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Doorbell Chimes

15 years ago

I'm sure this is a dumb question, but how did you decide on your doorbell chimes?

Thank you!

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Comments (9)

allison0704
15 years ago
I couldn't find any I liked in looks or sound, so we don't have one. lol DH thought I was nuts, but we have a gated driveway in a gated community out from the city. If someone is coming we know about it before they head this way.
modernhouse
15 years ago
I am looking at a video intercom system for the front door. There is a line of products from a company named "Aiphone". They are expensive, but look to be high quality and in some cases, expandable. May be overkill in a single family residence.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aiphone
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I only have 2 doors but can understand your concern. Is the front door the least used door? If so, I doubt if it would be very bothersome. I'd suggest you just setting up the 8 note chime for the door that is used the least. Another option is to get some sort of an additional chime for the 3rd door, maybe something like at the link below that 'could' work with your decor. I doubt if you would want a wireless one (batteries...ugh) but there is probably something similar in a wired version. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Wireless shelf doorchime
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bungalow house: We don't really have a proper entryway: you open the front door and--you're at the stairs! The chimes are right there, on the small wall to the left of the stairwell! sueb: That's lovely, but I'm trying to keep the cost a bit lower (if I can). :) lkplatow: What an adorable door chime! We actually need one that's not quite so loud because our house is so tiny. But it's a definite possibility. How did you prepare it for painting? Did you prime it first? I followed bungalow's advice and checked on ebay. What do you guys think of this one? (link) Here is a link that might be useful: Art Deco Door Chime
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We looked at several lighting stores and at Lowes for chimes and we were not impressed with any of them, so at Lowe's we bought one of the small plastic ones that is close to the color of our walls and it almost disappears on our wall. We decided that we did not want to bring attention to the chimes since we really didn't care for any of them. We are happy with that decision.
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I so understand the ugly chime box problem! We had a good hardwired doorbell with a pleasant chime and a hideous 1950's plastic wood-grained curlicue-infested box. I had a piece of 4" x 1/4" light wood (it might have been balsa from the craft store) with a bull-nosed edge, so I made a box out of that. I started with an interior frame I nailed together out of scrap 1X2 strips. I stapled a double layer of copper screening over that, and cut the balsa to fit snugly around it. I mitered the cuts on the balsa so the box would look cleanly finished, and painted the box to match the wall. Then I cut two little bits of sticky-back velcro, and stuck them on the upper edge of the chime works and the upper inside edge of the box. It was so light in weight that it only needed a little encouragement to stay up there. Worked like a charm, looked good, and made me inordinately proud of myself!
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jaymielo
15 years ago
I was also stumped by the door chime decision. In the end, I had the electrician put up a builder grade doorbell with a plastic cover (very pretty) and then my DF made me a new cover for it to match the cabinetry in our house.
mdc08
15 years ago
What about wired vs wireless door chimes? Do you have to have wired doorbell in your area to pass inspection?
trudymom
Original Author
15 years ago
mdc08, yes we do have wired at our house.

Thank you all for your great ideas!
Christine Decker
15 years ago
I picked the traditional Westminster chimes. We have a formal traditional home and I am happy with them! Although I must admit I was tempted to do the "You rang?" from Learch on the old Adam's family show!
amyks
15 years ago
I was thinking along the lines of cdecker1, that you were wondering what our doorbell *sounded* like! I was getting ready to respond, and read other responses and rethought that, because they were responding technically. So I guess I can add both. Ours comes through our sound system into every room that has speakers, and at least for the fall, it is the Ohio State Buckeyes fight song.

Good luck!

Amy
lyfia
15 years ago
I'd go to a hardware store and test them out before deciding. Covers can always be changed, but sound to me was important. They usually have them set-up so you can press the bell and hear how they sound. Including the big box stores.
perplerose
13 years ago
You can find many video doorbells at espow.com.Any of them has many kinds of chimes for you to choose.

Here is a link that might be useful: espow video doorbells

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