How to Fit a Radio Controlled Door Bell
One of the greatest annoyances, particularly in an age where so many of us have home deliveries of items ordered online, is missing a delivery when we were, in fact, in. Although you may already have a door bell, it may be unreliable. The electrical contacts in exterior bell pushes degrade over time and unless they are pressed hard, the bell may not function. In addition, you may simply not hear the doorbell because of the location of the chime. Many homes have a chime located in the hallway which is all well and good if you are close by, but in the summer months you may be in the back garden or perhaps your teenage children may have the music on loudly. There are many reasons why you may not hear the bell, even if it is working.
Modern radio controlled bell systems provide an excellent solution. They comprise of a bell push which is usually battery operated and sends a signal to a receiver which is usually a portable unit, which in turn chimes. With the number of choices on the market, you should be able to find a bell push that you consider to be attractive, with a variety of finishes available The higher end models will be illuminated, essential if your front door is in darkness at night. Installing the bell push is often as simple as installing the battery and using a self-adhesive pad to fix it to the door frame or other appropriate position. When deciding on a position, do ensure that it can be reached by children and adults alike. It is worth knowing that most people look for a door bell to the right hand side of the door. If you are using a self-adhesive pad, ensure that the paintwork is clean (many doorbell kits will provide an alcohol-soaked type cleaning cloth for this purpose) and allow it to dry thoroughly before mounting the bell. Other kits may require you to use a couple of small screws into the door frame.
The bell chime simply requires that you install the batteries, select your preferred chime sound and sit the chime in a convenient location. Some systems will come with more than one chime, allowing you to locate them where they are most likely to be heard. If you are hard of hearing, you can also buy systems with a strobe light on the chime to attract attention. All that now remains is to test the system by pressing the bell. If, for some reason, the chime does not sound, check that you have inserted the batteries correctly in both the bell push and the chime receiver and that the chime is switched on. You now have a working door bell that you should be able to hear wherever you happen to be in the home.
We hope that this article has helped to address a couple of your
DIY questions and answers but it is worth emphasising that, if in doubt, you should always seek the advice of a trained professional and never attempt to work on system components you do not understand and in all cases NEVER work with gas and electricity which legally require the attention of qualified tradespeople. Your safety and that of those around you must always come first.
