Data, Security, and AV, Run Start to Finish by One Crew
We're a full low-voltage integrator, not only a camera company. Structured data, security, and audio-visual cabling — planned, run in EMT conduit installed by our own crew, terminated, tested, and labelled, from the empty wall to the working system.
One trade for the whole low-voltage package
Data cabling
Structured cabling for your computers and phones, planned once with everything else.
Security cabling
Cameras, alarms, and access control, run by the same crew that runs your data.
Audio-visual
Conference displays, video conferencing, sound and paging, and the control that ties them together.
Conduit by our own crew
We install the EMT conduit ourselves rather than subbing it out, so the pathways are done right.
Fibre, terminated in-house
Single-mode and multimode fibre between buildings, floors, and IDFs (intermediate distribution frames), terminated by our own crew rather than waiting on a splice subcontractor.
The technology
Data, security, and AV cabling in conduit we install ourselves, finished by one crew.
CopperCat6 or Cat6A structured cabling, run to the project's spec
FibreSingle-mode and multimode, terminated in-house — between buildings, floors, and IDFs
PathwaysEMT conduit installed in-house, planned once for data, security, and AV
CloseoutTested and certified, labelled, with an as-built patch schedule
| Choice | When it's right |
|---|---|
| Cat6 | Typical office desks and phones, retrofits, and shorter-horizon tenancies where cost per drop matters most. |
| Cat6A | New construction, wireless access points, and long-hold buildings — more per run, but the last cabling the walls should need. |
| Copper backbone | Short backbone distances within one building where copper comfortably carries the load. |
| Fibre backbone | Between buildings, across long runs, or wherever the backbone needs headroom that copper can't give — campuses, warehouses, future-proofed cores. |
| Surface raceway | Finished spaces where walls stay closed — clean, paintable, and honest about being a retrofit. |
| In-wall pathways | Renovations and new builds where drywall is open — invisible when done, which is why timing matters. |
| Ceiling pathways | Open-ceiling commercial and warehouse space — accessible later, with EMT conduit we install ourselves where protection is needed. |
| Pre-wire at construction | Always the bargain: rough-in with the electrical, one schedule, no drywall cutting. |
| Retrofit | Entirely doable in a finished building — just expect pathway work (raceway, ceiling, fishing walls) to be part of the job. |
How we build it
Plan
One conduit plan for data, security, and AV, designed together up front.
Rough-in
EMT conduit and cabling, run by our own crew before the walls close.
Finish
Devices, displays, and systems terminated and brought to working order.
Hand off
One finished low-voltage package instead of a coordination headache.
We do all of it as one
When you're building out or renovating a commercial space, the low-voltage work usually gets carved up between a network company, a security installer, and an AV outfit — and they show up on different days, blame each other, and leave you managing three trades who don't talk. Guard Nation is a full low-voltage integrator: the data cabling for your computers and phones, the security cabling for cameras, alarms, and access control, and the audio-visual cabling for displays and paging can all be planned, run, and finished by the same team. We install the EMT conduit ourselves rather than subbing it out, so the whole job is on one crew's shoulders.
The everyday AV a working business needs
On the AV side that covers the everyday systems a working business needs: conference-room displays and video conferencing, sound and paging, and the control that ties them together so a meeting starts without someone fighting a tangle of remotes.
One trade is cheaper and better
Doing it as one trade isn't only tidier, it's cheaper and it's better. One crew coordinating the conduit means the network, the security, and the AV all share properly planned pathways instead of three sets of cables fighting for the same space. There's one schedule to manage, one company to call when you need a change, and no gap where the security installer swears it's the network guy's fault.
Where the job is actually won or lost
The part of a cabling job you live with for fifteen years isn't the pull — it's the termination and the paperwork. Copper lands on patch panels in a properly dressed rack, run to Cat6 or Cat6A depending on what the project calls for. Ports and both ends of every cable are labelled, and you get a documented as-built patch schedule at handover, so the next person can trace a run without a toner and without guessing. Every run is tested and certified to spec, and the test results are yours on request. Fibre between buildings, floors, or IDFs — single-mode or multimode — is terminated by our own crew, so a splice isn't a week's wait on a subcontractor's schedule. Server rooms and office racks get built to be worked in later, because someone always has to.
Structured Cabling, Data & AV, in depth.
Structured cabling is the trade every other system in your building stands on. The computers, the phones, the Wi-Fi, the cameras, the door controllers, the boardroom display — all of it rides on the cable in the walls, and the quality of that cabling decides whether the office runs quietly for fifteen years or fights you every week. We design and run structured cabling for offices, warehouses, and new construction across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley: horizontal runs to every desk and device, tidy terminations at the rack, and pathways planned so there's room for what you add later.
