Commercial door locks: cylindrical lever locks

Cylindrical locks for existing openings

A cylindrical lockset is a lever lock fitted through two bored holes, one through the face of the door and one into its edge, and it is the usual lever lock on commercial interior doors.

Commercial cylindrical lever locks, deadbolts and keyless locks for existing bored doors, chosen by what the door has to do, and keyed alike or to your system when you need it.

If you can say what should happen when the door closes behind you, the function code follows. The lock function chart sets out each code in one line.

How it is specified

• Function code. What the lock does, from F75 passage to F86 storeroom, and the easiest choice to get wrong.
• Grade. Grade 1 for high traffic and security, Grade 2 for ordinary commercial interior use.
• Backset. You need the backset the door is already prepped for, or the lock will not line up: backset is the distance from the door edge to the center of the bore, and Sargent's 10X Line is 2-3/4 inches as standard.
• Keying. Keyed alike, or keyed to your existing system, told to us before the order because cut keys cannot be returned.

Grade 1 vs Grade 2 locks: choosing a commercial lever lock

What usually fails

A lever that droops or spins has usually worn its spring cage, and on a commercial door that means replacement. A latch that no longer throws fully is often strike alignment. A key that needs jiggling is a worn cylinder, which can be replaced on its own if the lock is sound. On a lock built for an interchangeable core, the core alone comes out with a control key, and our guide shows how to tell small format from large format interchangeable cores.

Photograph the lever from outside, the inside of the door, and the door edge with the latch showing. That usually reads the function, backset and hand.