It's one thing to comprehend maglocks. Another is figuring out how to fit them. It's never as easy as grabbing a maglock and fastening it to a door frame. You must consider the kind of door, how it opens, and what kind of material it is composed of. In order to mount the magnet safely, you must next identify and locate the appropriate brackets.
Surface Maglocks
The term suggests that surface maglocks are installed on the exterior of doors and door frames. The matching armature plate is installed on the door leaf, and the magnet is mounted on the door frame. Different types of brackets will be required depending on the way the door opens.
How to install surface maglocks on doors that open outward?
You’ll need the following in order to install a surface maglock on a door that opens away from you:
- An electro-magnet
- An armature plate
- An L bracket
- An armature housing
- All the associated screws and bolts
The L bracket is fitted to the door frame. The orientation of the L depends on the reveal depth in the frame. In most cases, we recommend that you fix the long side of the L to the door frame and fit the magnet to the short side. This ensures your installation is as strong as possible, with the long side of the L fixed to the door frame. Whichever way you do it, the other side of the L bracket sticks out perpendicular to the door frame. The magnet is bolted to the underside of the protruding side of the L.
How to mount surface maglocks on inward opening doors?
To mount a surface maglock on a door that opens towards you, you will need:
- An electro-magnet
- An armature plate
- A Z&L bracket
- All the associated screws and bolts
The L bracket is fitted to the door frame, with the long side of the L against the frame and the short side sticking out perpendicular to the frame at the top (upside-down L). The electro-magnet is bolted to the underside of the short side of the L (inside the L).
One part of the Z bracket is fitted to the door leaf, with one side flat against the door and the other sticking out at a 90-degree angle at the top, to create a Z shape. Meanwhile, the armature plate is fitted to the other half of the Z bracket. The two rough sides of the Z bracket are matched and fixed together, with the exact positioning of the two dictated by the spacing needed for the armature plate.
How to mount surface maglocks on glass doors?
To mount a surface maglock on an inward-opening door that is made of glass, you will need:
- An electro-magnet
- An armature plate
- A Z&L bracket
- Two U-brackets
- All the associated screws and bolts
On a glass door and glass frame, you can’t screw directly into the glass. An extra bracket is needed to allow you to mount the maglock. The additional bracket is called a U bracket, and it fits around the top of the door leaf and the bottom of the door frame (when the door frame or header is made of glass). These give you a metal base to then fit the usual brackets to.
The L bracket is fitted to the U bracket on the door frame, with the long side of the L against the U bracket and the short side sticking out perpendicular to the frame at the top. The electro-magnet is bolted to the underside of the short side of the L.
One part of the Z bracket is fitted to the U bracket on the door leaf, with one side flat against the U bracket and the other sticking out at a 90-degree angle at the top. Meanwhile, the armature plate is fitted to the other half of the Z bracket. The two rough sides of the Z bracket are matched and fixed together, with the exact positioning of the two dictated by the spacing needed for the armature plate.
