What does this security and access control rough-in checklist cover?

14 items across 5 sections, covering boxes and pathways, cabling, door coordination, panels, power and interfaces, and more. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.

Who should run this inspection?

The low-voltage lead pulling and dressing cable, coordinating with the door-hardware installer and the GC's superintendent before the walls are boarded.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

After device locations are marked and before drywall and ceilings close, while boxes, conduit stubs and door prep are all still reachable.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

9 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 13 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.

What most often fails a security and access control rough-in inspection?

Reader and strike back-boxes set at a height that fights the door hardware, discovered only when the leaf and lockset are hung. Access-control cable run in the same bundle as line-voltage or tied to conduit, so it picks up noise the readers never shake off. Door contacts stubbed to the hinge side or the wrong jamb, leaving no clean path once the frame is grouted and the wall is closed.

Can I use this checklist in RTI?

Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Free checklist

Security and access control

Security and access control rough-in inspection checklist

Security and access control rough-in is the last time the work is fully visible. Once the cover inspection passes and the walls, ceilings and slabs close, every defect left behind becomes a demolition bill. This checklist walks the rough-in in the order the work goes in, with the photo each item needs before it gets buried. Work is commonly verified against NEC (NFPA 70), TIA structured-cabling standards. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.

Start free with this checklist Download as PDF

The checklist

Every item, and the photo evidence it needs

The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.

Boxes and pathways

Device back-boxes and conduit stubs placed and mounted
Boxes for readers, strikes, contacts and cameras set plumb at the coordinated heights, conduit or pathway stubbed to an accessible ceiling or riser.
Mounting heights coordinated with door hardware
Reader and REX heights matched to the lever and lockset, contact and strike locations agreed with the hardware installer against the door schedule.
Every device location walked against the current security plans
Readers, REX, contacts, cameras and panels roughed where the latest revision puts them; late relocations marked on the field set before cable is pulled.
No photo

Cabling

Cable type and pull match the device schedule
Correct cable type and pair count for each device pulled to the right box, service loop left, no kinks or over-tensioned pulls.
Separation from line-voltage maintained
Low-voltage cable kept clear of power runs and not tied to conduit, crossings kept perpendicular, supported independently in the ceiling.
Lock power conductors sized for the run to each door
Gauge printed on the lock power cable matches the integrator's wiring schedule for that door's distance from the supply, not downsized to the reader cable.

Door coordination

Door prep supports readers, strikes and contacts
Frame and leaf prepped for the electric strike or mag lock, contact pocket located on the correct jamb, wire transfer path confirmed to the leaf.
Fail-safe or fail-secure function agreed for each electrified lock
Lock function on the security drawings matches the hardware schedule at every controlled opening; conflicts sent as an RFI before the lock power is wired.
No photo
Strike and contact tails protected inside the frame
Conductors at the strike and contact preps sleeved or behind a mud box, so frame grout, foam or wall filler cannot bury or cut them.

Panels, power and interfaces

Controller and lock power supply locations roughed as drawn
Backboard or enclosure space in the security or telecom room where the drawings show it, with each door's home run arriving at that location.
Controller and lock power circuit confirmed with the electrician
The circuit the security drawings call for is on the electrical panel schedule and roughed to the panel location, not borrowed from a convenience receptacle.
No photo
Fire-alarm release tie point agreed with the fire-alarm contractor
Relay or module location and the pathway between it and the lock power supplies agreed and shown on both trades' drawings before walls close.
No photo

Before cover

Cable drops into each door head and jamb photographed before board
The run from the ceiling down into the frame head and strike jamb captured, so a later service call can see where the door cable drops.
Open door and device issues logged by door number
Any missing box, wrong-jamb contact or unprepped frame listed by door number and sent to the GC, not left for the integrator to cut in after finishes.
No photo

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

Reader and strike back-boxes set at a height that fights the door hardware, discovered only when the leaf and lockset are hung.
Access-control cable run in the same bundle as line-voltage or tied to conduit, so it picks up noise the readers never shake off.
Door contacts stubbed to the hinge side or the wrong jamb, leaving no clean path once the frame is grouted and the wall is closed.

Verified against

Common questions

6 answers

What does this security and access control rough-in checklist cover?: 14 items across 5 sections, covering boxes and pathways, cabling, door coordination, panels, power and interfaces, and more. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
Who should run this inspection?: The low-voltage lead pulling and dressing cable, coordinating with the door-hardware installer and the GC's superintendent before the walls are boarded.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: After device locations are marked and before drywall and ceilings close, while boxes, conduit stubs and door prep are all still reachable.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 9 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 13 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
What most often fails a security and access control rough-in inspection?: Reader and strike back-boxes set at a height that fights the door hardware, discovered only when the leaf and lockset are hung. Access-control cable run in the same bundle as line-voltage or tied to conduit, so it picks up noise the readers never shake off. Door contacts stubbed to the hinge side or the wrong jamb, leaving no clean path once the frame is grouted and the wall is closed.
Can I use this checklist in RTI?: Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Related checklists

Security and access control FinalSecurity and access control final inspection checklistDevices installed, labeled and tested, head-end programmed, and the free-egress and fire-alarm release interface observed and documented14 items13 photos Security and access control PunchSecurity and access control punch checklistCloseout walk for mislabeled doors, coverage gaps, latch and strike adjustment and documentation9 items6 photos

Run it with the Photo Gate

A checklist nobody can submit half-finished

Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 13 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.