WHAT IS MULTI-POINT DOOR AND WINDOW LOCKING HARDWARE?
WHAT IS MULTIPOINT DOOR LOCKING HARDWARE? How Many Different Styles and Brands Are there?
The best way to describe multipoint door locking hardware is to contrast it with the more common single point hardware found on most doors.
- A single point mortise lock consists of a latch and deadbolt only. The deadbolt provides the single locking point between the door and jamb.
- A multipoint mortise lock has multiple locking points which simultaneously lock into place through the action of a continuous travel drive rail or rod system usually activated by lifting the door handle.
- Some shootbolt systems provide three locking points – at the deadbolt, at the top shootbolt (where it enters the top jamb), and at the bottom shootbolt (where it enters the sill).
ACTIVE DOOR VS. INACTIVE DOOR – What’s the Difference?
- Active doors use different hardware than inactive doors.
- An active door is either a single door, or the primary functioning door in a pair of French doors (the door that opens first). The latch and deadbolt will always be part of the active door hardware.
- An inactive door is the secondary functioning door in a pair of French doors. This door can only be opened after the active door has been opened.