Why Won't My Panic Bar Latch? 7 Causes and the Fixes

A panic bar has one job on the way out and one on the way back. Going out, a push on the bar releases the door. Coming back, the latch has to catch so the door is secure again. When the second part fails, the door looks closed and is not. Staff find out when the alarm company calls, or when the door blows open in the wind.

We repair exit devices every week in Saskatoon and Regina. These are the seven causes we find, in the order we check them.

First, which kind of device is it?

The cause depends on how the device latches, so look before anything else:

• Rim device: one latch at the edge of the door, catching a strike on the frame or on a centre post (mullion). Common on single doors.
• Vertical-rod device: rods run up and down the door, inside it or on its face, to a latch at the top and usually one at the floor. Common on pairs of doors with no centre post.
• Mortise device: the bar operates a lock body set inside the door edge.

Our exit devices and panic bars page describes each type.

1. The bar is dogged

Dogging holds the bar down and the latch pulled back, so the door swings freely during business hours. It is set with a hex key in a small hole on the bar, or with a key cylinder. Someone dogs the door in the morning, and nobody undoes it at night.

Check this first. If the bar sits pushed in and the latch is retracted, turn the dogging key back and the bar should spring out. If the dogging will not release, or will not hold, the mechanism is worn.

One caution. Devices listed for fire doors do not have mechanical dogging, because a fire door has to latch every time it closes. If a fire door’s bar is being held down with tape, a wedge or a zip tie, that is a hazard, not a workaround.

2. The door has sagged

The latch and the strike have to meet within a few millimetres. When hinges wear or their screws loosen, the latch side of the door drops, and the latch hits the strike low or misses it.

Look at the gap along the top of the door. If it is wider at the latch side than at the hinge side, the door has dropped. Fresh rub marks on the strike or the frame tell you where the latch is actually landing. The fix is at the hinges, not at the panic bar. Our post on a door that will not close or latch covers sag in more detail.

3. The strike is loose, worn or has moved

Rim strikes are screwed to the frame or the mullion and take a hit every time the door closes. Screws back out, the strike shifts, and the roller or lip wears down. On a pair of doors with a removable mullion, the mullion itself can work loose at the top or the floor, and then the strike moves with it.

If you can wiggle the strike or the mullion by hand, that is the problem. Tightening is a short-term fix when the screw holes are stripped. The lasting repair is to re-anchor it properly.

4. The vertical rods are out of adjustment

This is the most common fault on pairs of doors. The rods have to be set so that the top and bottom latches both extend fully when the door closes, and both retract fully when the bar is pushed. They drift with use, with door sag and with every cart that hits the bottom of the door.

The signs:

• The top latch catches and the bottom does not, or the other way around.
• The bottom rod drags on the floor as the door swings, and leaves an arc.
• The door latches only when you lift it or slam it.
• The bar has to be pushed hard before the door releases.

Rod adjustment is precise work, and a rod set wrong can hold a latch in or keep the door from opening. That second case is a life-safety problem, so this is one to call for. On doors where the bottom rod keeps getting damaged, there are devices that latch at the top only, and adding a mullion so each door can take a rim device is often the more reliable choice. Which options suit a door depends on its fire rating, so we check that first.

5. The floor strike is full of ice or debris

The bottom latch of a vertical-rod device drops into a small socket in the floor or threshold. That socket collects gravel, salt, sand and meltwater. In a Saskatchewan winter the water freezes, and the latch has nowhere to go.

You can clean the socket with a vacuum and a pick. If it fills up again every week, the door needs a different arrangement. Frost heave can also lift the threshold so the bottom latch no longer lines up. Our guide to winter-proofing commercial doors covers the seasonal checks.

6. The device is worn or broken

Exit devices on busy doors are pushed all day, every day. Springs weaken, latches wear round, end caps crack and the bar stops returning fully. A bar that feels loose, sits crooked, or needs a second push is wearing out.

Most of this is repairable with parts from the manufacturer. We replace the device when it is obsolete, when the body is bent, or when the repair would cost more than a new device that comes with a warranty. We service the major makes. See the brands we carry.

7. The door is not closing hard enough to latch

Sometimes the panic bar is fine and the door simply does not arrive. The closer is set too slow in the last few degrees, new weatherstripping is pushing the door back, or building air pressure is holding it off the frame.

The test: push the door shut by hand. If it latches with a light push and not by itself, look at the closer and the seals, not the exit device. Our door closers page explains the adjustments. Turning the closer up too far creates the opposite problem, a door that slams shut or is hard to open.

What not to do

• Do not chain, bolt or block the door to secure it until it is repaired. An exit has to open from the inside with one push.
• Do not tape or wedge the latch on a fire door.
• Do not bend the rods to make them reach. It works for a week and then the latch stops retracting.
• Do not add a second lock such as a slide bolt or padlock hasp to an exit door.

If the door has to be secured tonight and cannot wait, call us. There are safe temporary measures, and they depend on the door.

Fix it yourself or call?

You can check the dogging, clean out the floor strike, tighten loose hinge and strike screws, and test whether the door latches with a hand push.

Call when the rods need adjusting, when the door has sagged, when the bar is hard to push, when parts are broken, or when it is a fire door. This is standard door hardware repair and most visits are a single trip.

Need a panic bar repaired in Saskatoon or Regina?

Prestige Lock & Door provides fast, professional locksmith and door hardware service across Saskatchewan.

• Exit device repair and adjustment: rim, mortise and vertical-rod devices
• Door, hinge and strike alignment: so the latch catches every time
• Replacement and upgrades: including electrified devices for access control
• Two branches: Saskatoon (306) 880-0307 and Regina (306) 552-8646
• Sales, service and installation under one roof

Contact us or book a service call and we will get the door latching again.

Related articles

• Why won’t my commercial door close or latch?: nine causes in the order we check them
• Why does my commercial door slam shut?: the closer adjustments, explained
• Why is my commercial door so hard to open?: eight causes, from closer power to air pressure