Commercial Door Hardware Guide: Locks, Exit Devices, Door Closers & Access Control
Commercial doors take a beating. In offices, apartment buildings, restaurants, retail stores, warehouses and other high-traffic properties, door hardware may operate hundreds of times every day.
Choosing the right commercial door hardware isn't simply a matter of finding something that fits the door. The lock, exit device, closer, hinges and access-control components all need to work together as a complete opening.
At B-SAFE Lock & Key, we service, repair, replace and install commercial door hardware throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. That includes traditional mechanical locks as well as electronic access-control hardware.
What Makes Door Hardware Commercial Grade
Commercial hardware is designed and tested for the demands of commercial buildings. ANSI/BHMA standards cover numerous categories of builders hardware, including cylindrical locks, mortise locks, exit devices, door closers, hinges, cylinders, electric strikes and electrified locking devices.
You'll commonly see commercial hardware classified as Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3, with Grade 1 representing the highest performance level.
For a heavily traveled commercial entrance, choosing hardware designed for the amount of traffic and type of opening can make the difference between years of reliable operation and repeated service calls.
Commercial Locks and Lever Sets
A commercial lock needs to do more than lock the door.
Different openings may require an entrance function, storeroom function, classroom function, passage function, mortise lock, cylindrical lock or another specialized configuration.
Some established names commonly found on commercial buildings include:
Schlage • SARGENT • BEST • Corbin Russwin • Falcon • Marks USA
Rather than replacing a lock simply because something isn't working correctly, an experienced commercial locksmith can determine whether the problem is in the lock itself, cylinder, latch, strike, hinges, door alignment or frame.
Commercial Mortise Locks
Mortise locks are common on commercial and institutional doors. The lock body is installed into a pocket inside the door, providing a durable platform for numerous locking functions.
Commercial mortise locks can be incorporated into traditional keyed systems, master key systems, restricted key systems and electronic access-control applications.
Major manufacturers include Schlage, SARGENT, Corbin Russwin, BEST and Adams Rite, depending on the type of opening.
Panic Bars and Exit Devices
If you've walked out of a commercial building by pushing a bar across the door, you've used an exit device. They're also commonly called panic bars, push bars or crash bars.
Major commercial exit-device manufacturers include:
Von Duprin • Falcon • SARGENT • Detex
Exit-device problems don't automatically mean the entire unit needs replacement. Problems can involve the latch, strike, trim, dogging mechanism, rods or other components.
Proper diagnosis is especially important with older commercial hardware, where repairing quality existing hardware may make more sense than unnecessarily replacing the entire device.
Commercial Door Closers
Commercial door closers control how a door closes and help return the door to the closed and latched position after someone passes through it.
Common signs of closer or door-control problems include:
Door slamming • Door closing too slowly • Door failing to latch • Hydraulic fluid leaking • Damaged closer arms • Door becoming difficult to open
Some of the best-known commercial closer manufacturers include LCN, Norton, SARGENT and Hager.
But the closer isn't always the problem.
Worn hinges, a sagging door, damaged frame, improper adjustment or a binding opening can make a perfectly good door closer appear defective. The complete opening should be inspected before replacing parts.
Aluminum Storefront Door Hardware
Glass-and-aluminum storefront doors use specialized hardware that differs considerably from hardware used on many hollow-metal and wood commercial doors.
One of the most recognized names in storefront hardware is Adams Rite.
Commercial storefront doors may use narrow-stile deadlocks, deadlatches, paddle handles, lever trim, electric strikes and access-control components.
When a storefront door won't latch or lock properly, the problem may also involve door alignment, pivots, hinges or the strike rather than the lock itself.
Electric Strikes and Access Control
Modern commercial security increasingly combines traditional mechanical door hardware with electronic access control.
An electric strike allows a locking device to release electronically when authorized by a card reader, keypad, key fob, intercom, push button or other access-control system.
Major names in commercial electronic locking hardware include:
HES • Adams Rite • Trine • Securitron • Alarm Lock • Schlage Electronics
Electronic access control can give a business considerably more control over its doors than simply issuing additional keys. Depending on the system, credentials can be added or removed as employees change without requiring the entire building to be rekeyed.
Commercial Hinges and Continuous Hinges
Even the best lock won't operate correctly if the door isn't hanging properly.
Worn hinges can cause a commercial door to sag, drag against the frame, misalign with the strike and prevent locks or exit devices from latching correctly.
Commercial hinge and continuous-hinge manufacturers include:
Hager • McKinney • Ives • Select Hinges
On high-traffic openings, correcting hinge and alignment problems can sometimes solve what initially appears to be a lock, latch or closer problem.
Other Commercial Door Hardware
A complete commercial opening contains much more than a lock and closer.
Other established manufacturers include Glynn-Johnson, Rockwood, Don-Jo and Pemko, producing hardware such as door stops and holders, protection and reinforcement hardware, thresholds, gasketing and other architectural door components.
Sometimes correcting one relatively small component can restore proper operation to the entire door.
20 Commercial Door Hardware Brands to Know
If you're trying to identify existing hardware on a commercial building, these are 20 important names to recognize:
Schlage • Von Duprin • LCN • SARGENT • BEST • Corbin Russwin • Adams Rite • HES • Falcon • Norton • Detex • Alarm Lock • Securitron • Trine • Hager • McKinney • Glynn-Johnson • Ives • Rockwood • Pemko
If you're not sure what hardware you have, check the faceplate, lock body, exit device, closer cover, electric strike or other visible components. The manufacturer's name or identifying marks are often located directly on the hardware.
That information can be extremely helpful when contacting a commercial locksmith for service.
Repair or Replace Commercial Door Hardware
Not every malfunctioning commercial door needs new hardware.
Depending on the condition of the opening, an existing lock, exit device or closer may be repairable. In other situations, worn, damaged or obsolete hardware makes replacement the better long-term choice.
The important part is diagnosing the complete door opening before throwing parts at the problem.
A commercial door that won't latch could have a defective lock. It could also have worn hinges, a misaligned strike, a sagging door, frame problems or an improperly adjusted closer.
Good commercial door work starts with determining why the opening isn't working.
Commercial Door Hardware Service in Downtown Minneapolis & the Twin Cities
B-SAFE Lock & Key provides commercial locksmith and commercial door-hardware service for businesses, property managers, apartment buildings, retail locations, restaurants, offices and other commercial properties throughout Downtown Minneapolis, Uptown Minneapolis and the surrounding Twin Cities.
We service and install commercial locks, mortise locks, master key systems, restricted key systems, panic bars and exit devices, commercial door closers, electric strikes, electronic keypad locks and access-control hardware.
Whether you're dealing with an older commercial opening, a damaged panic bar, a leaking door closer, a malfunctioning commercial lock or you're upgrading a building to electronic access control, B-SAFE Lock & Key can evaluate the existing hardware and determine the appropriate repair or replacement.
B-SAFE Lock & Key
Serving the Twin Cities since 1972
4757 Lyndale Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55430
763-900-8119
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