Terminated, tested, and labeled
We install to recognized commercial cabling standards, and we prove it. Every run is terminated properly at both ends, tested before we call it done, and labeled so the port on the wall matches the port on the patch panel — no mystery cables, no 'that jack never worked' discoveries a year after the walls close. It's the difference between cabling that was pulled and cabling that was built: you get a documented plant you can hand to any IT provider, and we get to stand behind the work instead of hoping it holds.
The meeting rooms a working business actually uses
On the AV side, we build the meeting rooms a working business actually uses. Conference-room displays sized and mounted for the room, microphones and speakers placed so the far end can hear everyone at the table, and video conferencing wired to work with whichever meeting platform your company runs — so a hybrid meeting starts when someone walks in, not after ten minutes of fighting cables and remotes. Sound and paging for the warehouse floor, and the control that ties it together, come from the same crew on the same visit.
While the walls are open
New construction is the one chance to do all of this at the right time. While the walls are open, one crew can rough in the data drops, the camera and access-control cabling, and the AV pathways together — in EMT conduit we install ourselves, on one plan, on one schedule that fits the builder's, instead of three trades improvising around each other and cutting drywall later. When the building opens, the network, the security, and the boardrooms are already live, and you're holding one warranty and one phone number instead of a coordination headache.
Who it's for
New Office & Tenant Improvements
Network, cameras, access control and boardroom AV as one trade instead of four.
Strata Improvements
Common-area cameras, access control and door hardware — specified for a council, and documented for the building's records.
Warehouse builds
Data, security and paging planned into one set of pathways from the empty shell.
Retail builds
A finished low-voltage package handed over, ready to open.
Why one integrator beats three trades
One conduit plan. When the same crew runs data, security, and AV, the pathways are designed once and shared, instead of three companies improvising around each other.
One number to call. A single point of accountability means nobody gets to point at the other trade when something doesn't work.
Cheaper in practice. Coordinated once, on one schedule, usually costs less than three separate mobilizations and the rework when they don't line up.
Room to grow. Conduit run properly the first time leaves you the pathways to add cameras, drops, or displays later without opening walls.
Frequently asked questions
Cat6 or Cat6A — which should we run?
Honestly: it depends on how long you plan to live with the walls. Cat6 is still a solid, cost-effective choice for a typical office where desks and phones are the main load and the building may be refit within a decade. Cat6A costs more per run — thicker cable, bigger pathways, more careful termination — but it supports higher speeds over full-length runs and is the safer bet for new construction, wireless access points, and anywhere you won't want to reopen walls. Our rule of thumb: retrofits and short-horizon tenancies usually justify Cat6; new builds and long-hold buildings usually justify Cat6A. We'll price both so it's your call, not ours.
When should cabling happen in a construction project?
At rough-in, after framing and before insulation and drywall — the same window as electrical. That's when conduit and cable can be run cleanly to every drop, and it's the cheapest the work will ever be. The most expensive version of this job is the one done after occupancy, when every run means opening finished walls and ceilings. If you're building, bring us in at the design stage: we'll coordinate the low-voltage plan with your electrician and your builder so data, security, and AV pathways go in together on one schedule. If the building's already finished, we do retrofits too — we're just honest that pre-wire is the bargain.
Do you certify and label the runs?
Every run we install is terminated at both ends, tested before handover, and labeled so the wall jack, the patch panel port, and the documentation all agree. You get a cabling plant your IT provider can work with on day one, instead of a wall of mystery cables someone has to tone out by hand. Where a project requires formal certification test reports — some builders, landlords, and IT contracts do — tell us up front and we'll scope that into the job so the paperwork matches the requirement.
Can one company really do data, security, and AV together?
Yes — that's the whole point of being a full low-voltage integrator instead of a camera company that dabbles. The data cabling for your computers and phones, the security cabling for cameras, alarms, and access control, and the AV cabling for boardrooms and paging are all the same trade: cable, pathways, terminations, testing. Splitting it across three companies means three schedules, three sets of cables fighting for the same space, and a gap where the security installer blames the network guy. One crew, one conduit plan, one number to call when something needs to change. It's not just tidier — coordinated once, on one schedule, it usually costs less too.
More from our security systems.
Why Guard Nation
- One local company designs, installs, monitors and services it.
- Every activation is verified by an operator before anyone is sent.
- We publish the brands we install.