Commercial opening field board
Find the failure before you buy the part.
Start with what the door is doing. Then trace the closer, exit device, rods, handle, hinges, lock, and frame conditions that can create the same symptom.
Read the opening by symptom and component.
Use the complete-opening guide for orientation, the latch guide for a mixed symptom, or the component guides for a closer look at the hardware already on the door.
Commercial door hardware guide
A practical guide to commercial doors, frames, hinges, closers, locks, handles, exit devices, strikes, and coordinated opening performance.
↗Field guideCommercial door types
Identify hollow metal, commercial wood, aluminum storefront, and all-glass doors, and understand why the same hardware behaves differently on each material.
↗Field guideCommercial door frame types
Identify welded, knock-down, aluminum storefront, and wood door frames, and learn how frame alignment problems disguise themselves as lock failures.
↗Field guideMeasuring a commercial replacement door
Record the leaf, prep, and frame measurements a supplier needs before a replacement door is ordered: net size, hinge preps H1–H4, lock centerlines, backset, and rabbet checks.
↗Decision guideCommercial lock functions explained
Compare what passage, privacy, storeroom, classroom, and office lock functions do from each side of the door, and match each function to the rooms it serves.
↗Field guideCommercial lock types and identification
Identify the lock on a commercial door by where and how it mounts, separate family from function and cylinder format, and record what a replacement order actually needs.
↗Decision guideWhy a commercial door won't latch
Diagnose common reasons a commercial door drags, stops short, bounces open, or reaches the frame without latching securely.
↗Field guideCommercial door troubleshooting order
Use a fixed diagnosis order — mechanical, then electrical, then control logic — and four symptom playbooks to find why a commercial door or electrified lock is failing.
↗Decision guideCommercial door closers
Understand closer types, symptoms, diagnosis, and the decision to adjust, repair, or replace a commercial door closer.
↗Field guidePanic bars and vertical rods
Understand rim, surface vertical rod, concealed vertical rod, and mortise exit devices; common failure symptoms; exterior trim; and fire-exit considerations.
↗Decision guideHandles, levers, pulls, and trim
Translate common door-handle language into the commercial lever, pull, paddle, lockset, and exit-trim details needed for repair or replacement.
↗Comparison guideHinges, pivots, and continuous hinges
Compare commercial butt hinges, pivots, and continuous hinges, identify wear symptoms, and plan repair or replacement around the complete opening.
↗Decision guideRekeying and key systems
Plan an authorized commercial rekey, master-key hierarchy, or interchangeable-core program without losing control of doors, keys, cores, and records.
↗Field guideStorefront door hardware
A practical guide to narrow-stile locks, deadlatches, paddles, pulls, pivots, concealed closers, exit devices, and controlled storefront entries.
↗Choose the right next step
One failed door is a service request. A building-wide plan starts with a site walk.
Use this for a door that drags, slams, will not latch, has loose hardware, or needs a lock or closer diagnosis.
Multiple openings / planned workRequest a site walkUse this for multi-door replacement, master-key planning, recurring hardware issues, or a property-wide survey.
Bring the whole opening into view.
Elwin reviews the observable symptom with the door, frame, hardware, traffic, and connected release conditions before the repair scope changes.