FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

General

 For performance related complaints ask for door closing devices and hinges for the
door specification (height, width and weight).
 If you are on site make sure you have the mounting template with you to check for
irregularities
 Check the products itself for visual damage or changes. In Asia we often have the
case (unlike Europe) that workers try to improve the wrong mounting by themselves
through product modifications. This means they open lock cases, disassemble
products or something like this. All because the product is not working correctly
caused by wrong mounting

Door closer

 The door closer is oil leaking

o In 99% of the cases oil leaking is happening because of the wrong mounting
position of the closer and standard arm/slide rail. We suggest to first check
the mounting position with the template from the instruction.
o Most of the oil-leaking complaints for slide rail door closers are caused
because the arm, that connects the body and rail, is bended and not parallel
to the rail and body. This is usually caused by wrong installation of the rail
(too high). This arm bending causes additional stress on the door closer
mechanism that can lead after a few weeks to oil-leaking.
 The door is not closing properly
o Firstly check the mounting position of the door closer and compare it with the
mounting instruction template
o Check with the customer for the door specifications (size and weight of the
door). Sometimes the wrong model (and EN power size) is used on a door.
Refer to the EN power size overview from the HIN catalogue
 FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

o Check for the door environment. Means is it an exterior door with wind
pressure. In such cases we might have to increase the EN power size to have
more power
o Check if a closing and latching speed adjustment was done that fits the door
environment
 Door doesn’t close because of air resistance

o Increase the closing force or replace the door closer by one with higher
closing force. Reduce the closing speed and latching action to such an extent
that the air can escape in time, reducing the counter pressure on the door

Floor spring

 The floor spring is making noise

o For glass doors many complaints for noise don’t neccesarily come from the
floor spring but from the spindle and patch fitting. Check which patch fitting is
used, preferably a HIN patch fitting that is tested together with the floor
spring.
o Check if any changes were made to the spindle head. In 1-2 cases we had
customers that made some grinding to the spindle themselves. Such grinding
leads to an improper connection of floor spring to patch fitting and might
cause noise.
 The door is not closing or opening properly
o Check if the floor spring is installed as per the mounting insutrction template.
Most important is that the floor spring is installed evenly in the floor.
o Check with the customer for the door specifications (size and weight of the
door). Sometimes the wrong model (and EN power size) is used on a door.
Refer to the EN power size overview from the HIN catalogue
o Check if a closing and latching speed adjustment was done that fits the door
environment
 FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

o Check if the spindle of the floor spring is properly aligned with the patch
fittings or the accessory set. The floor spring spindle and connection points at
the bottom and top of the door leaf should be one straight line (centered).

Concealed closer

 The door is not closing properly

o Firstly check the mounting position of the door closer and compare it with the
mounting instruction template
o Check with the customer for the door specifications (size and weight of the
door). Sometimes the wrong model (and EN power size) is used on a door.
Refer to the EN power size overview from the HIN catalogue
 The concealed door closer is oil leaking
o In 99% of the cases oil leaking is happening because of the wrong mounting
position of the closer and standard arm/slide rail. We suggest to first check
the mounting position with the template from the instruction.
o Most of the oil-leaking complaints for slide rail door closers are caused
because the arm, that connects the body and rail, is bended and not parallel
to the rail and body. This is usually caused by wrong installation of the rail
(too high). This arm bending causes additional stress on the door closer
mechanism that can lead after a few weeks to oil-leaking.
Handles

 The handle is hanging and is not straight (90 degree)

o In most cases this is caused by abuse on site. Means that too much force is
being put onto the handle. This damages the spring mechanism and cause a
hanging of the handle

Concealed Hinges

 The door is dropping while opening

o Firstly check the mounting position of the concealed hinges and compare it
with the mounting instruction template
 FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

o Ask if a door closer is used. This is adding additional side-loads onto the
hinges and increases the stress. Normally we don’t recommend to use a door
closer with concealed hinges because of the additional stress.
o Check the model choosen with regards to the door specification (height, width
and weight). Please refer for heavier or bigger doors to the HIN catalogue
section about the “adjusted door weight calculation”.
o Check if all screws are correctly tightened
o In case the customer is using 3D hinges, please check if the door is aligned
properly. Means that the center of the hinges is straight above each other.
Especially for 3D hinges it often happens that the hinges are not aligned. This
causes that the hinges are working against each other while opening. [In
general we don’t recommend more than 3 pieces of 3D hinges on a door. The
alignment is very difficult especially for 3D hinges. If we use more than 3
pieces of 3D hinges on a door, the probability for problems is 99.9%. There
are not many companies in the world that can properly adjust 4 pieces of 3D
hinges on a door].

