Tenant improvement projects are one of the most common and most complicated scenarios in commercial construction. Budgets are tight, timelines are compressed, and the building is often occupied while work is underway. While this is the time to upgrade your facility with modern access control, things can get complicated fast. The good news is that upgrading or adding wired access control devices to existing door frames doesn’t mean frame replacement. With the right approach and the right products, it can be clean, efficient, and installed on your existing reusable frames.
The TI Dilemma: Access Control Expectations vs. Reality
Modern tenants expect security. Card readers, electric strikes, and door position switches are no longer amenities, they are standard requirements in commercial spaces. But the hollow metal door frames that exist in most commercial buildings were designed over 120 years ago and were never intended to have wires run through them. There are still no industry standards for how to do it properly.
The result? Contractors are left improvising. Exposed conduit gets surface-mounted. Wires get fished through tight spaces with no clean termination point. Back boxes get installed in the wrong location. The finished product works, barely, but it looks like an afterthought because it was.
Why TI Projects Make This Even Harder
In a ground-up construction project, access control can at least be planned for during frame fabrication. In a tenant improvement project, that window has long passed. The frames are already in the wall, the building is occupied, and there is no tolerance for extended downtime or messy work.
Making matters worse, the general contractor and the security or low-voltage contractor are often brought onto a TI project late, after decisions about the frames have already been made. By the time anyone asks how wires are getting into the frame, the answer is usually an expensive and ugly workaround. Budget pressure compounds the problem, pushing teams toward shortcuts that solve the immediate issue but create headaches down the road.
How Frame Frog Changes the Equation
Frame Frog was designed specifically for this problem. It is a wire management solution that installs inside hollow metal door frames, creating a clean, protected pathway for the wires that power access control devices without cutting into walls, replacing frames, or surface-mounting hardware.
Because Frame Frog can be installed during a renovation where frames are being relocated and reused, it is uniquely suited to tenant improvement work. It can be attached to the frames in the field after removal, integrates with the trades already on the job, and delivers a finished result that looks intentional and professional. No exposed conduit. No improvised solutions. Just clean wire management that works the way the frame should have been built in the first place. View the full product lineup here.
Real-World TI Scenarios Where Frame Frog Fits
The applications on TI projects are straightforward and common. Adding a card reader to an existing office suite entry means the frame already exists, but there is no clean path for the wiring. Upgrading or adding a door position switch in a multi-tenant building presents a small device with a big wiring challenge, and Frame Frog provides the termination point right where it is needed. And if access control is not in scope today but might be tomorrow, Frame Frog can be installed now to futureproof the frame, so no second renovation is required when the time comes. Learn more about how Frame Frog supports property owners and general contractors specifically.
What to Ask For and When
The single most important thing on a TI project is timing. Frame Frog needs to be identified early, before the security contractor shows up and certainly before anyone starts improvising with conduit. Building owners and facility managers should ask for it by name when scoping the project. General contractors should include it in their coordination conversations with the security or low-voltage contractor before work begins. The earlier Frame Frog is on the plan, the smoother the installation goes. And on a tenant improvement project, smooth installation is not just a preference. It is a requirement. To learn more or to request a sample, contact the Frame Frog team or request a demo.