Panic Bar Installation in Long Beach, CA

What is a panic bar, and when does a Long Beach business need one?

A panic bar, also called a push bar, crash bar or exit device, is the horizontal bar across the inside of an exit door. Push it and the door unlatches. No key, no knob to turn, no instructions to remember. That is the whole point. When people are leaving in a hurry, the door has to open from the inside with a single push in the direction of travel.

Which doors need one depends on how the building is used and how many people it holds. The final call belongs to the building department and the fire marshal, not to a locksmith. In general, panic hardware shows up in restaurants, event spaces, busy retail floors, gyms, schools, churches and warehouses with crews on shift. If you are not sure whether a particular door requires it, ask the city or fire authority. We will tell you what we see on the hardware side and what the door can physically accept.

We do panic bar installation for new doors and tenant build-outs, panic bar replacement when an old device is worn out, and panic bar repair when the device is basically sound and needs a part or an adjustment. We also fix the situation nobody wants to admit to, which is a back door that has been chained or screwed shut because the old hardware stopped working.

What goes wrong with exit devices and emergency exit doors?

Exit hardware gets used hard and looked at rarely. A push bar on a rear door gets hit by hand trucks, kicked open by tired staff and ignored until the day it fails. Most emergency exit door repair calls come down to a short list of problems:

• The bar sticks, will not fully retract, or takes a hard shove to release the latch. That is a life-safety problem and the door should be treated as out of service.
• The door closes but does not latch. That is a security problem, because the building is open overnight even though it looks shut.
• The latch or strike has worn or shifted, so the door rattles in the frame and catches only some of the time.
• The mounting has loosened or cracked from years of slamming, especially on thin aluminum storefront doors.
• The outside trim, either a key cylinder or a lever, has failed or been tampered with.
• An alarmed exit device has a dead battery, a stuck switch or a siren that staff have learned to ignore.
• The bar has been bent or the housing dented by a cart, a kick or a forced-entry attempt.
• Corrosion has frozen springs, screws and the latch, which is common on doors that open to a patio or alley near the coast.

How do we install or replace a panic bar? Step by step

Here is how a typical panic hardware installation or exit device replacement goes with us. David oversees the work, and the order of operations is the same whether it is a single steel back door or a pair of doors at a restaurant.

1. You call (213) 577-1366 and tell us about the door: steel, aluminum storefront or wood, single or double, what hardware is on it now, and whether there is a fire-rating label on the hinge edge of the door.
2. We look at the door in person. We check material, thickness, width, existing prep holes, the frame and strike condition, and whether a door closer is working, because an exit device on a door that will not close will never latch.
3. We pick the device type for that door. That means rim, vertical rod or mortise, plus outside trim, finish, and whether the device needs to be listed for a fire-rated door.
4. We prepare the door. On a replacement we reuse existing holes where the new device allows it. Where it does not, we drill and reinforce properly. On a labeled fire door we only modify it in ways its listing permits.
5. We mount the device, set the strike and fit the trim. Alignment matters here. A bar that is a little off will drag, wear fast and eventually stop latching.
6. We tune the door closer or tell you honestly if it needs work. See our notes on door closer repair if that is part of the problem.
7. We test it repeatedly. That means pushing the bar from inside, confirming the latch catches every time, checking any alarm and trim, and walking you or your manager through how the device works, including what dogging does and does not do.

How much does panic bar installation cost in Long Beach?

We will not quote a figure on a web page, because the honest answer depends on the door in front of us. Here is what actually moves the cost, so you can judge any quote you receive, ours or anyone else's:

• Device type. A basic rim exit device is a different product from a vertical rod device or a mortise-style device for a narrow aluminum stile.
• Single door or pair. Double doors often need a different arrangement and more hardware.
• Fire rating. Devices listed for fire-rated doors are made to a stricter standard, and the door itself limits what can be done to it.
• Outside trim. A blank plate, a lever, a key cylinder or an access-controlled trim all change the parts list.
• Alarm and electrified features. An alarmed device or an electric latch retraction tied to access control adds components and labor.
• Door condition. A warped, undersized or already over-drilled door can take more prep time than the device itself.
• Repair versus replacement. If the device is fundamentally sound, a part or an adjustment is usually the more economical route. If the body is bent, corroded or the parts are no longer made, replacing it is the sounder call.
• Timing. Work at night, on a weekend or on short notice is priced differently from a scheduled daytime job.

Which type of exit device fits which door?

