By Stephen St Amour, AHC, QDOC, QFDI
Commercial door openings are often taken for granted until something goes wrong. A door that won’t latch, drags on the floor, or fails a fire door inspection is rarely the result of a single harmful component. More often, it’s because the door opening assembly wasn’t treated as a complete system.
At DOIT, we encourage professionals to evaluate every commercial door opening through four essential functions: hang, lock, control, and protect. This approach supports proper documentation, code-compliant installation, and long-term performance across a wide range of building types.
The Door Opening Is a System
A door opening is more than a door and a lock. It’s an integrated assembly that includes the door, frame, hardware, anchorage, and often electrification. Each component affects how the opening performs in daily use, during emergencies, and over the life of the building.
Small coordination issues such as the wrong hinge type, improper frame anchorage, or an incompatible strike can lead to operational failures, accessibility concerns, or failed inspections. Organizing the opening into four functional categories helps design teams, installers, inspectors, and facility managers communicate clearly and make better decisions from documentation through installation.
Hang: Supporting the Door and Maintaining Alignment
The purpose of hanging hardware is straightforward: support the door’s weight, allow smooth operation, and maintain proper clearances over time.
This begins with the door frame and how it is anchored to the surrounding construction. Wall conditions matter. Frames installed in flexible or under-supported walls can shift, even when they are initially plumb and level.
Hinge and pivot selection should be based on door size, weight, usage, and fire-rating requirements. While standard butt hinges are common, heavier or high-traffic doors often require heavyweight or continuous hinges to reduce wear and prevent sag. Proper shimming, particularly at hinge locations, is critical, and steel shims are required at fire-rated openings.
When doors begin to drag or bind months after installation, the root cause is often related to hanging hardware or wall movement, not the door itself.
Lock: Securing the Opening and Ensuring Reliable Latching
Locking hardware plays a critical role in both security and life safety. The goal is not simply controlling access, but ensuring consistent latching and compatibility with the rest of the door opening assembly.
Lock type and function should align with how the space is used. Strike selection must match the door and frame preparation, and keying decisions should be established early. When electrified door hardware is involved, coordination becomes even more critical. Power transfer, request-to-exit devices, and access control timing all influence how reliably the opening functions.
For fire-rated door assemblies, listed and labeled components must be used together, and the opening must remain self-closing and self-latching. Missing fasteners, field modifications, or mismatched products are common issues identified during fire door inspections.
Control: Managing Door Movement and Operation
Controlling hardware determines how a door moves—how fast it opens, how it closes, and how it interacts with users and the building environment.
Door closers must be appropriately selected and adjusted to balance accessibility, durability, and reliable latching. Sweep speed, latch speed, and backcheck all help protect the door, frame, and hardware. Stops prevent damage, coordinators manage the closing sequence for paired doors, and hold-open devices must align with life-safety and fire-alarm requirements.
In buildings with access control systems or fire alarm integration, door control requires close coordination between mechanical and electrical components. Improper timing or adjustment often results in slamming doors, latch failures, or premature hardware wear.
Protect: Preserving Performance and Safety
Protection focuses on sealing, durability, and long-term performance of the opening. Gasketing, sweeps, and thresholds help manage air infiltration, sound transmission, smoke movement, and light. Armor plates, kick plates, and edge guards protect openings in high-traffic or high-abuse environments.
Sealing must be balanced. Over-sealing can create excessive resistance, interfering with accessibility and latching, while under-sealing compromises performance. On fire- and smoke-rated door assemblies, protective components must preserve the integrity of the opening and meet listing and code requirements.
Thoughtfully selected protective hardware helps extend the life of the opening and supports consistent operation over time.
Why This Approach Matters
When hang, lock, control, and protect are considered together, door openings function as intended. Documentation is more precise, installation issues are reduced, and ongoing maintenance becomes more manageable.
Many common door problems—doors that won’t latch, fail inspection, or wear prematurely can be traced back to a lack of coordination. Viewing the opening as a system, rather than a collection of parts, helps prevent those issues before they start.
This framework provides a practical foundation for designing, installing, inspecting, and maintaining commercial door openings that are safe, code-compliant, and built to last.
Summary: Key Takeaways You Can Apply Today
- Design every opening as a system. Confirm that the hanging, locking, controlling, and protecting functions are compatible, coordinated, and documented as a complete door opening assembly.
- Match hardware to real-world conditions. Door weight, traffic level, wall substrate, and fire-rating requirements should drive hinge selection, lock function, and closer type.
- Prioritize reliable latching. Proper strike selection and closer adjustment resolve the majority of “door won’t latch” issues encountered in the field.
- Respect code and listing requirements. Use the listed components for fire-rated openings, maintain self-closing and self-latching functionality, and ensure the operation remains accessible and user-friendly.
- Plan electrification early. Coordinate power transfer, request-to-exit devices, and access control timing with mechanical hardware to prevent binding, bounce, and the need for exposed conduit.
