Commercial Door Hardware Checklist for Business Owners

Walk every door your customers and staff use, open it and close it several times, and look for five things: a latch that does not catch, a closer that slams or drifts, a loose or worn hinge, an exit bar that sticks, and a key that turns roughly. Each one is easier and cheaper to fix early than after the door fails on a busy day.

This checklist is for spotting hardware problems, not for judging code. Fire door and egress compliance belongs to your fire marshal, building inspector and qualified inspectors. Use the list below to find problems and take notes, then use the last section to decide whether to call us, your landlord or a fire protection contractor.

Before you start

Bring your phone and a notepad, or a printed list of doors. Number every door in the building, front to back, and use the same numbers in your notes and photos. Stand on both sides of each door as you go, because some problems only show from one side.

For each door, open it fully, let it close on its own, and watch what it does. Then try the lock, the lever and the key.

Doors that latch

A door that does not latch is not secure, and on an exit it may be a safety problem. Check these on every door.

• Does the latch catch every time? Let the door close from a wide open position without pushing it. It should click shut. If it only closes when you push, note the door.
• Does the latch line up with the strike? Look at the plate in the frame. A shiny wear mark that sits above or below the opening, or paint scraped off one edge, shows the door has shifted.
• Does the door rub? Check the top corner on the latch side and the bottom corner for scrape marks. A rubbing door is usually sagging, and sag points to the hinges.
• Does the lever spring back? A lever that droops, wobbles or does not return fully is worn and will eventually fail.

Door closers

A closer pulls the door shut and controls the speed. When it is right, the door swings closed at a steady pace and the latch clicks at the end.

• Slamming. The final few inches are too fast. The adjustment is small, but the right setting depends on the door, so we suggest having someone who knows closers make it.
• Drifting or not latching. The door stops short of the frame. Wind, a warped door or a worn closer can cause it.
• Oil. Dark oil on the closer body, the arm or the floor means a seal has failed. The closer needs replacing, not topping up.
• Arm and bracket. Look for loose screws, a rattling arm, or a bent arm.

The ADA standards set a minimum time for a door to swing closed, at least 5 seconds from 90 degrees open to about 12 degrees from latching, and a limit on the force needed to open interior doors. Fire doors have their own rules for closing force, so do not weaken a closer on a fire door yourself. See our door closers page.

Hinges

• Look at each hinge for loose screws, worn pins, and hinge leaves that have started to bend.
• Lift the door slightly by the handle edge. Any play or clunk means the hinges or their screws are worn.
• Replace worn hinges before anyone moves the strike. Moving the strike to follow a sagging door only hides the real problem.

Exit devices and panic bars

An exit device has one job: let people out quickly, with one push and no key. Test every one, from the inside, with the door closed.

• Push the bar. It should move smoothly, release the latch, and return fully on its own.
• Let the door close. The latch must re-engage the strike. If the bar stays down and the door will not latch, the device may be dogged (held in), or a spring or rod guide may be failing.
• Look at the end caps and screws. Loose mounting screws and cracked end caps get worse with every push.
• Check the outside. The trim, whether a lever, a pull or a key cylinder, should be tight. The key should turn the cylinder without wobble.
• Nothing across the door. Chains, padlocks, added bolts and furniture should not block an exit. If you see one, remove it and ask your fire marshal what is acceptable.

Whether a door may be dogged during business hours, and whether a particular door needs panic hardware or fire exit hardware, is a code question for the authority having jurisdiction. Read more on panic bars and exit devices.

Strikes and electric strikes

• Look at each strike for burrs, bent lips, loose screws, and tape or a wedge that someone has put in to stop the door latching.
• On a door with an electric strike, test it with the credential or keypad and listen for the click. Whether it unlocks or stays locked when power is lost is chosen when the system is installed. See electric strikes and electrified locks.

Thresholds and weatherstripping

• Look at the threshold for loose screws, raised edges and cracks. A raised edge is a trip hazard.
• Close the door and look along the bottom and the sides for daylight. Light showing around the edge means a gap, and a gap lets in air, dust and insects.
• Check the door sweep and the seals on the jambs for cracking, flattening or missing sections.

Cylinders and keys

• Key action. The key should enter easily, turn smoothly and come out without effort. A sticky key may be worn, bent or a copy of a copy.
• Loose cylinders. If the cylinder moves or spins in the door when you turn the key, it needs tightening.
• Lubricant. Heavy oil in a cylinder collects dust. If a lock needs lubricating, use a product made for locks.

