Panic hardware and exit devices

Exit devices for existing openings

An exit device, also called a panic bar or push bar, unlatches the door with a single push from inside, so anyone can leave without a key or knowing how the lock works.

Exit devices and panic hardware for existing openings, from a single rim device to vertical rod pairs and fire exit hardware, identified from a photo and quoted with the trim to match.

Most exit devices are configured to order: device, length, function, trim, finish and hand.

How it is specified

• Device type. Rim, surface vertical rod, concealed vertical rod or mortise, set by the door and by whether it is one of a pair.
• Panic versus fire exit hardware. Panic hardware may be dogged open; fire exit hardware may not, so a fire door takes fire exit hardware only.
• Device length. Sized to the door width, measured on the door rather than the frame.
• Trim. The outside trim is blank, a pull or a lever.
• When it is required. Set by the occupancy and occupant load of the space the door serves, not by the door itself.

When is panic hardware required? Exit devices explained

What usually fails

A device that will not latch is often a strike that has moved or a door that has dropped rather than a failed device, so photograph the strike and the gap at the top of the door as well as the bar. A bar that has gone slack, or one that no longer dogs, is usually the end of that device.

Replacing a device on a rated opening means fire exit hardware for fire exit hardware. Tell us if the door carries a fire label.