Hinges

 The door is dropping while opening

o Firstly check the mounting position of the concealed hinges and compare it
with the mounting instruction template
o Ask if a door closer is used. This is adding additional side-loads onto the
hinges and increases the stress. Normally we don’t recommend to use a door
closer with concealed hinges because of the additional stress.
o Check the model choosen with regards to the door specification (height, width
and weight). Please refer for heavier or bigger doors to the HIN catalogue
section about the “adjusted door weight calculation”.
 There is a noise while opening the door
o Check the model choosen with regards to the door specification (height, width
and weight). Please refer for heavier or bigger doors to the HIN catalogue
section about the “adjusted door weight calculation”.
 FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

o Check if the hinge barrels are aligned properly.

Mortise locks

 It is hard to lock and unlock the door

o Check if there is too much pressure on the door leaf that might be caused by
wind, door seals or incorrect installation. With too much pressure the dead
bolt might be pressed too much on the edge of the strike plate making it hard
to lock and unlock. A visual check can be done on the lock to see if there are
scratches on the dead bolt. As a result such continious pressure can cause a
bending of the dead bolt making it hard to operate and leading to a damaged
lock mechanism in the long-run
o Check what kind of cylinder is used. In some cases very poor quality cylinders
are being used that have problems. In this case the problem is not caused by
the mortise lock but the cylinder
 The dead bolt is not working anymore
o Refer to above point and the damaged mechanism because of too much
pressure
o Check for scratches on the dead bolt. In some cases customers have an
open door with the extended dead bolt in order to avoid opening the door on
construction side by handle every time. This means the dead bolt crashes
with every closing into the frame and causing damage inside the lock case
and its’ mechanism.
 It is hard to open the door with the handle
o Check if there is too much pressure on the door leaf that might be caused by
wind, door seals or incorrect installation.
o Check the door gap between door leaf and frame. It should be between 4-
7mm.
 The door is not latching
o Check the gap between door and frame. If it is too small the latch bolt hits the
strike plate at the wrong angle so that it can retract automatically.
 The latch bolt is lose
 FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

o Check if the handing of the lock has been changed (DIN L to DIN R) and the
screws of the latch bolt is not tightened properly again after handing change

Panic bars

 The panic bar is not working (not properly releasing)

o Check if the handing (DIN L to R) was changed as per the mounting
instruction.
o Check if the gap between the latch bolt and strike plate is as per the mounting
instruction. If the gap is too small the bolt might get stuck in the strike plate.
 The upper and lower rods don’t retract properly.
o Check if the rod length was cut as per the mounting instruction. It could be
that the rods are too long and can be retracted through the mechanism.
o Check if the rods were properly connected to the panic bar mechanism

Cylinder

 The cylinder doesn’t work

o Check if the correct key is used
o Check if the cylinder screw was properly tightend in the lock case. If it is not
tightened properly, the cylinder might be moving too much inside the
lockcase.

Cylindrical knobs and handles

 The handle or knob can’t operate the lock

o Check if the door thickness is within the recommended range. If we are
outside the recommended door thickness range, the supplied accessories will
not get a hold of the mechanism to work properly. This case happened a few
times in India because the door thickness was outside the recommended
range.
 FAQ s and Quality Check List for Architectural Hardware

o Check if the handing was changed correctly (for HCH 1) and the handle is
tightly fixed to the base construction. The curved handle design is changed
for different handing. In some cases customers didn’t put the handle back
together properly.
o Check if the fixation screws are fixed tightly
 The handle is hanging and not straight
o Check for visual abuse (e.g. scratches) on the handle. Many complaints come
up because the handle is damaged because of wrong use.
o Check if visual changes can be detected on the handle construction itself. We
had cases where customers dismantled the springs and other components
and didn’t assemble them correctly again

Patch fittings

 The patch fitting (HGF-0500) is falling down

o Check if the glass cut-out is done as per instruction template.
o Check if the screws are tightened correctly and not lose
 The patch fitting (HGF-0500) can’t unlock the door
o Check if the strike plate and hole in the floor is aligned with the dead bolt. If
the dead bolt is pushed too much against the strike plate it might block the
retraction itself