Commercial · Mississauga
Panic & Exit Hardware
The new access-control reader at the staff entrance works fine going in, but nobody has sorted out the door's exit side, and right now a card reader and a pushbar exist as two separate ideas.
In plain words
Which device goes on a door depends on what the door already is. A single interior door usually takes a rim exit device and a simple pull or lever outside. Listed fire-exit hardware covers many tall, narrow-stile and fire-rated openings too, so a mortise or vertical-rod device is chosen for its latching arrangement or the door's own preparation, not from height or fire rating alone, and a fire-rated opening can never be held open by a mechanical dogging function. Reading the door correctly before ordering hardware is most of the job; fitting it well is the rest.
How the visit goesThe fire inspector's note is blunt: the banquet hall's second exit still turns on a deadbolt, and the crowd it is rated to hold needs a door that opens under one motion, no key involved.
Panic & Exit Hardware
How the visit goes
Is this door part of a pair?
Single doors and pairs get assessed differently from the first look. On a pair, the locksmith checks whether a mullion currently splits the opening, whether a coordinator is already fitted, and whether the leaves close independently or in a set order. This decides whether the project is a straightforward device swap on each leaf or something larger, such as removing a mullion and fitting a compatible replacement latching arrangement to turn two narrow doors into one wide exit. Getting this right at the assessment stage avoids ordering hardware for a single door when the opening is really two leaves working together.
Fitting outside trim that still controls entry
The inside of the door stays simple: push to leave, every time. The outside gets whatever lets the right people in, a plain pull for a door nobody needs to unlock from outside, a lever with a key cylinder for staff entry, or a keyed cylinder alone where entry is occasional. Whichever trim is chosen, it operates entirely independently of the inside crossbar, so locking the outside never has any effect on a person's ability to leave from within.
A door that opens under one motion, every time
What the space has afterward is straightforward: anyone inside can leave through that door with a single push on the crossbar or touchpad, no key, no second step, no need to remember which way a lock turns. Staff can be shown the motion once and it stays intuitive, because that is exactly what the hardware is built to do. Outside, entry still works the way it was set up to, through the trim chosen for that door, entirely separate from the exit function inside.
Panic & Exit Hardware
In the van
Installation template and jig
Door closer
Dogging key or keyed cylinder
Through-fixings and mounting hardware
Rated exit device
Panic & Exit Hardware
What affects the quote
New preparation or existing cut-outs
A door with no prior hardware needs new holes cut and reinforced to the device's template. A door already prepared for a similar device, even an old one, is often a simpler fit with less new drilling.
Condition of the existing hardware
A device that only needs adjustment, cleaning and new fasteners costs less in labour than removing a seized or badly worn device and fitting a replacement in its place.
Device family required
A rim device suits many single doors with modest work. A mortise or vertical-rod device, or hardware built to a fire-exit listing, takes more preparation and generally more hardware, which the quote reflects.
What to have ready
- Do you want outside entry by pull, lever or keyed cylinder?
- Are any doors currently propped open during business hours?
- Is the existing hardware still working, or does it need replacing outright?
Panic & Exit Hardware: questions
QuestionsWhat should I have ready before the visit?
Knowing the intended use of the room, roughly how many people it holds, whether any doors are already fire-rated, and whether any of them are part of a pair helps the locksmith bring the right devices. If a fire inspector or building official has already given a note about the opening, having that note or its reference number on hand keeps the visit focused on what was actually flagged.
What is dogging, and can every door have it?
Dogging holds the device's latch retracted so the door works as a simple push-pull for a period, useful during business hours on a busy entrance. It is not available on fire-rated openings, because a fire door must keep an active latch at all times; on those doors, electric latch retraction achieves a similar push-pull convenience without ever leaving the latch mechanically held back.
What does the finished installation actually prove to an inspector?
It proves that a specific device, rated for the opening it sits on, releases under an appropriate force, latches fully, and has been tested and recorded on a given date. The record travels with the building, so a fire inspector reviewing the space later is looking at a documented history of that exit rather than testing hardware with no known installation date or specification.
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