What a door hardware schedule is
A door hardware schedule, sometimes called a hardware schedule or a hardware set list, is the detailed listing of the hardware for a project. It can be a separate document, or it can be the hardware columns and sets attached to the door schedule, depending on the office and the size of the job.
Its job is to turn a reference like hardware set 04 on the door schedule into an actual list of items: so many hinges, this lock, that closer, these plates, and so on. The door schedule says which set each opening gets; the hardware schedule says what is in the set.
How hardware is organized into sets
Hardware is grouped into sets, also called groups or headings, each given a number. A set is the full list of hardware for one type of opening. The door schedule then references a set by its number against each opening, so many openings can share one set.
This keeps the documents manageable. Rather than listing every screw for every door, the hardware schedule defines each set once, and the door schedule just points to it. An office building might have a handful of sets covering dozens of openings.
What a hardware set lists
A set lists all the hardware needed to make one type of opening function, with quantities, product descriptions, finishes and often the manufacturer. The exact contents depend on the opening, but most sets draw from the same families of items.
- Hinges or continuous hinge
- Lock or latch set, or exit (panic) device
- Door closer
- Push, pull or protection plates (kick and armor plates)
- Door stops and holders
- Gasketing, seals and sweeps
- Thresholds
- Silencers, coordinators and other trim as needed
Who writes it
On most commercial jobs the hardware schedule is written by an Architectural Hardware Consultant, or AHC, a credential administered through the Door and Hardware Institute (DHI). The AHC takes the architect's intent and the code requirements and turns them into correct, coordinated sets.
Good hardware specification is detailed work: it has to satisfy fire and life-safety codes, accessibility, security and durability, all while keeping the sets consistent across the building. That is why the role is specialized and why the schedule carries real authority on a job.
How distributors price and submit from it
The distributor's estimator prices the project by working through the hardware schedule set by set, then multiplying each set across the openings that call for it on the door schedule. Price the sets once, apply them across the counts, and you have the hardware portion of the bid.
After award, the distributor submits hardware for approval, typically a hardware submittal that restates the sets with the specific products and cut sheets being provided. Accuracy here is everything, because the submittal becomes the basis for the order.
Keeping sets consistent
The risk on hardware is that a set gets priced one way, ordered another and submitted a third, especially when it is retyped between documents. eMullion keeps the hardware sets, the openings they apply to and the pricing in one place, so the set you estimate is the set you submit and order.
