David Bolton Grade 2 vs Grade 1 Passage Latchsets on Fire-Rated Openings: Where the Spec Gets Quietly Wrong The Problem Nobody Catches Until the Inspector Does A Grade 2 cylindrical passage latchset shows up on a hardware schedule. It carries a UL 10C positive-pressure fire rating label. The hardware suppli... BHMA grades NFPA 80 compliance cylindrical locks fire-rated hardware passage latchsets Jul 31, 2026
David Bolton Electric Latch Retraction on Exit Devices: How Access Control Unlocks the Door Without Touching the Bar What This Article Covers and Who It Helps If you are specifying or installing an access-controlled opening that also requires panic hardware, electric latch retraction (ELR) is the mechanism that ties... access control electric latch retraction electrified hardware exit devices fire-rated hardware Jul 28, 2026
David Bolton UL 10C Positive Pressure Fire Testing: What the Label on Your Door Actually Certifies What This Article Covers and Who It Helps If you specify, install, inspect, or maintain fire-rated door assemblies, you have almost certainly seen the UL 10C designation on a door label or a hardware ... NFPA 80 UL 10C fire door compliance fire-rated hardware positive pressure testing Jul 25, 2026
David Bolton Fire-Rated Brush Sweeps on a Door Schedule: What the UL Listing Actually Limits by Door Type Why the Brush Sweep Line Item on Your Hardware Schedule Is Not a Universal Pick This article is for project managers, commercial door installers, and specifiers who have a fire-rated opening on their ... NFPA 80 UL listings brush gasketing door sweeps fire-rated hardware Jul 21, 2026
David Bolton The Floor Strike Mount Decision on a Vertical Rod Exit Device: Saddle vs. Flush Before the Concrete Is Poured Why the Floor Strike Mount Decision Has to Happen Before the Slab Is Done This article is for contractors, facility managers, and specifying architects who are coordinating vertical rod exit device ha... NFPA 80 exit devices fire-rated hardware floor strike vertical rod Jun 28, 2026
David Bolton Why the Monitoring Option on a Fire-Rated Electric Strike Gets Dropped From the Spec Before the Access Control Contractor Ever Sees the Schedule Why Monitoring Gets Written Out Before the Right People Read In This article is for commercial electrical contractors, access control integrators, and facility managers who oversee fire-rated door ope... access control electric strikes fire-rated hardware latchbolt monitoring life safety compliance Jun 23, 2026
David Bolton Mixed Corner Preps on Spring Hinge Replacements: Why the Square-by-Radius Profile Gets Ordered Wrong Before the Door Is Ever Measured What This Article Covers and Who It Helps When a spring hinge fails on a self-closing door and a replacement is needed, most contractors focus on size and finish. The detail that actually causes rewor... fire-rated hardware hinge corner profile replacement hinges self-closing doors spring hinges Jun 17, 2026
David Bolton Latchbolt Monitoring on Fire-Rated Electric Strikes: Why the Auxiliary Switch Gets Ignored Until the Access Control Report Flags an Unlatched Door What This Article Covers and Who It Helps This guide explains the monitoring outputs built into fire-rated electric strikes—specifically the latchbolt monitor and locking cam monitor found on heavy-du... access control door monitoring electric strikes fire-rated hardware life safety Jun 14, 2026
David Bolton Nylon Brush Astragals on Door Pairs: Why the Gap Closes Wrong When the Insert Material Gets Chosen Last The Seal Material Decision That Gets Pushed to the End of the Job This article is for commercial contractors, facility managers, and specifiers who are sourcing astragals for door pairs . It covers wh... astragals commercial door seals door pairs fire-rated hardware meeting stile Jun 10, 2026
David Bolton Fire-Rated Electric Strikes: Why the Monitoring Outputs Get Wired After the Fail-Secure Decision Is Already Made What This Article Covers and Who It Helps Fire-rated electric strikes with dual monitoring outputs -- latchbolt status and locking cam position -- are common on access-controlled openings in schools, ... access control door monitoring electric strikes fire-rated hardware life safety Jun 8, 2026
David Bolton Grade 2 Storeroom Locks: When the Function Code Gets Changed in the Field and the Fire Rating Gets Lost What This Article Covers and Who It Helps A storeroom lock function is one of the most commonly misunderstood ANSI function codes on a commercial door schedule. Contractors, maintenance technicians, a... ANSI lock functions NFPA 80 compliance commercial locksets fire-rated hardware storeroom lock Jun 2, 2026
David Bolton Latchbolt and Cam Monitoring on Fire-Rated Electric Strikes: When Two Separate Signals Are Spec'd and Only One Gets Wired The Monitoring Gap Nobody Catches Until the Access Control Contractor Is Gone This article is for commercial electrical contractors, access control integrators, and facility managers responsible for e... access control electric strikes fail-secure fire-rated hardware latchbolt monitoring Jun 1, 2026
