PDQ Manufacturing

PDQ Manufacturing PDQ offers customers an extensive line of Commercial Grade Mortise locks, Cylindrical locks, Closers,

When did door hardware become a line item instead of a 15-year decision?The shift happened when procurement started revi...
05/28/2026

When did door hardware become a line item instead of a 15-year decision?

The shift happened when procurement started reviewing hardware schedules the same way they review office supplies, lowest unit cost, approved vendor list, move on.

The problem is that door hardware isn't a consumable. A commercial door closer, properly specified and installed, should be in service for 15 years. A lockset on a moderate-traffic opening should last the building's lifetime. An exit device on a required egress door should never fail.

When hardware is bought to a price point rather than a performance spec, the lifecycle math changes, quietly, over years, in ways that don't connect back to the original procurement decision.

A useful exercise for any facilities director: pull the last three years of hardware replacements from your maintenance records. Calculate the total cost including parts, labor, and any door or frame damage from failed hardware. Then compare that number against what Grade 1 specified hardware would have cost on those same openings at installation.

The delta is almost always uncomfortable.

Hardware that costs 20% more at the bid table and lasts twice as long isn't more expensive. The math just doesn't fit on the original PO.

Grade 1 cylindrical locksets cost roughly $15 more per opening than Grade 2. A single service call to replace a failed l...
05/26/2026

Grade 1 cylindrical locksets cost roughly $15 more per opening than Grade 2. A single service call to replace a failed lock in a commercial building runs $150-$300.

The math is not complicated. But it gets lost in the bid process because hardware is compared on unit cost, not lifecycle cost.

ANSI/BHMA A156.2 Grade 1 cylindrical locksets are tested to 250,000 cycles. Grade 2 is tested to 125,000. On a busy office corridor or school hallway, the difference in field performance over a 10-year service life shows up in failures, in service calls, and in a maintenance tech's time.

The other factor that doesn't appear on the hardware schedule: failure mode. Grade 1 locksets tend to degrade gradually, slower latch, worn trim. When Grade 2 fails in a high-cycle environment, it tends to fail completely, often taking the strike with it.

Specifying Grade 1 on high-traffic corridors, main entries, and any accessible route is the call that makes a hardware schedule defensible when a facilities director asks why they're replacing locks four years into an install.

The $15 question is almost always the wrong one.

Today we pause to honor those who gave everything. From our PDQ family to yours — Happy Memorial Day.
05/25/2026

Today we pause to honor those who gave everything. From our PDQ family to yours — Happy Memorial Day.

Projects that break ground in June and July are specifying hardware right now, or they're already behind.Commercial cons...
05/21/2026

Projects that break ground in June and July are specifying hardware right now, or they're already behind.

Commercial construction follows a consistent rhythm. Summer project starts require hardware schedules confirmed in Q1 or early Q2. By the time framing is up and openings are roughed in, the submittal process should be well underway.

The variable that catches contractors off guard every year: lead times. Imported hardware with 8-14 week lead times looks fine in the spec until the schedule slips, and most do. Domestically stocked hardware changes that math. When the project runs three weeks behind framing, availability shouldn't be the reason the CO gets pushed another month.

If you're working on projects scheduled to close out in Q3 or Q4, now is the right time to review your hardware schedule and confirm your stocking situation with your distributor.

PDQ reps are available for project review, spec cross-reference, and lead time confirmation. Reach out to your local distributor or drop a comment below and we'll connect you with the right contact.

Does a hospital main entrance need the same hardware spec as the mechanical room behind the boiler? Most hardware schedu...
05/19/2026

Does a hospital main entrance need the same hardware spec as the mechanical room behind the boiler? Most hardware schedules treat them identically.

Every commercial project has a hardware schedule. What most schedules don't do is meaningfully differentiate specification by use frequency.

A main hospital entrance can cycle 1,500+ times per day. A mechanical room door cycles a dozen. Specifying them to the same standard isn't conservative, it's inefficient in one direction and under-built in the other.

A more defensible framework:

High-frequency exterior openings: Grade 1 across the board, closers, locksets, exit devices. These openings drive your maintenance costs.

Medium-frequency interior openings: Grade 1 closers where specified, Grade 1 or 2 locksets based on security requirement.

Low-frequency utility openings: Grade 2 hardware is often appropriate and defensible from a lifecycle standpoint.

