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I was mounting keypads at chest height for 11 years until a client in Tulsa asked me why her 4 foot 10 mom had to stand on a stool
So I'm at this house in Tulsa last week doing a panel swap and the client's mom is visiting, and she's maybe 4 foot 10 and she's standing on a little step stool to arm the system by the front door. The client kind of laughs and says her mom does that every visit, and I just stood there feeling like a total idiot. I've been putting keypads at 60 inches forever because that's what my first boss showed me back in 2013 and I never once questioned it. Turns out 48 inches on center is way better for most people, and anything above 54 is a reach for anyone under 5 foot 4. I went back and looked at my last 30 installs and I'd say 20 of them were mounted too high, no joke. Nobody ever complained, which is the part that bugs me, they just quietly dealt with it for years. So now I carry a tape and mark at 48 before I drill anything. What height are you all using, and has anyone had a client actually bring this up before?
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derek_bell25d ago
So what happens when the client is 6 foot 4 and now they gotta bend down to stare at the screen? Maybe the real fix is asking whoever lives there before you drill, not just picking one number for everybody. I've been meaning to start asking people at the walkthrough and I keep forgetting until I'm already standing there with the tape out.
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