One Opening, One Order: The Hardware Set for a Double Fire Exit Door
A double fire exit door takes six lines of hardware, and every one is sized from the same four facts about the leaves. Here is the set in the order it has to be decided, the places where two correct lines contradict each other, and what we need to quote it as one opening.
Insight
Johnson LiuDigital Communications, Canton HylandMA Digital Media, Johns Hopkins University
Most orders for a double fire exit door arrive as a list: push bars, a trim, two closers, a coordinator. Every line on that list can be right on its own and the door can still fail on the day it is hung, because the lines were chosen one at a time and the door is judged as a whole. The device on the inactive leaf has to agree with the one on the active leaf. The trim has to fit the device and the door. The closers have to agree with the coordinator, and all of them have to agree with the weight of the leaves.
So we treat a double door as one opening and quote it that way. Below is the set in the order it has to be decided, the models we make for each line, and the places where two correct lines most often contradict each other.
Start with the leaves, not the catalog
Four facts about the leaves decide everything that follows: the width and weight of each leaf, the door thickness, and which leaf is active. The active leaf is the one people use every day. The inactive leaf carries the astragal and closes first. Width and weight size the closers and the coordinator. Thickness sizes the trim and the spindle. The active and inactive split decides which device goes where. A quotation built before these four are known is a guess with prices on it.
Lines 1 and 2: a device on each leaf
If both leaves count toward the escape width, both leaves need a device a person can push. An inactive leaf held shut by manual flush bolts cannot be opened by somebody in smoke who does not know the bolts are there, and an inspector will read that leaf as a wall with hinges. On a pair, the usual answer is a device that latches at the head and the threshold on each leaf, so neither leaf depends on the other to stay shut.
Three of our devices are made for that. The 309-D is supplied as a set for both leaves, active and inactive, with a 1110mm (43-11/16") bar, aluminum alloy and iron, powder-coated. The 316-D latches top and bottom, has an aluminum alloy body in a flame-retardant ABS housing, and reverses for left or right hand; its outside lever is optional and priced separately. The 320 is a two-point device engaging head and threshold, non-handed, in red or black, with an 8×8 or 9×9mm spindle. The 306-D is also listed for double doors, but its dimensions are not published yet, so ask before you put it on a schedule.
If only the active leaf is an escape route and the inactive leaf opens only to move furniture through, flush bolts on the inactive leaf can be acceptable. That is a decision for the fire engineer on the project, not for the supplier, and it belongs on the schedule in writing rather than in anybody's assumption.
Line 3: the outside trim, on the active leaf
The push bar opens the door from inside. Anything that has to happen from outside is a separate line: a trim, a lever and plate fitted to the outside face that drives the same latch through a spindle. It goes on the active leaf. The inactive leaf normally has nothing outside, because nobody should be opening it from the corridor.
Two choices decide the trim. The first is function: keyed, like the 023 ET, where a key decides whether the outside lever works, or passage, like the 023 PS, where anybody can walk in. The second is door thickness, because a trim's spindle and fixing screws are made for a range, and the range is printed. The 028 and 037 fit doors of 35–55mm (1-3/8"–2-3/16"), the 039 fits 45–50mm (1-3/4"–1-15/16"), the 015 fits doors up to 80mm (3-1/8") and the X2 up to 90mm (3-9/16"). A 60mm (2-3/8") fire door with a trim made for 55mm is a trim that will not pull up tight to the face.
Lines 4 and 5: a closer on each leaf
Each leaf needs its own closer, chosen for the leaf it hangs on. Our JU range runs from the JU-051 at 15–30kg to the JU-093 at 45–85kg, on leaves up to 1050mm (41-5/16") wide. The two leaves of a pair are often different widths. If they are, the two closers may be different models, and that is correct rather than a mistake.
Line 6: the coordinator
The coordinator makes the inactive leaf close first, so the active leaf lands on the astragal and latches. Our DC02 is rated for leaves of 55–100kg, which pairs it with four of our closers: JU-072, JU-073, JU-088 and JU-093. The DSL02 is a 304 stainless coordinator with an adjustable closing force; its weight range is not published yet, so ask. Our article on door coordinators covers the sizing in detail. The short version is that the leaf weight has to sit inside the closer's band and inside the coordinator's range at the same time, and above 85kg we do not currently make a closer.
What comes from the door maker
The astragal, the intumescent seals and the leaves themselves come from the door maker, and they are part of the tested assembly. So is every device on it. That is the one rule above all six lines: a fire door is tested as an assembly, so the hardware on it has to match what was tested, down to the model. Ask for the test report, check that it names the model you are buying, and check whose name it is issued in. Much of what we make is tested in our customers' names, at their cost; testing in our own name is being prepared. We would rather you asked than assumed.
Where two correct lines contradict each other
Scroll sideways to compare columns. Select a column heading to sort; select it three times to restore source order.
| Trim | Door | A trim made for 35–55mm on a 60mm door | Door thickness against the trim's printed range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trim | Device | An 8mm spindle in a 9mm follower | The spindle square on both, in writing |
| Closer | Coordinator | A 45kg leaf under a DC02 rated from 55kg | Leaf weight inside both ranges |
| Inactive leaf | Active leaf | A panic bar on one leaf, hand-thrown bolts on the other | The escape width on the drawing |
| Finish | Finish | Red push bars, satin trim, a silver coordinator | One finish for the opening, stated once |
5 rows · Source order
Every row in that table is two lines that were each checked against the catalog and never against each other. None of them is expensive to fix on a schedule. All of them are expensive to fix on a building.
If you sell openings, not items
Many of our customers are brands and distributors who sell this set to installers under their own name. For them the set is the product: one quotation, one sheet of leaf data, one finish, and cartons labeled to their specification, by opening if that is how their installers work. Ask for the set that way and we will quote it that way. If a line is outside our range, as a closer for a leaf over 85kg is, the quotation will say so, before the container ships rather than after.
What to send us
Six things quote the whole opening: the width and weight of each leaf; the door thickness; which leaf is active; whether both leaves count toward the escape width; whether the outside needs a key, free passage or nothing; and one finish. With those, we check every line against every other line before anything is made.
Questions this answers
What hardware does a double fire exit door need?
Six lines: a device on each leaf, an outside trim on the active leaf, a closer on each leaf and a coordinator. The astragal, the seals and the leaves themselves come from the door maker. Every line is sized from four facts: the width and weight of each leaf, the door thickness and which leaf is active.
Can the inactive leaf of a double fire exit door use flush bolts?
Only if the inactive leaf is not part of the escape route. If both leaves count toward the escape width, both need a device a person can push, because a leaf held by manual flush bolts cannot be opened by somebody who does not know the bolts are there. That decision belongs to the project's fire engineer and should be written on the schedule.
What door thickness does a panic bar outside trim fit?
It depends on the trim, and the range is printed. The 028 and 037 fit doors of 35–55mm, the 039 fits 45–50mm, the 015 fits doors up to 80mm and the X2 up to 90mm. Check the door against that range before ordering, because a trim outside its range will not pull up tight to the door face.
Which coordinator and closers go together on a double fire door?
The leaf weight has to sit inside both ranges at once. The DC02 coordinator is rated for leaves of 55–100kg, and the closers in our range that reach into that are the JU-072, JU-073, JU-088 and JU-093. Above 85kg we do not currently make a closer.
About Canton Hyland — Canton Hyland manufactures panic exit devices, locks and architectural door hardware for commercial and institutional projects, supplying specifiers and distributors internationally.