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The Wrap-Around Door Reinforcer

4CW2A wrap-around door reinforcer is a metal sleeve that slides over the door at the lock prep to conceal damage and/or reinforce the door.  They are a quick and handy solution when wood doors are damaged by forced entry and are often installed to strengthen new wooden doors against forced entry attempts.

In my experience a wrap does not really deter forced entry, but it does limit the damage done to the door.   I have found that when wood doors equipped with wrap around door reinforcers are burglarized, often only the wrap and the lock need replacing, not the whole door.   As with all door security hardware, if your lock is installed in a wrap-around door reinforcer and your neighbor’s lock is not, a would-be burglar may choose to break into your neighbor’s place instead of yours; however, this hypothesis is dependent on the highly dubious notion that a burglar is behaving rationally.  If the person were behaving rationally they would not risk their freedom and personal safety breaking into to somebody’s home to steal  their iPad or PC and selling it for chump change to their drug dealer.

Another benefit to using wrap-arounds is that they can act as a drill guide for lock installation.  Be careful, however, not to let the hole saw chew up the wrap.  Also, especially with stainless steel wraps, be sure not to let your drill bind up with the metal at high speed.  Injury would be likely.

Wraps are typically used on wooden doors, and while it is possible to use them on hollow metal doors, they never seem to fit quite right without a fight.  It seems that hollow metal doors measure exactly 1-3/4 inches thick whereas wood doors tend to measure closer to 1-11/16 inches.  Variations in door thickness affect the way a wrap will fit (or not fit) on a door.

A wide variety of wrap-arounds have been created to accommodate various locks and conditions.  Don Jo Manufacturing currently carries the largest assortment, and if a new kind of lock by a major manufacturer emerges, they are pretty quick to design a wrap for it.  To get the right borewrap for your application you need to know:

  • Door thickness
  • Size of the wrap you want
  • Diameter of the lock bore
  • Backset
  • Finish
  • Through-bolt holes (yes or no)

(see illustration)

Standard door thicknesses for wraps are 1-3/8 inches and 1-3/4 inches.  Some models of wraps are available thicker doors.   Wraps come in a variety of heights, but height is usually determined by the kind of lock the wrap is designed for and the backset.  See the illustration for bore, through-bolt hole and backset details.

For other wraps you may need other dimensions.  For example, Don Jo makes a number of wrap-arounds for interconnected locks and these (naturally) have two bores cut in instead of one.   If you need a wrap for a mortise lock you may have to change the trim on the lock to make it work, or you might have to drill lever, cylinder and thumb turn holes into a blank wrap to customize it to the lock you have.  See my warning about hole saws and stainless steel above.  I earned myself sprained fingers that way once.

I used to joke about certain doors that they could use a door sized wrap.  Then some enterprising individual actually brought one by.  The idea didn’t go anywhere, as far as I know, but it was a good concept:  one wrap covered the door completely in sheet metal and another covered the frame.  Still, at that point why would one just buy a hollow metal door and frame?

And that about wraps it up.

Overview: School Security Hardware

11line

Sargent 11-Line Cylindrical (bored) Lockset

Security in our elementary and secondary schools has become much more important. Schools across the country are implementing lockdown procedures in case of emergency. Lockdowns are achieved through the use of locks, and new lock functions have been developed for use in concert with existing lock functions to answer the need for increased security.

Classroom Security Locks

A regular, traditional classroom function lock is unlocked and locked from the outside by key and the inside lever is always unlocked, allowing free egress. The problem with this function from a lockdown point of view is that, in order to lock the door, the teacher must open the door to lock it, exposing themselves and potentially their students to danger as they do so.

All major lock companies are either developing a classroom security function or assigning that application to one of their existing functions. Basically, the principal is this: in the event of an emergency the teacher can lock the outside lever handle of the classroom door from inside the classroom, thereby securing the safety of the students without endangering themselves. The inside lever remains unlocked allowing free egress. When locked, entry from the outside is by key only.

Some companies have developed classroom security function locksets in which the outside lever can be locked or unlocked with either the inside key or the outside key. This allows the teacher to continue to use the lock as a traditional classroom lock unless an actual emergency develops.

Click here for a complete description of classroom security function in a mortise lock.

 

Electric Lock Down Systems

Some school districts have opted to lock down their perimeter doors with delayed egress systems. Delayed egress systems are a way of locking exterior entrance doors from both sides while allowing for emergency egress.

The “Passage Set”

Often, when customers say they want a “passage set” they really want a cylindrical lock that actually locks.  This is because they don’t know (and often don’t want to know) cylindrical lock functions.   Therefore, the next question I ask is often, “How do you want this ‘passage set’ to work?”

Of course, “passage set” is the name of a cylindrical lock function.  The function of a passage set is that the latch can always be retracted by turning either handle.  It always latches but is never locked.   So when customers order a passage set with an electric strike, I am doubly suspicious.  Do they really want a passage set with that electric strike?

Passage sets are used in non-locking applications like corridors, closets and some offices, and in non-locking fire rated doors to meet the positive latching requirement for fire rated openings.

Therefore, if you want to sound intelligent as you order your cylindrical locksets, don’t call them passage sets unless they are.  Thank you.

 


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