A Back Door That Couldn’t Stay Broken
One of our commercial clients at Green Hills Mall called us about a problem with the Detex lock on their back door. For a retail building, that’s not a “get to it next week” repair — the back door is where deliveries, trash runs, and employee traffic happen, and it has to stay secured without ever blocking an emergency exit.
What This Hardware Actually Does
The gray unit in the photo is a Detex alarmed exit lock — the kind with the red “EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY — PUSH HERE — ALARM WILL SOUND” paddle. It does three jobs at once:
- Stays locked from the outside, so the door isn’t an unwatched way in.
- Always opens from the inside with one push, so the door stays a legal emergency exit.
- Sounds an alarm the moment the paddle is pushed, so nobody slips out the back unnoticed.
That combination is why you see Detex hardware on the back doors of stores, restaurants, and warehouses all over Nashville.
How the Job Went
Detex hardware isn’t something you grab off a shelf at a hardware store. We ordered the replacement and had it in hand in about two days — and we told the client that timeline up front, so nobody was guessing.
Once the hardware arrived, we removed the failed unit, installed the new lock, keyed it, and tested the paddle and alarm. We secured the building. The photo above is the finished install.
Got a Failing Exit Device or Panic Bar?
We handle commercial door hardware across Nashville — Detex exit locks, crash/panic bars, Adams Rite mortise cylinders, keypads, and master key systems. If we have to order your hardware, we’ll tell you exactly how long it takes and what it costs before we start.
Call (615) 625-8000, or come by our shop at 208 Thompson Ln: Mon–Fri 8 AM–6 PM, Sat 10 AM–4 PM.