David Bolton Kick Plate Height Standards: What the Spec Needs to Say Before the Hardware Ships What This Article Covers Kick plates seem straightforward until the spec is wrong and the wrong plate shows up on a fire-rated door or a wood door with a closer. This guide covers standard height rang... NFPA 80 commercial doors door protection hardware hardware specification kick plates Sep 1, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Astragal Selection for Fire-Rated Door Pairs: What the Opening Schedule Has to Get Right Why the Astragal Decision on a Fire-Rated Pair Is Not an Afterthought This article is for commercial contractors, facility managers, and specifiers who are working with labeled pairs of fire-rated doo... NFPA 80 astragals door pairs fire-rated doors meeting stile hardware Aug 30, 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 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 Heavy Weight vs. Standard Weight Hinges on Fire-Rated Doors: Why the Wrong Choice Fails the Annual Inspection What This Article Covers and Who It Helps This guide is for commercial contractors, facility managers, and architects who specify or maintain hinges on fire-rated door assemblies. It focuses on a spec... NFPA 80 commercial hardware fire-rated doors hinges inspection compliance Aug 13, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Grade 2 Passage Latchsets on Fire-Rated Openings: Where the Spec Gets Quietly Wrong When a Passage Latchset Ends Up on a Fire Door A passage latchset looks simple: no key, no thumbturn, just a lever that retracts a latch. But once that latchset goes on a fire-rated opening, the conve... NFPA 80 UL 10C compliance door schedule specification fire-rated door hardware passage latchsets Aug 8, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Fire-Rated Cylindrical Locksets: What the UL Listing Actually Requires at the Opening Level Why the Lock Label Alone Does Not Make the Opening Fire-Rated This article is for facility managers, commercial contractors, and architects who specify or maintain doors with cylindrical locksets on f... Grade 1 hardware NFPA 80 UL fire rating cylindrical locksets fire door compliance Jul 31, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Why a Passage Latchset Fails the Fire Door Inspection: The Four Gaps Most Facilities Miss What This Article Covers and Who It Helps A Grade 1 passage latchset looks identical on both sides of a corridor door whether it carries a UL fire label or not. That visual similarity is exactly why p... NFPA 80 cylindrical locks fire door compliance life safety hardware passage latchsets Jul 30, 2026 Our Blog
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 Our Blog
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 Our Blog
David Bolton Spring Hinge Combination Tables: Why the Count You Picked on Paper Fails When the Door Hits the Frame The Problem Nobody Catches Until the Inspector Does A door swings open and stays there. Or it slams before the latch can catch. Or the inspector notes that the fire-rated assembly is not self-closing ... NFPA 80 commercial hinges fire door compliance self-closing hardware spring hinges Jul 16, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Spring Hinge Count on Fire-Rated Commercial Doors: How the Combination Table Gets Ignored Until the Inspector Arrives Why Spring Hinge Quantity on a Fire-Rated Door Is Not a Guess This article is for commercial contractors, facility managers, and project architects who specify or install self-closing hardware on fire... NFPA 80 fire-rated door hardware hinge combination table self-closing hinges spring hinges Jul 4, 2026 Our Blog
