How To Measure A Storefront Door Pull Handle and Push Bar

In this help guide we explain how to measure for a storefront door outside pull handle or inside push bar. Knowing how to properly measure for a pull handle or push bar is essential, especially if you are looking to replace your existing pull handle or push bar currently on your storefront door.

Standard Sizes

The first thing to understand is that storefront doors are utilized as front entrance type doors used in commercial buildings and retail stores of all kinds. As a front entrance door, it must be ADA compliant. ADA doors are required to be atleast 36" wide doors. As a result, all storefront door manufacturers offer 36" or 48" wide doors. These are the industry standard for storefront doors. The reason we point this out, is because it is a common misconception that your storefront door requires a custom length or special size inside mount push bar. If you are replacing a push bar on a storefront door you either need a push bar for a 36" or 48" door. In some rare cases you may have a 42" wide door, but this is very rare.

Center To Center Measurement

Keeping the standard door sizes in mind, let's explain how storefront door pull handles or push bars are measured. Every pull handle or push bar is referenced using a CTC measurement, or Center to Center measurement. This measurement is the distance between the center line of each end of the pull handle or push bar.

Push Bar Center To Center Measurement

As stated before 99.9% of storefront doors are standard sizes due to ADA requirements, this means that a push bar will be the following sizes:

36" Wide Storefront Door = 33-1/16" CTC
42" Wide Storefront Door = 39-1/16" CTC
48" Wide Storefront Door = 45-1/16" CTC

Pull Handle Center To Center Measurement

All storefront door manufacturers use the same group of center to center measurements for offset or straight pull handles which are: 9", 10", and 12". The reason for this is because outside storefront door handles must be ADA compliant. For this reasons, storefront door handles project out from the door 2-1/4" and are manufactured from 1" thick extruded aluminum so that any person can easily grip the door handle.

Pull Handle Center To Center Measurements

• 8" CTC
• 10" CTC
• 12" CTC

Pull Handle & Push Bar Combination CTC

A pull handle and push bar combination use the same standard CTC measurements as the individual pull handle or push bar measuring explained earlier. The diagram below depicts this.

Conclusion

Many building owners or even contractors may be unaware that storefront door handles and push bars are standardized products which must comply to ADA guidelines. If you are needing to replace an existing pull handle or push bar on a storefront door, we recommend the Tahoma brand. Tahoma specializes in storefront door hardware and as a result offers the best selection of storefront door pull handles and push bars used in the storefront door industry. Many other brands may manufacture pull handles and push bars, but they are not designed for storefront door applications, which could result in you ordering a product that does not meet ADA guidelines, and is not a commonly used product for a commercial storefront door. Have the confidence in your purchase with a Tahoma storefront door pull handle and/or push bar.


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