Do you need a lock installed in an aluminum door? It can be done. A router, an aluminum bit and some pluck is all it takes and a few hours later a new lock is installed.
Sometimes the fire marshall demands that a door have panic hardware installed. Maybe you’ve suffered a break-in and want a second lock installed on your door? Whatever the case, Maple Leaf Locksmith is here to install your lock.
There are four different mechanical lock styles for aluminum storefront doors:
Deadlatch – this automatically locks each time the door shuts. It’s compatible with a lever or a pushbar. There is a holdback feature on deadlatches that allows them to stay unlocked making them ideal for an office setting. Open during the day, leave it locked at night. They are the least secure of locks for aluminum doors.
Deadbolt – Also called a swingbolt, this is more secure than a deadlatch for a few reasons. The bolt extends farther into the doorframe than a deadlatch. Aluminum is more flexible than wood or steel so the extension is important. Somebody with a crowbar can bend the aluminum door far enough to clear the deadlatch but it is quite a lot of work to do this for a deadbolt. These are compatible with special types of levers and also thumbturns. Some choose to have a lock cylinder on both sides of the door for the greatest amount of control. Only those with a working key can lock or unlock the door from either side.
Hookbolt – These are functionally the same as a deadbolt but come in the shape of a hook which makes them arguably the most secure option. They actually hook into the doorframe they extend into. If one tries to pry the door away from the frame it will catch the doorframe and resist prying where the other options won’t.
Pushbar – There are several different panic bars for narrow stile aluminum doors. One works with deadlatches as discussed above, so it’s called a mortise exit device. Rim mount narrow stile exit devices are push bars that are bolted to the surface of the door. They can either have a pullman latch, vertical rods or a starwheel device. The pullman latch is possible to pry because of the inherent flexibility of aluminum. Vertical rods are difficult to configure correctly and require many return visits though they do offer a nice solution to double door installations. If the vertical rods don’t go into both floor and ceiling they may not be very secure. When installed on a flexible door and only going into the ceiling for example the door can be yanked open with some force.
A broad brush was used to list these categories and there are many more options than this brief outline including electronic locks like the Alarm Lock DL1300. I should probably touch on electronic options actually before closing this out; the two electronic options are panic bar trim and mortise. The electronic locks for these doors are somewhat modular in that when activated they will interact with the lock, they aren’t the lock themselves. They can be used on the exterior of the door with all of the previously mentioned options though deadlatches and panic bars are the most common because they lock each time the door shuts. Numerical codes or fobs can be used with these locks.