David Bolton Anti-Passback Rules: What Access Control Specifiers and Facility Teams Get Wrong at the Door What This Article Covers -- and Who It Helps Anti-passback is one of the most misunderstood rules in access control system design. Facility managers, security integrators, and commercial contractors o... access control door position switches electric strikes electrified hardware security hardware Aug 16, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton When the Hinge Pin Is the Security Risk: Plain Bearing Hinges on Outswing Doors and the NRP Decision The Problem Nobody Notices Until After the Break-In On most commercial doors, the hinge is an afterthought. You specify the lock, the closer, the exit device, and the hinge just fills the remaining li... NRP commercial door hardware hinge specification hinges outswing door security Aug 16, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Fire-Rated Privacy Locksets: What the Spec Gets Wrong When Life Safety Meets Occupied Rooms Why Privacy and Fire Rating on the Same Lockset Create More Problems Than They Solve This article is for facility managers, commercial hardware specifiers, and general contractors who encounter doors ... NFPA 80 cylindrical locksets fire-rated hardware life safety privacy function Aug 16, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton 5 lbs vs. 8.5 lbs: How ADA Opening Force Limits Actually Work on Interior vs. Exterior Doors What This Article Covers and Who It Helps If you are specifying closers for a school corridor, a healthcare entry, or a retail storefront, the ADA opening force requirement is one of the first complia... ADA Compliance Accessible Hardware Code and Compliance Door Closers Opening Force Aug 15, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Cylindrical or Mortise Lockset: The Decision Criteria That Actually Drive the Right Choice Why This Choice Matters Before the Door Gets Prepped Specifiers, commercial contractors, and facility managers face this question on nearly every project: cylindrical lockset or mortise? The answer is... access control commercial door hardware cylindrical locks locksets mortise locks Aug 15, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Aluminum Storefront Door Hardware: What Actually Goes on That Opening and Why Each Piece Matters What This Guide Covers and Who It Is For Aluminum storefront doors are the most common commercial entrance type in retail, office, and mixed-use buildings -- and they account for a significant share o... aluminum door hardware commercial entrance electric strikes exit devices storefront hardware Aug 15, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Anti-Ligature Hardware for Behavioral Health Units: What the Opening Schedule Has to Get Right What This Article Covers and Who It Helps Behavioral health construction presents a category of door hardware problems that standard commercial catalogs were never designed to solve. If you are a heal... I-2 occupancy anti-ligature behavioral health hardware healthcare door hardware psychiatric unit door hardware Aug 15, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Hold-Back Function on a Mortise Lock: What Actually Happens at the Door When You Activate It What Is the Hold-Back Function on a Mortise Lock? A mortise lock with a hold-back function does one specific thing: it lets the occupant retract the latch bolt and keep it retracted without holding th... Grade 1 hardware commercial locksets fire door compliance hold-back function mortise locks Aug 15, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Occupied or Vacant? How Privacy Function Indicators Work (And Where ADA Complicates the Spec) What This Article Covers and Who It Helps This guide explains how privacy function indicators -- sometimes called occupancy indicators or status indicators -- work on commercial locksets, which applic... ADA compliance door hardware spec mortise locks occupancy indicators privacy function Aug 14, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Astragal Selection for Non-Rated Door Pairs: Getting the Meeting Edge Right Without Fire-Door Rules in the Way What This Article Covers and Who It Helps Non-rated door pairs -- double doors without a center mullion -- share a common problem: the gap at the meeting edge lets in light, air, sound, and foot traff... astragal commercial door hardware door pairs meeting edge seal weatherstripping Aug 14, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Why a Friction Hold-Open Arm Has No Place on a Fire Corridor Door (And What to Use Instead) The Problem Shows Up at Inspection, Not at Installation This article is for facility managers, commercial hardware contractors, and project architects managing corridor door openings in schools, healt... NFPA 80 automatic-closing devices corridor hardware door closers fire door compliance Aug 14, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton What CSI MasterFormat Section 087100 Actually Controls (And Where Hardware Specs Break Down) What This Article Covers and Who It Helps If you are writing, reviewing, or bidding a project with a door hardware specification, the section number on the cover sheet is almost certainly 087100 — Doo... 087100 CSI MasterFormat commercial construction door hardware specification writing Aug 14, 2026 Our Blog
