Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

We bought our house in Minnesota almost 10 years ago. Planning to do a complete remodel, I gutted every room in the house.

Naturally, while they were open, I tried to think of everything that should go inside the walls. I ran new plumbing, wiring, and ducts for the heat, air conditioning, and exhaust fans. We ran cable for TV and USB ports in nearly every room. I even remembered running a cable to hardwire the smoke detectors and a waterline for the ice maker in the refrigerator.

I thought I’d thought of everything, but it didn’t even occur to me to run wiring for a doorbell.

Ironically, we’ve...