Alarm contacts for UPVC door

Rhino666

I have recently had a new UPVC door fitted and would like to be able to find a neat solution for the burglar alarm contacts on the front door. The current solution is a couple of surface mounted white blocks which are reasonably big and look clumsy on the top of my door and frame.

Can anyone suggest a better solution for door alarm contacts and where I might purchase ?

helen21_2

Yes mine are the same, blocks
Mine is a complete alarm system so there really is nothing else i can do
Im not sure if there is anything as being pvc there will always be the difference in the depths.

Rhino666

Mine is a complete alarm system as well but these contacts are fairly straightforward and could be replaced in isolation. One is just a magnet and the other houses a tiny glass tube with a couple of bits of steel that make contact when the magnet is nearby. There are only two tiny wires that operate the system and complete a circuit when the contact is magnetised. Mine has a couple of extra wires screwed together that act as a tamper check if the wires are cut. Ideally these contacts could have been hidden within the UPVC section when the unit was made but unfortunately the chap that made my front door and frame did not apparently see this as a good idea ?

uncle_buck_3

These are a little but smaller than the standard “Block” type contacts & they have adhesive pads so you don’t have to screw them to your door.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=12611&doy=30m11

helen21_2

uncle_buck wrote:

These are a little but smaller than the standard “Block” type contacts & they have adhesive pads so you don’t have to screw them to your door.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=12611&doy=30m11

but both are still the same depth, with a pvc door the contact part has to be deeper due to door sitting on frame not in it Thought that was what OP was asking probably wrong like

uncle_buck_3

Oh Yeah I get it now :doh:

You will find with alarm contacts (reed switches) that they do work over quite a wide gap (surface height difference).
If you listen very carefully as you move the contacts apart you will here a little click type noise, this is the switch opening or closing.

alanobrien

Rhino666 wrote:

I have recently had a new UPVC door fitted and would like to be able to find a neat solution for the burglar alarm contacts on the front door. The current solution is a couple of surface mounted white blocks which are reasonably big and look clumsy on the top of my door and frame.

Can anyone suggest a better solution for door alarm contacts and where I might purchase ?

I had a similar issue with an Aluminium door.
Surface mount or Drill in door and frame.

I chose to surface mount as yours currently is, the reason being i did not want to mess up the door and you still have issues of where to run the wires.

Second issue was how to mount the surface blocks, double sided tape or screws. I pondered this one for a while and ended up with screws after worrying about the tape giving up the ghost causing a false alarm.

You can get smaller blocks and if adventurous even recess them into the frame but personally i wouldnt.

Just a thought, ever thought about the possibility of hiding them somehow ?

Rhino666

Thanks for the comments.
To be honest I agree that the contacts would be better off screwed to the door and frame. Perhaps a strong glue would also work but I wouldn't trust double sided tape. The contacts available all seem to be overlarge block types and even the smallest from Maplins will look unsightly on the door and frame.
I was hoping that there was a neater solution around for such a simple idea - perhaps we could design one :-)