Electric strike installation | Capital Sentinel, Washington DC

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A strike cut into the frame so the latch releases on a credential

Electric strike installation confirms fail mode before the frame is cut. An HES 1006, an HES 9600, a rim strike, or a small power supply may be the right hardware. The cut is careful. The latch is aligned, including the deadlatch. The supply is fused. Bind on the deadlatch, AC hum, a missing diode, and a backwards fail mode are the callbacks that come from rushing the cut.

Book it when a reader or a keypad should release the latch and the frame can accept a strike. A magnetic lock is a different device and a different egress conversation. Say whether the door must stay locked or unlock when power fails.

Fail mode, diodes, and a deadlatch that binds

The install covers the mode, the cut, the alignment, and a fused supply. It does not cover a new reader if you already have a working one and only the strike is dead. UL 1034 is the strike listing. UL 294 sits on the access side of the same opening. We label the fail mode in the note.

DC office frames are often filled with old mortar that the template did not mention. The cut stops if the frame is not what the strike needs. We would rather pause than leave a strike that hums and holds the deadlatch in. Maryland and Virginia storefronts with aluminum frames need a rim or a low-profile strike, not a deep mortise cut copied from hollow metal.

Frequent questions

What is fail mode in one sentence?

Locked or unlocked when the power stops. Getting it backwards means a door that springs open during an outage, or a door that traps people. We make you pick it before the cut.

Why does the deadlatch cause so many 'the strike is bad' calls?

If the strike lip holds the deadlatch in, the lock thinks the door is open and the main latch never really secures. Alignment fixes that. A bigger power supply does not.

What does the diode do?

It kills the spike that kills readers and boards when the strike releases. A missing diode is a fried controller a month later. It is part of the install, not an accessory.

Can you cut a strike into a labeled frame?

Only in a way that keeps the listing intact. Some frames need a listed kit. A freehand hole that voids the label is refused.

A strike cut into the frame so the latch releases on a credential

Fail mode, diodes, and a deadlatch that binds

Frequent questions

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