Securing Your Work Space Environment with the Best of Locks

You have two options for choosing a lock for your door: mortise and tubular. Which hardware style is right for you? Find out more now.

When choosing the right type of commercial steel door for your project, one piece of hardware that you should always consider is the style of the lock. For doors, you have two options: mortise or tubular. The only way to decide which one is the most accurate for any project is to know the difference.

Retrofit locks are much more reliable of the two, but tubular locks are much more popular, especially in residential applications. There are many reasons for this discrepancy, including the ease with which one is installed on top of the other. However, to really know which lock is right for you, you need to know what each style entails.

Mortise locks have a deep cut in the door. This cut provides ample room for a cut-in that fits easily into a pocket. This deep pocket provides unmatched protection. Because of this special feature of the deep cut, the doors must be specially prepared for this type of locks. This includes using a plunge saw to cut the door.

The mortise saw is a vital element in door preparation, as all mortise locks are of the same dimensions.

Tubular locks are also popular for residential and office doors. The popularity of this type of lock is due to its high reliability (although not as reliable as a mortise lock) and ease of installation. In addition, tubular locks have proven to be easy to replace if standard holes already exist inside the door. There are two popular types of tubular locks: single-cylinder and double-cylinder.

But which lock is right for your project?

Surely your project requires multiple doors and, in reality, requires more than one door style. You will most likely need both mortise and tubular locks. The most important thing is that you know where to apply these locks.

Your outer doors are your first line of defense. These doors should represent the safest options, from the style of commercial steel doors you choose to the type of hardware. These doors require mortise locks. Avoid installing a less secure tubular lock on your primary access points.

However, there is always room for tubular locks, especially when considering the ongoing maintenance of the facility. The profitability of the tubular lock (that is, ease of repair and replacement) makes it a useful solution for various interior doors that serve as partitions rather than protective barriers. Offices come to mind as a great place for this type of equipment.

After all, a good way to decide on the style of your lock is to consider the purpose of the door. If the door is intended to be a reliable barrier, choose a mortise door. If you have more room for privacy and partitions, tubulars will do.