Fire Exit Hardware

The surface vertical rod exit device mounts to the surface of the door. A top and a bottom rod extend the full height of the door and are attached to latch-bolt assemblies. The top latch-bolt assembly engages a strike that can be either surface-applied or mortised into the soffit of the frame. The bottom latch-bolt assembly can latch into a surface-applied or mortise strike in the floor. A latch-track threshold can also serve as a strike to secure the bottom latch-bolt assembly. Similar to rim exit devices, the operating trim extends through the door thickness and engages the lock case of the exit device. The clearance between the door bottom and the finished floor is an important dimension that needs to be addressed. Depending on the design of the latch-bolt assembly and the strike, the doors may have to be ordered with a non-standard undercut to ensure the latch-bolt can properly engage the strike.

Fire Exit Hardware is an exit device which is tested for both panic and fire conditions and is required to be used on fire doors where panic hardware is required by code or desired for durability. Since fire doors require positive-latching, fire exit hardware does not incorporate mechanical dogging. If a push/pull function is desired for a fire door, electric latch retraction hardware may be installed, as long as the latch projects automatically upon fire alarm.