Matching the device to the door is where a lot of do-it-yourself and low-effort installs go wrong. A short guide to the common choices:

• Rim exit device: the latch sits on the surface of the door on the inside face. It is the most common choice for a single steel or solid door.
• Surface vertical rod: latches at the top and bottom of the door, often used on pairs of doors where there is no center post to catch a latch.
• Concealed vertical rod: the rods run inside the door, which looks cleaner but needs a door built for it.
• Mortise exit device: built into a mortise pocket in the door, typical for aluminum and glass storefront doors with narrow stiles.
• Fire-rated devices: marked and listed for use on labeled fire doors. Using a non-listed device there is a mistake that can cost you at inspection.
• Alarmed devices: sound a local alarm when the bar is pushed. Useful on stockroom and back doors where staff or visitors slip out.
• Electrified and access-linked devices: retract the latch by badge or keypad while still allowing free exit. These pair with access control installation and need to be planned together.

Panic bars on Pine Avenue, in Belmont Shore and near the port

Long Beach commercial doors vary a lot, and the work follows the neighborhood. One regular scenario is storefront lock and panic hardware service along Pine Avenue in Downtown Long Beach, on 4th Street's Retro Row, and on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. A restaurant or shop in those blocks often has a glass-and-aluminum front door and a steel rear door onto an alley or back lot. The rear exit is the one nobody looks at until it fails. If your front entrance needs attention as well, see storefront lock repair.

Salt air is the other local factor. Within a mile or two of the water, corrosion of exterior hardware is a real maintenance issue. For panic hardware, that matters most in Belmont Shore, Naples and near the Peninsula, where an exit door that opens onto a patio, side walk or alley is exposed to the marine layer every day. The strike, outside trim and exposed fasteners go first. Inland districts such as Bixby Knolls are milder. We pick finishes and fasteners with that exposure in mind and tell you to keep the moving parts clean and checked.

Then there is the industrial side. Commercial and warehouse lock work near the Port of Long Beach and the Westside industrial area means personnel exit doors that take real punishment from carts, pallets and shift traffic. Those doors usually call for a heavier device and regular checks. Broader hardware choices for these buildings are covered under commercial door hardware.

Whether your business is in 90802, 90803, 90807, 90813 or another Long Beach ZIP, the work is the same: look at the door, fit the right device and test it. Our storefront is in Westwood, about 30 miles from Long Beach, and our mobile vans do the work on site, so we come to the door rather than asking you to bring it to us. Some jobs finish in one visit. Fire-rated listings, unusual door preps or special finishes may mean ordering parts, and we will tell you that up front.

If you manage a building in the East Village Arts District or elsewhere in the central neighborhoods, where older multifamily buildings are common, shared exit doors are a different conversation from a retail back door. Call and describe what you have. Gates, such as marina gates around Alamitos Bay, are their own job, covered under gate lock repair.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for exit device work?

We have been in business since 1987, and exit hardware is a trade where experience shows. A device that is installed a quarter inch off will look fine for a week and then start failing. We know what that looks like before it happens.

We are one company, not a dispatch service. When you call (213) 577-1366, you reach us, and the people who answer are the people behind the work. We have a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles (Westwood) and mobile service vans, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Long Beach included. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, which matters when an exit door fails on a Saturday night with the doors about to open.

David, the owner and lead technician, oversees our work. For anything broader than exit devices, such as keying, closers or full-door packages, our commercial locksmith service covers it.

One more thing worth knowing: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license. Ask any locksmith for their license number before work begins. That is a fair question for us as well as for anyone else.

What should you do today if an exit door isn't working?

Do not wait for a scheduled inspection to find out. A few practical steps while you arrange repair:

• Never chain, wedge, block or lock an exit door to compensate for a bad device. That turns a repair problem into a safety problem.
• If the bar is stuck and will not release, treat that door as out of service, keep customers and staff away from it and direct everyone to another exit.
• If the door will not latch, you have a security gap overnight. Call us, and in the meantime arrange for someone to be on site. Ask us about a temporary fix if a part has to be ordered.
• If you are locked out of your own business, that is a different call. See business lockout service.
• If you need someone at any hour, our 24-hour locksmith line is the same (213) 577-1366.

More locksmith help in Long Beach

• Access Control Installation in Long Beach
• Commercial Door Hardware in Long Beach
• Commercial Locksmith in Long Beach
• Door Closer Repair in Long Beach
• Master Key System in Long Beach
• Storefront Lock Repair in Long Beach
• All services in Long Beach

Panic Bar Installation near Long Beach

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