Intercom systems built for apartment buildings.
Multi-tenant lobby panels, video door stations and phone answering for NYC apartment buildings, from small walk-ups to large elevator buildings. Tenants answer on a monitor or their phone, visitors are seen on camera, and the door release is wired and tested.
Drawn as a 2-wire video upgrade on an existing riser: one tested pair carries power, audio, video and data to every floor. Every reuse of old wire starts with a test on site, and a segment that fails is replaced.
Everything a multi-unit building needs.
A working apartment intercom is more than a lobby panel: every tenant can take a call, every visitor is seen on camera, and the door actually releases.
Lobby directory panel
A panel in the vestibule or lobby with a button or a touchscreen entry for every unit. The visitor picks the tenant, and the call rings that unit only: on a handset, a wall monitor or the phone app.
Video door station
A camera at the front door so tenants see who is there before they answer. A wide-angle lens covers the entry, backlight compensation handles a bright street, and the housing carries IP and IK ratings for weather and impact.
Electric strike or magnetic lock
The door releases when the tenant presses Door. A strike goes in the frame and the handle still lets people out. A magnetic lock needs a free way out from inside at all times. We pick the lock for each door around its use and the building's fire and life safety requirements.
Phone app answering
Tenants answer visitor calls on their own phone, at home or anywhere with a data connection, and release the door from the app. No dedicated handset required.
In-unit handsets or monitors
For tenants who prefer a device on the wall, we install wired handsets or video monitors. Both can share one system: some tenants use the app, others keep a monitor.
Existing wiring assessment
Many NYC apartment buildings still have their original intercom wire. We test it before pulling anything new. Wire that tests good is reused; wire that fails is replaced.
No wiring to the units. The super runs the directory.
A cloud lobby panel calls tenants' phones over the internet or a cellular connection, so nothing is wired into the apartments. Pick what happens.
The visitor picks 4A on the lobby panel. Both phones registered to 4A ring, the tenant who answers sees the visitor and taps Door, and the panel relay releases the strike. No other unit sees the call.
The super removes 5B from the dashboard. The departing tenant stops getting calls and their app no longer opens the door, and 5B leaves the lobby directory. Nothing changes inside the apartment because nothing was wired there.
The super adds the new 5B tenant. An invite goes to their phone, 5B returns to the directory, and the first visitor call reaches them as soon as they accept.
What a working apartment intercom fixes.
Many NYC apartment buildings are required to keep a working intercom, and many run systems long overdue for replacement.
Door release that fires every time
Relay + lock powerThe most common failure in old systems: the buzzer sounds and the door never releases, and the visitor is left outside. The release runs through a relay on its own low-voltage lock power supply, commonly 12 or 24 V, and we test every door release before we leave.
Clear audio on tested wire
Wire tested firstCorroded splices and damaged runs cause static, dropped calls and dead units. Old wire is tested segment by segment before it is reused, and a segment that fails is replaced.
Video before the buzz
Wide-angle · WDRTenants see who is at the door before they press Door, instead of buzzing in someone they cannot see. The camera is placed to see faces, and buttons and camera sit roughly 4 to 5 ft to center.
Calls that reach the tenant
App answeringCalls ring tenants' phones as well as any handset or monitor, so a visit is not missed because nobody was near the wall.
Fobs for tenants, the intercom for visitors
Access controlTenants enter with a key fob and visitors use the intercom. Both release the same door hardware from separate controllers, and an IP intercom can carry the fob reader in the same panel.
Door video on the camera system
CamerasAn IP door station can send its video to the building's security camera recorder, next to the lobby and hallway cameras, and door events can be logged.
From a dead buzzer to a working lobby.
The building keeps a working entry system at every stage of the job.
Site visit and wire test
We walk the entrances, the lobby and the riser path, and test the existing intercom wire before deciding what to reuse.
Written scope
A written quote that says which wire is reused, which segments are replaced, which lock goes on each door and how tenants will answer.
Staged installation
The new panel is pre-wired and tested before the old one comes down. New wire and door hardware go in while the old system keeps working, and tenants are told before the switchover.
Test and hand off
Every unit is called from the lobby and every door release is tested. The owner or super gets the admin account and learns to add and remove tenants.
Apartment building intercoms, answered.
How do you replace a buzzer system in an occupied building without locking tenants out?
We stage the work so the building is never without a working entry system. The new panel is pre-wired and tested before the old one comes down, and the existing system keeps working while new wire and door hardware go in. We schedule the switchover for a quiet time of day, such as mid-morning on a weekday, and tenants are told in advance. At no point is the building left without a way to let visitors in.
Can each tenant use their own phone to answer the door, or does everyone share one?
Each unit is set up on its own. When a visitor presses 3B, the call rings only the phones registered to 3B, so one tenant cannot answer another tenant's calls. Tenants register their own phones in the app, and the building owner or super manages the directory from a separate admin account. When a tenant moves out, the admin removes their account and adds the new tenant. No tenant can see another unit's calls.
My building has old 4-wire intercom wiring through the walls. Can it be reused?
Often, once it tests good. We check every run for continuity, shorts between conductors and damaged insulation before we commit to reusing it. A 2-wire video system needs only one good pair to carry power, audio, video and data, so a video upgrade can often run on the old cable, and any segment that fails the test is replaced. Phone answering does not need new cable to every unit either: many 2-wire systems add app calls through a gateway, and a cloud lobby panel calls phones directly with no wiring to the units. IP stations inside the units need Cat5e or Cat6, which we pull through existing conduit or the riser where there is one. We tell you on the site visit what can be reused and what needs new cable.
Can I integrate the intercom with key fob access control for tenant entry?
Yes, and it is the best setup for most multi-unit buildings. Tenants enter with their fob, so nobody needs to buzz themselves in, and the intercom stays for visitors. Both systems release the same electric strike or door hardware from separate controllers, and an IP intercom can carry the fob reader in the same panel. We install and coordinate both as a single project, so the two fit together cleanly.
What happens if the internet goes down? Do tenants lose intercom access?
It depends on the system. An intercom that calls phones over the internet cannot reach them during an outage, but it can be set up with in-unit stations on the local network that keep working. A cellular panel keeps calling phones as long as it has a usable signal. A wired system with in-unit handsets or monitors does not use the internet at all, and with battery backup on the intercom and lock power supplies it keeps working through a short power outage. We set the fallback for each building during design, and where downtime is not acceptable we build in a local path that works without the internet.
Intercoms for every home and building.
Ready to upgrade your building's intercom?
We test the existing wiring, walk every entrance and give you a clear written scope and price. Same-day quotes when we can.