This isn't about cutting corners. It's about putting Grade 1 where Grade 1 matters most, which is also the argument that holds up when the project goes to value engineering.

A hardware schedule that tells that story is harder to cut than one that doesn't.

Wishing you a safe and meaningful Memorial Day! We'll be closed Monday, May 25th in observance of the holiday, please pl...
05/18/2026

Wishing you a safe and meaningful Memorial Day! We'll be closed Monday, May 25th in observance of the holiday, please place your orders ahead of time so we can get everything ready for you. Thank you for your support! ⭐

Exit devices aren't code compliance. They're the last piece of hardware a person touches in a building emergency.That re...
05/14/2026

Exit devices aren't code compliance. They're the last piece of hardware a person touches in a building emergency.

That reframe matters when you're specifying.

NFPA 101 and IBC requirements define when panic or fire exit hardware is required. What the code doesn't tell you is how that device performs under stress, high traffic, deferred maintenance, a building full of people moving fast in the wrong direction.

ANSI/BHMA A156.3 Grade 1 exit devices are tested to 250,000 cycles. Grade 2 is tested to 100,000. On a true egress door in a school, hospital, or assembly occupancy, the difference shows up in the field before the device should ever need replacement.

The other factor worth specifying carefully: trim compatibility. Egress routes require coordinated locking and exit hardware that functions as a system. Devices from a single manufacturer eliminate the interoperability gaps that create failures in egress function when it matters most.

Exit hardware is worth the extra five minutes in the spec review. It's the opening that has to work, every time, under any conditions.

ADA hardware corrections on the punch list cost more than the compliant hardware would have from the start.It happens on...
05/07/2026

ADA hardware corrections on the punch list cost more than the compliant hardware would have from the start.

It happens on a lot of commercial projects. Hardware gets installed. The inspector walks the building. A handful of openings get flagged, lever trim that requires tight grasping, a closer with too much opening force, pull hardware on an accessible route.

Then someone has to go back.

ADA Title III and IBC Section 1010 have specific, enforceable requirements for door hardware on accessible routes:

→ Operable hardware must not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist
→ Doors must be operable with a closed fist (yes, this is an actual field test)
→ Door closers must allow a minimum of 5 seconds from 90 to 12 degrees from the closed position

Hardware that meets these requirements isn't a premium upgrade. It's standard Grade 1 commercial spec on an accessible opening.

If you're specifying any building with accessible routes, which is most commercial construction, run the hardware schedule against these requirements before the submittal goes out. The return trip is significantly more expensive.

Every building has one piece of hardware that gets value engineered first.It's always the closer. It's almost always a m...
05/05/2026

Every building has one piece of hardware that gets value engineered first.

It's always the closer. It's almost always a mistake.

The logic makes sense at bid time, a closer is a closer. Five options at five price points, and the cheaper ones look identical in the submittal. They don't perform identically. Not after two years in a high-traffic corridor.

BHMA Grade 1 certification means a door closer survived 2,000,000 test cycles. Grade 3 means it survived 500,000. A busy school entrance hits that threshold in about 18 months.

The failure isn't dramatic, it's gradual. Slower close speed. Inconsistent latching. A door that technically closes but won't latch without a kick. Then a maintenance call, a leak, a frame that's been adjusted too many times to hold a mounting screw.

By the time a Grade 3 closer is replaced, the total project cost is typically triple what a Grade 1 would have cost installed on day one.

The PDQ 7100 Series is Grade 1 certified, cast-iron body, stocked domestically. It's what your spec called for before the VE round started.

If you're an architect who's watched a spec get engineered down to Grade 3, it's worth holding that line.

04/30/2026

🚚💨 Yes… we still ship Pretty Darn Quick.

Fast shipping has always been part of PDQ’s DNA, and this classic video proves it. Years later, the message still holds true:

👉 1–5 Day Shipping on most orders.
👉 Robust inventory ready when you are.
👉 Optimized logistics that keep your projects moving, not waiting.

Because downtime is costly, and your schedule shouldn’t depend on backorders.

Whether you’re an architect, distributor, or facility pro, you can count on PDQ to keep your hardware, and your project, on track.

💬 What’s the fastest turnaround you’ve ever needed on a job?
Tell us below!

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17603

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