How an aluminum storefront entrance is put together
A storefront entrance has two halves: the frame fixed to the building and the door that swings inside it. Wear on one usually shows up as trouble on the other.
Stiles, rails and glass stops
The door is a rectangle of aluminum tubes. The vertical pieces are stiles: the hinge stile and the lock stile. The horizontal pieces are rails, with a top rail, a bottom rail and sometimes a mid rail at push-bar height.
Stiles come in narrow, medium and wide profiles. Narrow stiles show more glass, while wider stiles leave more room for locks and exit devices and hold up better to heavy traffic.
The corners are joined with welds, internal brackets or rods that run through the rails. When those joints loosen, the door slowly goes out of square. The glass is held in place by glass stops, which are snap-in aluminum strips with gaskets that cushion the glass and keep water out.
How the door hangs
Center-hung pivots sit in the middle of the door's thickness, with one pivot in the header and one at the floor. They are often paired with a floor closer or an overhead concealed closer.
Offset pivots sit near the face of the door instead of the center. A typical setup has top and bottom pivots plus an intermediate pivot partway up the hinge stile to share the weight.
Continuous hinges run the full height of the door. They spread the load along the whole hinge stile, which helps on doors that get pushed hard all day.
Closers
Overhead concealed closers hide inside the header, with an arm that connects to a track or pivot in the top rail.
Surface-mounted closers bolt to the face of the header or door with a visible arm. They are easy to reach and common on retrofits.
Floor closers sit in a steel box set into the concrete under the door. They carry the door's weight and control the swing from below, so grit and water in that box can cause trouble.
What a service visit with us looks like
The first call
We ask what the door is doing, when it started and whether anything happened, like a cart hitting it or the wind catching it.
If any glass is cracked or broken, keep people away from it and mention it when you call.
Looking at the whole opening
On site, we watch the door open and close several times before we touch anything. Then we check the gaps, the pivots or hinge, the closer, the lock, the threshold and the frame anchors.
Explaining what we found
We tell you in plain terms which part is causing the trouble and what we recommend. If there is more than one reasonable fix, we lay out the options so you can choose.
The repair and final adjustment
Many adjustments and common parts can be handled on the first visit. When a part has to be ordered, we talk with you about keeping the door secure and usable until it arrives.
Every job ends with tuning. We set the closing speed, latching speed and backcheck, confirm the bolt enters the strike cleanly and check that the weatherstripping touches evenly. Then we walk you or your manager through what we did.
How we decide between repair and replacement
We start from repair and work through these questions:
- Can the door be brought back to square? If tightening the corners and resetting the hanging hardware does it, repair usually wins.
- Is the frame solid and well anchored? A sound frame can often take a new door. A damaged frame changes the plan.
- Will current parts fit the existing cutouts? Some older doors are prepped for hardware that is hard to match.
- How many times has it been patched? Filler plates, extra holes and mismatched parts can mean the door is near the end of its useful life.
- Do you want the door to do something new? Adding an exit device or preparing for an automatic operator can tip the balance.
When a new door makes sense, we often hang it in the existing frame. If you need a steel door for a side or back entrance, see our page on commercial entry doors.
Storefront hardware in detail
Deadlocks
Narrow stiles leave little room for a lock, so storefront doors usually use a deadlock with a short backset and a hook-shaped bolt that swings up into the strike and resists prying.
If the key gets hard to turn, stop forcing it. Forcing a dragging bolt can twist the cam or break parts inside the lock.
Cylinders
Most storefront locks take a threaded cylinder that screws into the lock body and is held by a set screw. When a cylinder wears out or keys go missing, the cylinder can usually be swapped without replacing the whole lock.
Thumb turns
A thumb turn lets someone work the lock from inside without a key. Whether a thumb turn, an inside key cylinder or an exit device belongs on a given door depends on how the space is used and on local rules, so check with your fire marshal or building official before changing it.
Push and pull hardware
Outside, you will usually find a straight, offset or tall ladder-style pull. Inside, there is a push bar or push plate. These pieces take a hit from every customer, and a loose pull left alone can crack the stile around its mounting holes.
Exit devices
An exit device, often called a panic bar, lets people leave by pushing a bar across the door. Storefront doors use narrow-stile versions: a rim device that latches into a strike on the frame, or a concealed vertical rod device with rods hidden inside the stile.
