This month let us review various hardware grades to obtain a better understanding of the door and lock hardware world you must enter when providing new or replacement hardware for your home or business. In addition to grades of hardware, there are also several lock functions to be aware of and other door hardware such a door closers, hinges, thresholds and headers (to name a few).
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non- profit organization that administers and coordinates voluntary standardization to develop and maintain performance standards for builder's hardware. The purpose of product grades is to help identify the quality and durability of locksets through a series of operational and security tests.
- Grade 1 certification - Highest Grade Security. Grade 1 is the strongest grade ANSI/BHMA (Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association) will supply for any Residential or Commercial product.
- Grade 2 certification - Higher Residential Security. Grade 2 is designed and built to offer excellent security and durability for residential applications and some light commercial applications.
- Grade 3 certification - Basic residential security. Grade 3 is the lowest grade provided by ANSI, the minimal acceptable quality for residential door locks
Common Locking Hardware Functions
Passage Latch - Both sides of lock always unlocked.
Privacy Lock - Push-button locking. Can be unlocked from outside with a small screwdriver. Turning inside knob or closing door releases button.
Entrance Lock - Turn/push-button locking; pushing and turning button locks outside knob, requiring use of key until button is manually unlocked. Push-button is manually unlocked. Push-button locking; pushing button locks outside knob until unlocked by key or by turning inside knob.
Storeroom Lock - Outside knob fixed. Entrance by key only. Inside knob always unlocked.
Classroom Lock - Outside knob locked and unlocked by key. Inside knob always unlocked.
Communicating Lock - Turning-button in outer knob locks and unlocks knob and inside thumbturn.
Hotel/Motel Lock - Outside knob fixed. Entrance by key only. Push-button in inside knob activates visual occupancy indicator, allowing only emergency master key to operate. Turning inside knob or closing door releases visual occupancy indicator. Rotation of inside spanner-button provides lock-out feature by keeping indicator activated.
Patio Lock - Push-button locking. Turning inside knob or closing door releases button, preventing lock-out.
Door Closers
The job of the door closer is to ensure that the door closes and the lock latches once someone has exited through the door. Door closers are an important part of keeping a building or area in a building secure and is the most overlooked component of a security plan. People can and will leave doors open to areas of a building that must be secure. A door closer, if the door is not propped opened, will close the door once someone has exited.
There are three types of door closers; surface mounted, In-the-header and in-the-floor. Door closers are rated from light to heavy duty. Selecting a door closer will depend on the size and weight of the door, door design, and the door's usage.
In-the-header or in-the-floor door closers are primarily for commercial use and are typically found on the main entrance of businesses. These door closers are heavy duty and are concealed from view. Replacing this type of closer will require removing the door from the opening, and depending on the type of door may involve specialized equipment to get the door removed safely.
These types of door closers can feature a hold open function if ordered that way. Your choices would be 90 degree hold open or a 105 degree hold open. If not specified you would receive a non-hold open closer.
Surface mounted door closers are typically used on interior doors and non-entrance exterior doors of commercial buildings. These doors closers do not have an option for a hold open feature, but if required a door kick down, or door stop may be installed to keep the door open. A surface mounted door closer will stay open at 180 degrees if the door is capable of opening that far.
Panic/Exit Devices
This area of door hardware is extensive but they all produce the same result; open a door in one quick motion. Most panic/exit devices are surface mounted. Some newer style doors have the device built into the door giving the door a sleeker, cleaner look. These devices can offer one, two and three points of locking. The push bar must be at least 2/3 the length of the door width. Depending on the application fire rated panic/exit devices may be required on a particular door. This will add to the cost by 3 or 4 times as much as the non-fire rated hardware. Longevity of this type of device will depend on daily usage and the grade of the hardware. On a high usage door you would want to use a heavy duty grade 1 hardware and on a door with minimal usage a grade 2 product may suffice. Some panic/exit hardware comes with a dog down feature that allows you to hold back the latch to keep the door from latching allowing it to be opened for both sides. Most panic/exit device manufacturers offer an option to be able to enter a locked door from the outside using a key and a door pull.
One thing to keep in mind is that panic/exit hardware will get beat to death because people are hard on panic hardware; they slam into it with carts, kick it with their foot, push on it with unnecessary force, etc. It's important to keep this hardware in good repair and operating properly in order to be able to rely on it in an emergency situation. A poorly maintained panic/exit device may not be capable of opening a door when needed. Its a good practice to have the hardware checked, lubed, tighten and adjusted annually by a professional and maybe more if the hardware gets heavy usage to ensure its proper operation.
Latch Guards
Latch guards are an effective and inexpensive way to protect a door from having the latch pried or cut off allowing an intruder to gain access into your building. The small gap between a door and the door jam on an out swinging door is just large enough to allow a pry tool or thin grinding wheel into the space to cut the latch off. A latch guard will cover that gapped area protecting the latch from being cut. Some latch guards also protect the door from being pried open. Consider using a latch guard on doors that are somewhat concealed from the public view. Doors that are hidden from public view are the doors that an intruder will choose to open because it gives them a longer time to work on a door without being discovered.
Cylinder Guard
This is another very inexpensive way to protect a door from having the lock cylinder twisted out of the lock using a pipe wrench. On door locks that require the use of a mortise cylinder, once installed into the lock, will protrude out of the lock about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch. This is just enough for a pipe wrench to gain hold of the cylinder and twist the lock out of its mount. The mortise cylinder is held in place by a single set screw. The cheaper the cylinder the easier it is to twist out of the lock. Once the cylinder is remove the door can be opened with a screwdriver. Mortise cylinders are typically found on aluminum framed glass store front doors and in commercial buildings using mortise locking hardware.
A cylinder guard will prevent an intruder from using a pipe wrench on the cylinder by not allowing the pipe wrench to get the grip it needs on the lock to twist it out. Consider using cylinder guards on exterior doors that use a mortise cylinder. They take a few minutes to install and can easily be added to the cylinder when you're having your locks rekeyed.