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Stop putting keypads next to the deadbolt, it makes you look green | Alarm System Installers - Babble Community

Stop putting keypads next to the deadbolt, it makes you look green

Did a rewiring job in Mesa last month where the homeowner had the old keypad mounted right beside the front deadbolt, so every time you locked up at night your elbow hit the buttons. I moved it 14 inches over and he called me a week later saying his false alarms dropped to zero. It takes ten extra minutes to walk the entry and pick a spot that isn't in arm's reach of the door swing, and guys skip it because the old one was already there. Where do you all mount yours when the wall next to the frame is the only flat spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_campbell462d ago

14 inches is the number I use too, but I have to disagree on the flat wall spot being the only option. I mount mine on the strike side of the frame, about 12 to 15 inches past the door edge, so you have to step back and turn to reach it. That walk has never cost me a callback. The old keypad spot was probably picked in 2005 by whoever installed it first, and yeah, guys copy it because ripping drywall is a pain. But an alarm panel in arm's reach of the swing is a bad install no matter how flat the wall is. I'd rather fish a new hole through the closet wall than leave a customer arming his system with his elbow.

miles_young592d ago

Guessing I'm the only guy here who once mounted a keypad so close to the swing that the door clipped it every time the customer came home, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Learned that lesson the hard way and now I measure twice like it's a religion. Your point stands though, arm's reach of the swing is asking for trouble, and a little step back to disarm is not gonna kill anybody. Fishing a new hole through a closet wall is a pain but it beats a callback where the guy is fumbling with his elbow every morning. I'd rather sweat once in the attic than hear about it for a year.