Many exit devices can be dogged, which holds the latch back during business hours. Before adding, removing or changing an exit device, confirm the requirements with your local fire marshal or building official.
Thresholds, sweeps and weatherstripping in North Texas
North Texas puts storefronts through long, hot summers, sudden spring storms and dusty wind. Seals and thresholds keep that weather outside.
Heat
Aluminum grows a little as it heats up. A door that clears its frame on a cool morning can rub by late afternoon, especially on entrances that face west or south, so we allow for that movement.
Sun also bakes the seals until they flatten and crack, letting cooled air out and dust in.
Storms and wind
Wind-driven rain gets under thresholds where the sealant has failed and past worn bottom sweeps. Water that collects in a floor closer box can damage the closer over time.
A strong gust can catch an open door and throw it past its normal stop, bending a closer arm or straining the pivots. A properly set backcheck slows the door near the end of its swing, and an overhead stop can help on the windy side of a building.
Opening force and closing speed
A closer makes the door close on its own and controls how fast it gets there. Most closers have separate adjustments for spring power, sweep speed through the main part of the swing, latch speed over the last few inches and backcheck.
Too much spring power makes the door heavy for children, older customers and anyone in a wheelchair. Too little, and the door won't latch. A door that closes too fast can strike someone.
Accessibility rules may limit how much force it takes to open some doors and how quickly they close. Those requirements depend on the building and the jurisdiction, so confirm them with your local building official. If a manual door still isn't working for your customers, an automatic entry door operator may be worth considering.
Don't try to adjust a closer or loosen a pivot yourself. A storefront door is heavy and can drop or swing without warning.
Planning work around your business hours
Our regular hours are Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 5 PM. If a storefront door fails after hours and the building can't be secured, emergency service is available by appointment after 5 PM Monday through Saturday and on Sundays.
A few things help the day go smoothly:
- Tell us your opening time, closing time and busiest hours.
- If you have a pair of doors, one can often stay in use while we work on the other.
- Move displays, mats or sandwich boards away from the door.
- If this entrance is your only way in, say so when you schedule.
A monthly checklist for store managers
A few minutes once a month catches problems while they are still small adjustments.
- Open the door all the way and let go. It should close smoothly, slow near the end and latch without slamming.
- Look at the gap between the door and frame. It should look even along the top and the lock side.
- Listen for grinding or squeaking at the top and bottom of the hinge side.
- Work the lock with the key and the thumb turn. Neither should need force.
- Push the exit device, if you have one, and make sure it releases the latch every time.
- Wiggle the push bar and pull handle. If either one moves, note it and call us.
- Look for oil on the floor, the closer arm or the header. That usually means a leaking closer.
- Check the threshold for loose screws, cracks or lifted ends.
- Check the weatherstripping and sweep for tears, gaps or flattened spots.
Storefronts we see around DFW
Retail strips
Strip centers see constant foot traffic, carts and deliveries. Tenants change often, so a door can collect extra holes and mixed parts over the years. We work on strip center entrances from Frisco down to Dallas.
Restaurants
Kitchen exhaust hoods pull a lot of air out of a building. If not enough comes back in, the front door can be hard to pull open and then slam shut. We can adjust the closer to help, but the airflow itself is a question for your HVAC contractor.
Clinics and medical offices
Patients may use walkers, wheelchairs or canes, so opening force and closing speed matter even more. If you run a clinic in McKinney or Allen, ask us how to make your entrance easier to use.
Office buildings
Office lobbies often have exit devices and after-hours locking set by the property owner. When a door has a card reader, we coordinate with whoever maintains that system.
What affects the cost
We price the work after we see the entrance. The main factors:
- Which parts need work, and whether they need adjustment or replacement
- A single door or a pair
- The hanging method and closer type, since floor and concealed closers take more work to reach
- Whether new parts fit the existing cutouts or the door needs new prep
- Matching an existing stile width or finish
- The condition of the frame and its anchors
- After-hours scheduling
- Hardware changes, such as adding an exit device
- How many entrances we work on in the same visit
How to get started
Call us at (903) 294-1846, email prodoorsandgates@gmail.com or request storefront service online. Tell us what the door is doing, where your business is and when you are open.
We are a family-owned company based in Bells at 1940 Everheart Rd. We repair and install aluminum storefront doors and their hardware for businesses across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas, including Sherman, Denison, Anna, McKinney, Allen, Princeton, Farmersville, Frisco, Forney and Dallas.
