Construction Document Basics

Whether working for a construction company or owner, commercial and institutional locksmiths may be furnishing or installing hardware specified by a set of plans.

Commercial and institutional locksmiths will find themselves working on construction sites. Whether they are working for a construction company or owner, they may be furnishing or installing hardware specified by a set of plans. Construction documents are also referred to as building...


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The designation of the door is the opening number. An area may have more that one door serving it. For example, in Figure 2, there are two doors in the “WAITING AREA”. The area or room number for the waiting area is “400.” The first door is designated by the opening number of “400,” matching the area or room number. The second door is designated as “400a.” The “A” infers that it is the second door serving the area. If there were a third, is would have been designated “400B.”

From the door schedule, door “400a” has a door type of “DSV” and a frame type of “SOS.” The door is 36” wide and 84” tall. The hardware installed on the door is listed under the hardware specifications under set: “100.”

As you review the door hardware schedule, take a snapshot of the entire table.

When taking snapshots of documents: always try to be as perpendicular to the paper as possible so as to limit the amount of distortion that angles produce.

Taking pictures at high resolution will guarantee clarity when later zooming for details.

Hardware Sets

In this set of construction documents, the hardware specifications appear on the same page as the door schedule.

On larger projects, hardware specifications might appear in a separate book or catalog. When hardware specifications are in a book or catalog they will be found under “Division Eight Hardware.”

Hardware specifications under set: “100” indicate that a “pair-and-a-half” of standard 4-1/2”x4-1/2” butt hinges is used to fasten the door to the frame (CB179 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 652 ST). A Classroom lock secures the door (93K-7R14D83 PATD 626 BE) the door. The door is self-closing by having a closer installed (D-3551 P 689 RY). A wall bumper is installed to keep the lockset from hitting the door (1270CV 626 TR). Three door silencers are installed into the door frame to minimize the noise of the metal door hitting the metal frame (1229A TR).

Note: Handing of the hardware is not mentioned in the specifications and is left up to the hardware supplier.

At the bottom of the specifications is an important note: “List products are basis of design, equivalent products by approved manufacturers.” This tells the hardware supplier that if an equivalent product is going to be used it must first be authorized by the customer or customer’s agent (construction company or architect).

Sometimes a note that includes “or equivalent” or allows the hardware supplier to substitute products without authorization as long as the products being substituted are equivalent (i.e. Grade 1 lockset with Grade 1 lockset).

These particular construction documents do not include a means to determine which manufacturers are being used but the product numbers mentioned can be looked up on the Internet.

The person that specified the hardware in this set left a clue as to the manufacturers of each product. Refer to the last two letters in each product description: “BE”, “ST”, “RY”, and “TR”. These abbreviations (to the experienced) refer to: Best, Stanley, Ryobi, and Trimco.

If the locksmith is supplying the hardware and cannot find a product by its designation, the general contractor can help locate that information.

Door frame types

On the same page as the door schedule, there is a detail called “Door frame types.” (See Figure 3) Door “400a” in the door schedule referred to a door type “DSV”. Figure 3 reveals that this is a solid core door with a “fusion maple” veneer.

Notice that Figure 3 is an elevation. An elevation is a “flat” horizontal view of: a wall, a side of a building; or a detail. In this case the elevations show details of each door displayed in Figure 3. The diagonal dashed lines designate a swinging door.

The elevations also help specify where lites and vents will be mounted onto doors.

Head, jamb, and sill details

Again from the door schedule door “400a” has a frame type “SOS.”

Figure 5 is a combination head and jamb detail. Head details are horizontal cross-sections of the head of the door. Jamb details are vertical (looking down) cross-sections of the jamb.

A combination head and jamb detail infer that the there is nothing to learn from displaying separate details.

In Figure 5, how the door is mounted to the jamb and how the jamb is mounted to the wall is detailed. Snap on trim is featured as Timely jambs are being installed.

A quick glance at the “Code to Door Schedule” defines “SOS” as a “Snap-on-steel, pre-finished” door.

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