Solid Bar Gasketing

After 7 years of posting a new piece of door & hardware information on this blog every day, it makes me very happy to receive a new question that I haven’t thought about before.  Last week’s question was related to the solid bar gasketing designed to allow closer shoes (and other hardware) to be attached directly to the gasketing, rather than discontinuing the gasketing in the location of the closer shoe.  I have specified this type of product on many projects and it always makes me crazy to see that instead of installing the gasketing first and attaching the closer to the gasketing, the closer was installed first and the gasketing cut around the closer shoe (see photo below).

So the question is…can door closers, coordinators, and strikes for surface vertical rod exit devices be mounted to the gasketing – if the door is a fire door?  Something this specific would not typically be addressed in the codes or standards (at least – it isn’t addressed today), so I checked with our compliance engineers who are responsible for all of our certifications and listing procedures.  Our opinion is that a closer shoe or coordinator could be mounted to the gasketing*, because even if the aluminum melts away during a fire, the closers/coordinators have already done their job before that occurs.  BUT – the strikes for the fire exit hardware must be attached directly to the frame with the gasketing discontinued at the location of the strikes, because the latching hardware must keep the door closed and latched for the duration of the fire.

Does anyone have different thoughts/opinions/experiences with this application?

*Note: In order for gasketing to be used on a fire door assembly, it must be listed for that purpose.

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This is an exterior door where the gasketing was intended to be installed first and the closer mounted to the gasketing.  Foiled again.  Here’s another post where I saw a similar gasketing situation, except not with the solid type.

Gasketing Cut

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