does every exterior door get a doorbell?

14 years ago

i'm afraid this falls under the "stupid question" category but when it comes right down to it we will have a LOT of exterior entry doors. of course the main and mudroom entries will have doorbells but what about entry to garage? there is also a side door my husband will use from his office that leads to a private porch. and then there's the basement ...but i don't expect visitors will ever use those so i was going to skip it ...or am i missing something?

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allison0704

14 years ago

We did not have a door bell installed during construction. No, I don't regret the decision. We went with non-traditional door bells. They don't use any electricity. They do require more maintenance, but give us many happy hours of loving in return:

All kidding aside, if you go with more than one doorbell, spring for a system that rings differently for each door. Easier for you to know which door to go open.

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Comments (10)

homey_bird
14 years ago
First of all, not a stupid question. During construction/remodel one tends to over analyse and second guess everything. So it's normal.

I would imagine that the real answer is, will that door be accessed by outsiders who want to signal their arrival? :-)

Main door certainly is. Mudroom is typically used by families themselves but you can imagine kids entering and ringing the doorbell so parents can open it.

As for side office door, your husband can carry keys with him if he's not expecting visitors, clients. If he is, then it might make sense.

Re. garage, we have a detached garage that has a side door that is on the way to the main door. We have never felt the need for a doorbell but sure felt the need for a combination lock instead of the key lock. Often times, we go to the garage assuming it's unlocked (we leave it unlocked when we're around the house) -- and come back inside the house to get the keys when we find it isn't.

In my experience none of the back doors/side doors need have doorbells. Unless you plan to accept visitors barging in from any of them!
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brutuses
14 years ago
Not stupid. I would put bells by any door that is accessed by anyone who could get locked out. LOL That includes back doors too if the kids lock themselves out. I have one by my front and side door, where visitors will arrive. They can't get to the back door. Each bell has it's own chime so we can tell which door they are at. However, the other day a gentleman rang the side bell, where I promptly went, but then he walked to the front door. So he gave me a good run. LOL So much for different chimes.
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creek_side
14 years ago
Our current house had a doorbell on all four exterior doors when we moved in. It soon became apparent that it was a problem. We have whittled it down to two.

It would be a single doorbell, but we have a set of french doors that is closer to the drive than our front door, and UPS, etc., seems to find them handy.

Our new house will have eight exterior doors. It will have a doorbell at the front entrance and nowhere else.
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brutuses
14 years ago
allison, I told DH we didn't need electrical ones either, but he insisted. LOL It will be the non electrical ones to let me know which door to go to.
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kateskouros
Original Author
14 years ago
well, thank you for telling me it's not a stupid question! the mudroom is actually a service entrance as well, for packages and friends who hang out all the time and are more like "family". so i'll definitely go ahead and put one there. i'll skip all the others, but still uncertain what to do about the garage door. i'd like to keep it simple so i'm thinking i'll skip that one unless dh thinks it's necessary. i'm having an english bell (like a shop bell) for the mudroom so it will have a different (more homier) sound than the front entrance chime.
thanks again for the advice. i really can't wait until this house is DONE.
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megradek
14 years ago
interestingly in my area it is CODE to have a doorbell on both front and back doors (the side/mudroom door was not required)!!! It was only after an inspection that this had to be added. I thought this was kind of silly, but it was easy enough to find one that had to distinct ring tones to distinguish between them.
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allison0704
14 years ago
We live in an unincorporated area. Even though we do have strict codes, there must not be one about doorbells...or he missed it.

Kateskouros, which english bell did you get? I looked into those - not the ones that fit over the door and go off when opened, but the kind that is like a doorbell. Has a button or turn key outside and the wire goes to the bell inside. But we had already gotten past the brick laying and it was a tad too late to think about adding one.

If I run across an antique bell (on wall mounted arm) I may add it somewhere, just for looks. I found one recently online I loved, but it was already sold. :(
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sombreuil_mongrel
14 years ago
Back in the olden days you had a ding-dong bell for the front door and a buzzer type bell for the back door, so the maid could hear the difference and know what door to answer. My doorbell (old house) is still set up with this feature, both types of bell in the same box. I should really put a switch back at the kitchen door, for historic authenticity.
Casey
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kateskouros
Original Author
14 years ago
allison: i think we've spoken about these before! i haven't purchased yet but i'd like to get one of those manual things from byron bell. i'll tell you though, it's coming in a close second only to this, which i found today:

{{gwi:1504760}}
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does every exterior door get a doorbell?

allison0704

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does every exterior door get a doorbell?

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