Doorbell Placement

October 8, 2004 9:38 PM

2 family home, shared my myself and a friend of mine. I am in the second floor unit, he is in the first floor unit. Wireless Doorbells are put on one on top of the other, since that is where there is space. Should the second floor doorbell be on top because it is the top floor, or should the first floor doorbell be on top because it would be considered the first unit of the building?
posted by benjh to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

In my apartment building I love on the top floor, the highest numbered apartment, and have the bottom buzzer. Buzzer systems are usually 1 is top button, 2 is next down, and so on and so forth.

And besides, if you go with the bottom buzzer you can make allusions to a Morphine song "Top floor, bottom buzzer, the middle won't work, ring the one under."
posted by Apoch at 9:41 PM on October 8, 2004

I live on the bottom floor of a two floor 4-plex, and my buzzer is on the bottom; all four buttons are arranged as though you were standing at the front door looking at all the windows:

3 4
1 2
posted by rhapsodie at 10:36 PM on October 8, 2004

Label them?
posted by normy at 11:32 PM on October 8, 2004

Top on top. And label them.
posted by rushmc at 12:39 AM on October 9, 2004

agree: top on top with labels
posted by bakiwop at 7:21 AM on October 9, 2004

When installing them, assume the people using th doorbells can't read. Put the first-floor doorbell where you would for a one-family house (about 4 ft above the ground) and the second floor bell above *that*. It's more intuitive that way.
posted by notsnot at 8:24 AM on October 9, 2004

label:
bottom - 1st floor
top - 2nd floor

names not necessary (they'd have to be removed, should anyone move), hopefully anyone visiting you or your neighbors already knows which floor you live on.
posted by kamylyon at 11:23 AM on October 9, 2004