Commercial Doors

Commercial doors are available in hollow metal, stainless steel, architectural wood, fire-rated, glazed, louvered, and specialty configurations. The right choice depends on the opening rather than the building type alone. Interior offices may favor architectural wood, while service corridors, mechanical rooms, exterior openings, and high-traffic areas often call for steel. Fire-rated openings add another layer because the door, frame, glass, and hardware must work together as a listed assembly.

Commercial steel doors are commonly selected for durability, security, exterior exposure, and demanding service, while commercial wood doors are often chosen for interior architectural openings where appearance is a major consideration. Both can be built for heavy commercial use and both can be fire rated within the limits of the product listing. The best choice depends on traffic, environmental exposure, design intent, hardware, required rating, and the existing frame or wall construction.

Yes. Commercial openings can be quoted as coordinated packages that include the door, frame, lock or exit device, hinges, closer, glazing, thresholds, gasketing, and other required hardware. Buying the opening as a package can simplify coordination because handing, hardware preparation, frame reinforcement, fire labels, and accessory compatibility are reviewed together. It is especially useful on new construction, renovation projects with multiple openings, and fire-rated work where component compatibility matters.

For a replacement door, start with the actual door width, height, thickness, handing, hinge locations, lock location, undercut, frame type, and any glass or louver cutouts. Photos of the existing opening and hardware are also useful. If the opening is fire rated, document the labels on the door and frame before ordering. A nominal description such as “3 foot by 7 foot steel door” is rarely enough to guarantee that a replacement will align with the existing frame and hardware.

Many commercial doors are ordered in familiar nominal widths and heights, but the actual leaf size, frame opening, undercut, and clear opening are different measurements. A 3’0″ x 7’0″ door is common, yet commercial projects also use narrower, wider, taller, and custom sizes. Before ordering, confirm whether the dimension you have is the door leaf, frame opening, rough opening, or wall opening. That distinction prevents many of the sizing mistakes that occur on replacement projects.

Yes. Commercial steel and wood doors are available with fire ratings for many common building applications. Steel doors can be available with ratings up to 3 hours, while commercial wood doors are commonly available up to 90 minutes, subject to the specific product listing. The required rating is determined by the rated wall or barrier and the applicable code. Frames, glazing, hardware, and installation must also satisfy the requirements of the complete fire-door assembly.

Yes. Commercial doors can be ordered with vision lites, larger glazed openings, and louvers in many standard and custom configurations. Glass can improve visibility and borrowed light, while louvers are used where airflow is needed. Fire-rated versions are subject to additional limitations on glass type, exposed area, louver type, location, and hardware. If the opening is rated, the desired glass or louver configuration should be identified early so it can be checked against the applicable listing.

Commercial doors can be prepared for cylindrical locks, mortise locks, exit devices, deadbolts, closers, continuous hinges, electrified hardware, and many other common applications. Factory preparation is particularly valuable when the hardware schedule is known because reinforcements and machining can be coordinated before the door reaches the jobsite. Replacement openings may require custom hinge and lock locations to match an existing frame, so measurements should be taken from the actual opening rather than assumed from the nominal size.

A stock commercial door is usually the best fit when the opening uses common dimensions, standard hardware locations, and a readily available construction. Custom doors become important when you need unusual sizes, manufacturer-specific hinge or lock locations, special veneers, uncommon glass or louver elevations, specialty cores, pair configurations, or project-specific fire labels. The decision is less about whether the project is “custom” and more about whether the opening falls inside a stocked product’s exact limits.

Send whatever project information is available: door schedule, plans, specifications, opening dimensions, photos, hardware sets, fire-rating requirements, wall type, frame details, and desired finish. You do not need to have every detail solved before requesting pricing. A commercial door specialist can usually identify the missing information that affects the quote. The more complete the opening information is, the easier it is to compare the quoted product with the project requirements and avoid revisions later.