Grand Opening: Up to 20% Off. Valid for the grand opening period through December 31, 2026. One offer per job. Offers cannot be combined. No discount on emergency, lockout, or after-hours service, car keys / automotive, or service calls.
Readers, power, and the lock have to be one opening
An access-control visit starts at the frame, not in the software. Handing, hinge-side wire, and the voltage at the strike or magnetic lock are checked before a reader is mounted. A card reader, a keypad, an electric strike, and a magnetic lock are options for that opening. They are not a bundle that every door receives. A test credential is enrolled, a revoked one is refused, and the release method is written down so the next person is not guessing which button unlocks the leaf.
Book this when a lobby, a suite, or a gate needs a credential instead of a shared brass key. It is the wrong booking when the only problem is a lost house key or a car locked at the curb. Those are different visits. Bring a sketch of who should enter, and say whether the door must stay locked if power fails.
Credentials, fail mode, and a door that still lets people out
Included is the survey, a matched lock and reader, programming of a test credential, and a note of how the door releases. Not included is a new hollow-metal leaf, a fire-door label change, or a camera system. Short hinge wires, a strike that binds, a magnetic lock with no request-to-exit, and a pile of unnamed fobs are the faults we plan for. UL 294 covers the access equipment. NFPA 101 is the egress question when the door is a required exit.
DC office suites often share a stair door that cannot be turned into a magnet with no release. Maryland and Virginia retail shells add a landlord closer and a storefront stile that may not accept the strike you liked in a catalog. We will not put a magnetic lock on a required exit unless a listed release is part of the same scope.
Frequent questions
Why is the hinge-side wire checked before the reader is pretty?
A reader that looks finished and a strike with no power is a locked door and an angry tenant. The transfer hinge or the door cord has to reach the lock. Short wires are the usual surprise on a retrofit, and they change the hardware choice.
What does a test credential prove that a brochure does not?
It proves the controller, the lock, and the time schedule agree. We also present a credential that should be dead. If that one still opens the door, the job is not done.
Can a magnetic lock be the lock on a stair door?
Only with an immediate, obvious way out that still works when the credential system is down. A magnet with no egress button is a life-safety problem, not a security upgrade. Many stair doors should keep a mechanical exit device instead.
Who gets the notes when the installer leaves?
The person who will add and remove people. The note names the release method, the fail mode, and which openings were actually wired. Shared fobs with no names are called out, because a lost unnamed fob cannot be killed cleanly.
Related pages
- Biometric access control
- Enterprise biometric access
- Card reader access control
- Cloud managed access control
- Access control in Adams Morgan
- Access control in Cleveland Park
- Access control in Columbia Heights
- Access control in Dupont Circle
- Access control in Glover Park
- Access control in Mount Pleasant
- Access control in Petworth
- Access control in Shaw
- Access control in Woodley Park
- Access control in Bethesda
- Access control in College Park
- Access control in Wheaton
- Access control in Arlington
- Access control in Alexandria
- Access control in Tysons