Key control

Most key problems are record problems. Write down the answers to these questions and keep them somewhere safe:

• How many keys exist for each door, and who holds each one?
• Is there a master key, and who has it?
• If you have interchangeable cores, where is the control key? See IC core locks.
• Has anyone left since the doors were last rekeyed? A key that was never returned is still a key.
• Do your key tags show the door name or address? A lost key with a label on it tells a stranger what it opens. A code number does not.

When a key goes missing or someone leaves on bad terms, a commercial rekey makes the old key useless. A master key system can reduce how many keys each person has to carry.

Glass and storefront doors

• Frameless glass. Look at the fittings at the top and bottom corners. They should be tight, with no movement in the glass. Hairline cracks near a fitting or a lock are a job for a glass company.
• Narrow-stile aluminum doors. Turn the key and watch the bolt. On many storefront deadlocks the key can only be taken out when the bolt is fully out or fully back. A key that will not come out means the bolt is not traveling the whole way, so stop forcing it and call.

More on glass door locks and storefront door locks.

Restroom doors

• Lock the door from the inside and check that it can be unlocked with one hand, without a key and without tight gripping or twisting.
• If it has a vacant and occupied indicator, make sure the window matches the lock. If the window says occupied while the room is empty, the linkage or the bolt travel needs attention.
• Check that the emergency release on the outside works, and that staff know where the key or tool is kept.

See restroom indicator locks.

Gates

• Test every pushbutton lock or keypad on pedestrian gates. Buttons should press cleanly and the code should work on the first try.
• Check that the gate closes and latches by itself and that the latch lands in its keeper.

Our Simplex pushbutton lock repair page covers the common 5-button models.

Signs

Any sign on a door should be there, readable and accurate, and the door should behave as the sign says. That includes exit signs and notes such as a door that must stay unlocked during business hours. Which signs are required comes from the authority having jurisdiction, not from a locksmith.

What to photograph and record

A short written record turns “the door has been acting up” into something a technician can work from, and shows a landlord or contractor what changed and when.

Keep the photos and notes in one folder. Update them after any repair.

How often to check

These intervals are our suggestion, not a code requirement.

• Busy doors, monthly. A quick look at the front entry, restrooms and rear exits takes little time and catches most early problems.
• Every door, twice a year. Do the full walk-through in spring, before the heat, and again in the fall.
• After an event. Check the doors after a break-in attempt, a vehicle strike, a storm, a remodel, or any change in who holds keys.

Fire door assemblies generally have their own inspection requirement, carried out by qualified people. That is separate from this walk-through, and your fire protection contractor or inspector can tell you what applies to your building.

Phoenix heat notes

These are general effects of heat, not a study and not Phoenix measurements. They are reasons to look a little harder in summer.

• Closers change with temperature. The fluid inside a closer thins in heat and thickens in cold, so a door that closed well in winter can close faster in the afternoon sun. Doors that were adjusted in one season may need another look in the next.
• Metal doors and frames expand. A door that latches in the morning and rubs by afternoon may be moving with the heat. Hot, sun-facing steel and aluminum can move, and a door that is already a little out of line shows it first.
• Seals and plastics age fast. Weatherstripping, door sweeps, plastic thumbturns and indicator windows can dry out, fade and crack in strong sun.
• Dust and grit. Dust from dry seasons and monsoon storms can collect in cylinders, latches and closer arms, and stiff keys sometimes start there.

When to call a locksmith, your landlord or a fire protection contractor

Who to call depends on what the problem is and who owns that part of the building. If you are not sure, call us and we will tell you which category it falls in. If it is not ours to fix, we will say so.

Some problems belong to other trades. Cracked glass or a loose patch fitting goes to a glass company, and a door that sags because the frame has moved goes to a door and frame contractor. Hard-wired power and controller wiring for access control usually belong with a qualified electrician or low-voltage contractor. Call us and describe the project, and we will tell you plainly which parts are door hardware and which need another trade.

For fire doors and exit doors in particular, the fire marshal has the final word. Take the findings from your walk-through to the right person and let them decide what the door must do.

Next steps

If your walk-through turned up problems, send us the door numbers and photos through our commercial quote page. Simple jobs are priced on the phone, and for bigger ones we look at the doors and agree on the price before work starts. You can also call (602) 301-5243 Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm.

If you manage a school, see our school door security checklist. The door hardware glossary explains any term on this page, and commercial locksmith services lists what we do for businesses.

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