Shoutout to the installer who put a recessed door contact in my building's front entrance

I was inspecting a unit at a 12-story complex in Portland yesterday and noticed the front door had a recessed contact that was almost invisible from the outside. The magnet was flush with the frame and the whole setup was clean, no surface mount boxes sticking out. Anyone here have a favorite brand for those tiny recessed contacts that fit in thinner metal doors?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubysingh19d ago

Wait, they actually hid it that well in a metal frame?

craig.john20d ago

Maybe check if the magnet is strong enough for wind loading, those thin contacts can lose alignment if the door flexes in Portland's gusts.

jennifer20420d ago

Yeah because NOTHING says "secure building" like a door contact that's basically playing hide and seek with the frame. I swear some of these installers must have been magicians in a past life with how invisible they make things. Then you walk away and hope the wind doesn't play games with it because Portland gusts will absolutely knock that alignment off faster than you can say "service call." I've seen those skinny contacts shift just from a few slams and then the whole system thinks the door is open when it's clearly shut. Honestly though, props to the installer for not leaving a big ugly surface mount box hanging off the front of a 12-story building - that alone deserves a round of applause.