Sound familiar?Princess Margaret
- The call
- The team has grown past the point where one shared key still makes sense. New hires need a way in before a manager arrives, and the current setup cannot tell one person's entry from another's.
Head office wants a record of who opens the branch and when, tied to an actual name rather than a shared code scrawled on a sticky note taped under the till.
In plain words
The installation is not finished when the last door is wired; it is finished once the business can run the system without the locksmith standing there. That means an administrator account handed over with full control, a walkthrough of adding and revoking credentials, pulling an entry log, and changing a schedule for a holiday or an event. Beyond that point, whether the installer keeps any support or maintenance access is a setting the business chooses at handover rather than something assumed either way, and every routine change to who can enter is the business's own decision.
Access Control Installation · Princess Margaret
How the visit goes
Scene 1
Reading the door and the frame
Every opening gets a physical look before it gets any wiring. The locksmith checks what the door and frame are made of, which way the door swings, whether an electric strike will seat cleanly in the existing frame, and whether the door sits on a fire separation, which changes what can be added to it. A hollow metal frame, a wood door, and an aluminum storefront door each take different hardware, and a door that already sits loosely in its frame is noted before an electric strike or a magnetic lock is chosen for it, since alignment decides how reliably the lock releases.
Scene 2
Keying a mechanical override into the same system
Where the selected hardware supports one, the locksmith fits a conventional cylinder alongside the electronic reader, cut to work with the rest of the building's keys rather than sitting apart as an odd one out; some access-controlled hardware is built without a key cylinder at all. On a door getting the override, the locksmith confirms it operates the latch or bolt cleanly with the electronic hardware in place, and notes who on staff will hold that key. On that door, a dead battery, a controller fault, or a power outage becomes an inconvenience rather than a locked business, since it still opens the ordinary way while the issue is sorted out.
Scene 3
Reading the entry log
Every controller keeps a record of which credential was presented at which door and when, and, where a door position switch is fitted, whether the door actually opened; that log is available to the administrator whenever it is needed, not only after something has gone wrong. Pulling a recent day's entries for the stockroom, checking whether the loading dock was opened outside its scheduled window, or confirming a contractor's credential was only used on the days they were on site are ordinary lookups rather than a special request, though the record shows the credential used rather than proof of who held it. Reviewing the log occasionally, rather than only when there is a problem, is a genuinely useful habit.
In the van
- Card and fob readers
- Keypad readers
- Magnetic locks
- Request-to-exit devices
- Low-voltage cable
What shapes the quoteBloordale Gardens Lock & Key Co.
- Standalone or networked
- A self-contained reader at one door is simpler than a networked controller managing several openings with shared schedules and a combined log, and the choice between them changes both the hardware list and the wiring involved.
- Network readiness for a networked system
- A networked controller needs a suitable connection point and technology-department approval to join the building's network; where that is not already in place, preparing it is a separate piece of the job from the door hardware itself.
- Electric strike or magnetic lock
- An electric strike works with the door's existing latch and generally needs less additional hardware than a magnetic lock, which also calls for a request-to-exit device and, on an exit door, a fire alarm tie-in.
FeesSame any hour
Questions people ask us
Can we see a log of who entered and when?
Yes. The controller keeps a running record of which credential was presented at which door and when, available to the administrator at any time, not only after an incident. It can be checked for a specific door, date, or credential, which is useful for everyday questions as much as investigating something unusual, though it identifies the credential used rather than confirming who was physically holding it.
Can different doors run on different schedules?
Yes, and this is one of the more useful parts of the system. A front office can unlock for regular business hours, a stockroom can allow only two credentials at any hour, and a loading dock can release only during a set delivery window. Schedules are set per door and per access level in the controller, and can be changed at any time without touching the hardware itself.
What maintenance does the system need going forward?
Ongoing maintenance is light: checking the battery backup and the request-to-exit device periodically, keeping reader surfaces reasonably clean, and revoking credentials promptly once someone leaves. Door and frame alignment is worth a look at each change of season, since a shifted door can affect how cleanly an electric strike or a magnetic lock releases.
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Princess Margaretinformation
TorontoOntario
Access Control Installation · Toronto, Bloordale Gardens, Eringate, Etobicoke, Glen Agar, Islington, Thorncrest Village, West Deane Park
- Town
- Princess Margaret, Toronto
- In business
- 13 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7
- Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 804-4797
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
2021 census: what it means at the door
Every square is one home in a hundred.
- 58 in 100 homes · older homes
- 23 in 100 homes · mostly attached
- About 58% of homes in Toronto were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.Established homes often have non-standard bores and backsets from an earlier generation of hardware. A locksmith working in such an area carries adapter plates and cylinders in the older sizes, so an upgrade fits the existing door instead of forcing a new one.
- Single-detached houses make up about 23% of homes in Toronto (2021 Census).Where most people live in townhouses, apartments or condos, doors come in two kinds: the suite door you control and the shared entrances the building manages. A locksmith works on your door freely and coordinates with management on the rest.
On-site assessment
Request a visit.
Head office wants a record of who opens the branch and when, tied to an actual name rather than a shared code scrawled on a sticky note taped under the till.
(289) 804-4797, open 24/7.