Types Of Storefront Door Handles

Storefront door handles are arguably the most important part of a commercial entrance. Without a handle pedestrians are unable to use the door to enter or exit a retail store. So when a storefront door handle is broken, it must be replaced or repaired immediately. There are a variety of storefront door handle designs used by commercial storefront door manufacturers today.

Exterior Side Handles

An exterior side storefront door handle, is a type of storefront door handle that is designed to attach to the outside of the storefront door. This is the handle that incoming pedestrians will use to enter your store or commercial building.

Offset Pull Handle

The most common handle type used on the exterior side of a storefront glass door is an offset pull handle. The term "offset" is used in the name because the portion of the handle that is gripped by your hand is offset from the door's lock stile. An offset pull handle mounts to a storefront door's lock stile at two points, the top handle portion attachment point and the bottom handle portion attachment point. The top and bottom portions of the handle project from the storefront door and bend at a 90 degree horizontal offset towards the center of the door. Offset handles are commonly used because they are easy to identify by sight for incoming pedestrians wanting to use the entrance door.

Straight Pull Handle

Straight pull handles are a type of storefront door handle that does not have an offset. The top and bottom points of the handle mount directly to the storefront door's lock stile just like the offset pull handle. However, the top and bottom portion of the handle project from the storefront door and bend 90 degrees to connect to one another with no horizontal offset. Straight pull handles are not as popular as offset pull handles, but are still used today.

Interior Side Handles

An interior side storefront door handle, is a type of storefront door handle that is designed to attach to the inside of the storefront door. This is the handle that exiting pedestrians will use to leave your store or commercial building.

Double Bend Push Bar

A double bend push bar is a type of storefront exit handle that spans the entire width of the storefront door. One end of the push bar mounts to the lock stile of the door and the other end mounts to the hinge stile of the door. The ends of the push bar project out away from the storefront door. Both push bar ends bend 90 degrees and meet together creating a full length push bar spanning the entire door width. With both ends bending, the term "double bend push bar" was coined. Double bend push bars are the most popular interior side handle used on storefront doors.

Single Bend Push Bar

A single bend push bar is identical to the double bend push bar, but only the lock stile push bar end projects away from the door and bends at 90 degrees. The other end of the push bar mounts to the hinge stile and does not project away from the door. The lock stile push bar end connects to the hinge stile end of the push bar, creating a sloped full length push bar. Since this push bar type only has one bend in it, the name "single bend push bar" was coined. Single bend push bars are used on many commercial storefront doors today.

ADA Compliance & Location Of Storefront Handles

According to ADA guidelines section 404.2.7, operable parts including door handles must be mounted between 34 inches and 48 inches. Exterior storefront door pull handles are commonly sized by leading storefront door manufacturers with 9, 10, or 12" center to center mounting patterns. The lower attachment point of the storefront door handle should not be mounted lower than 34 inches. Per ADA guidelines section 404.2.3, an ADA door shall have atleast a 32" clear door opening. This means ADA storefront doors are atleast 36" wide. Therefore industry standard push bars are designed for 36" and 48" push bars. If your storefront door requires a custom push bar less than 36", then this would indicate that your entrance door is not ADA compliant.