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Close view of a commercial panic exit device touchbar

Panic bar installation

Grand Opening: Up to 20% Off. Valid for the grand opening period through December 31, 2026. One offer per job. Offers cannot be combined. No discount on emergency, lockout, or after-hours service, car keys / automotive, or service calls.

An exit device that releases in one motion and then latches again

Panic hardware is laid out only after the door is confirmed to be an exit that should have it. A Von Duprin 99 or 98, a rim device, or vertical rods are templated to the stile in front of us. Dogging or latching is set correctly for that door. One-motion egress is tested. Wrong trim, rods out of adjustment, a device dogged on a fire door, and a missing label are the failures that turn an exit device into a prop.

Install it when the opening requires panic hardware or the old device is broken. A residential lever is the wrong product. Say whether the door is a fire door before anyone dogs the bar down for convenience.

Von Duprin layouts, dogging, and fire doors that must not stay dogged

Layout, the device, correct latching, and a one-motion test are included. A new frame is not. NFPA 80 applies when the door is labeled. The fire code's panic-hardware rules apply when the occupancy requires the device. We do not dog a fire door so deliveries are easier.

School corridors and assembly exits get devices that people lean on all day. Vertical rods that have walked out of adjustment latch at the top and not the bottom, or the reverse. Both ends are tested. Trim on the outside is chosen so it does not defeat the one-motion push.

Frequent questions

What is dogging, and why is it forbidden on some doors?

Dogging holds the latch retracted so the door pushes freely. On a fire door that must latch, dogging is a deficiency. We set it only where the door is allowed to be unlatched.

How do you test one-motion egress?

A push on the bar, with no key and no second handle, opens the leaf. If a thumbturn or a deadbolt has to move first, the opening fails and the extra lock comes off.

What goes wrong with vertical rods?

They fall out of adjustment and one end stops latching. Both the top and the bottom are thrown and released during the test. Adjusting only the visible bottom rod is half a repair.

Can any touchpad be replaced with a Von Duprin 99?

Only if the stile and the rating accept that device. A narrow stile may need a different series. The template is checked against the door, not against the box we wish we were installing.

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