A panic bar that will not latch leaves the opening unsecured, and on a fire-rated door it is a life safety problem. Priority Lock and Security repairs, adjusts and replaces exit devices on storefronts and fire exits across Tampa: rim devices, mortise devices and vertical rod devices, with the closer, strike and door alignment checked in the same visit.
A panic bar that will not latch is almost always a door alignment problem, a strike problem, or a bar that has been left dogged. If the door has sagged, the latch hits the strike instead of landing behind it. If the strike on the frame is loose or has shifted, the latch has nothing solid to catch. If the bar has been dogged, held in the pushed position with a hex key or a cylinder, the latch stays pulled back on purpose and the door swings free. On doors with vertical rods, a rod out of adjustment keeps the top or bottom latch from catching. A weak or slow door closer can also leave the door resting against the latch without ever seating it. We check all of these in order, because more than one is often involved, and we fix the door before we blame the device.
Exit devices take a lot of abuse: carts, shoulders, kicks and years of daily traffic. Springs break, internal linkages wear, end caps get knocked loose, and mounting screws back out so the whole device shifts on the door. On vertical rod devices, bent or misadjusted rods drag and bind. Sometimes the device is fine and the door is warped or out of alignment, which puts pressure on the latch so the bar has to be hit hard to release it. An exit device is life safety hardware. It has to open with one push every time, so a sticking bar gets repaired or replaced, not lived with.
Dogging holds the panic bar in and the latch pulled back, so the door works as a push and pull door during business hours. On most devices you push the bar in and turn a hex key, or a regular key on cylinder dogging models, to hold it, then undo it at closing time. If a door keeps turning up unlocked in the morning, check whether somebody left it dogged. One exception: exit devices on fire-rated doors do not have mechanical dogging, because a fire door has to latch every time it closes. If you need that door unlocked during the day, the outside trim is what gets unlocked and the latch still catches. We can tell you which type you have from a photo.
We repair and replace the closers, exit devices, latches and locks on fire exit doors so the door closes on its own, latches every time, and opens freely from the inside. Those are the things that fail: a closer that no longer shuts the door, a latch that does not catch, a bar that sticks, a door somebody has propped or wedged open. Replacement hardware on a fire-rated door has to be rated for that use, and we select it accordingly. To be clear about what we do not do: we do not inspect or certify fire door assemblies, and we do not replace doors or frames. We fix the hardware so it functions the way it was meant to.
We install rim exit devices and mortise exit devices on storefronts, back doors and stairwell doors, with outside trim where the door needs to be opened from outside with a key, and we set the closer so the door latches on its own. Aluminum storefront doors take specific devices and mounting, which is covered on the storefront door hardware page. Where an opening has to be secured tonight and the permanent hardware is days away, we can fit temporary lockup hardware and come back for it at the install.
Text a photo of the door and the hardware to 813-421-4787. We will tell you what it is and what it takes to fix it.
Text a photoYes. An exit device that does not latch leaves the opening unsecured, and on a fire-rated door it is a life safety issue, not a convenience issue. Send a photo of the device and the strike and we will tell you what it takes.
A rim device mounts on the surface of the door and latches into a strike on the frame; it is the common choice on single doors and storefronts. A mortise device has a lock body set into the edge of the door, with the bar operating it, and is used on heavier doors and where a mortise pocket already exists. Vertical rod devices latch at the top and bottom of the door instead, which is how pairs of doors without a center post are secured.
Yes. We repair and replace closers, exit devices, latches and locks on fire exit doors so the door closes on its own, latches every time and opens freely from the inside, using hardware rated for a fire door. We do not inspect or certify fire door assemblies, and we do not replace doors or frames.
The bar itself always opens from the inside with one push; that is the point of it. What controls the outside is the trim: a lever or pull with a cylinder that can be locked or left unlocked. We install and rekey exit device trim so the outside behaves the way you need while the inside stays free.
Usually the closer, not the exit device. A closer with its latch speed set too slow or its spring set too light leaves the door resting on the latch, and air pressure from the building's air conditioning can hold an exterior door open. We set or replace the closer and check the hinges, strike and alignment so the door seats and latches on its own.
More answers: the full question and answer page. If your question is not there, text a photo of the door to 813-421-4787.
We will tell you what it is, what it takes, and when we can be there.
