Empty pipe left in walls or underground so cable can be added later. Cheap insurance.
C-7 license: California's low-voltage systems contractor license. LA Techs holds C-7 and C-10 (electrical), CSLB #1031050.
CEDIA: The trade association for home technology professionals. LA Techs is a CEDIA member.
As-builts: Drawings showing what was actually installed and where, not just what was planned.
The infrastructure
Rack: The cabinet where the equipment lives (network gear, amplifiers, control processors). It needs power, ventilation and access.
Structured wiring: An organized home network of cable runs that all return to the rack.
Cat6: The standard network cable we run today. It carries data and, with PoE, power.
PoE (Power over Ethernet): Power delivered through the network cable. Cameras, access points and some keypads need nothing else.
Access point (AP): A ceiling or wall device that broadcasts Wi-Fi. Large homes need several, wired back to the rack.
Mesh: Wi-Fi units that talk to each other wirelessly. Fine for apartments; wired access points beat it in big homes.
Fiber: Glass cable for very long runs, like a hillside gate or detached guest house.
Control and lighting
Control system: The brain that ties everything together, such as Control4 or Savant.
Keypad: A wall-mounted set of engraved buttons that trigger lights or scenes.
Scene: One button that sets several things at once ("Dinner", "Movie", "Goodnight").
Lighting control: Centralized dimming of the whole house, such as Lutron RadioRA 3 or HomeWorks QSX. More on our lighting control page.
Load: One circuit of lights the system controls. Designers count loads to size the system.
Color temperature: How warm or cool white light looks, measured in Kelvin. Tunable fixtures (like Ketra) can shift through the day.
Shade pocket: A recess in the ceiling that hides a motorized shade when it's open. It has to be framed in.
Audio and video
Zone: An area that plays its own audio independently.
Architectural speaker: A speaker built into the wall or ceiling, often painted to disappear.
Video distribution: Sending one source (a cable box, streaming player) to many TVs.
Dolby Atmos: A surround format that adds overhead speakers, so sound moves above you. Standard in a modern home theater.
Acoustic treatment: Panels and materials that control echo so a room sounds clean.
Remote monitoring: Your integrator watching system health from the office and fixing problems before you notice.
Why the words matter
Most surprises on a build come from a missed word in a meeting. "We'll add shades later" really means "no shade pockets", and that's a framing problem.
If a term in your drawings isn't clear, ask. A good integrator would rather explain it than rip open a ceiling.
Quick answers
Q: What's the difference between pre-wire and trim-out? A: Pre-wire is cable run before drywall. Trim-out is installing the finished devices after paint.
Q: What license does a smart home installer need in California? A: Low-voltage work falls under the C-7 license from the CSLB. LA Techs holds C-7 and C-10, license #1031050.
Q: What does PoE mean? A: Power over Ethernet, which sends power and data over one network cable to devices like cameras and access points.
Q: What is a shade pocket? A: A recess built into the ceiling that hides a motorized shade. It has to be framed in during construction.
Starting a build in LA? Send us the plans or call 213.354.8324.
