Deltana 18SB 18" Surface Bolt, Heavy-Duty, Solid Brass

That's the main use for the Deltana 18SB. It's a solid brass surface bolt with an 18 inch rod, mounted on the inside face of the door, so it throws up into the head or down into the threshold to hold an inactive leaf fixed while the active leaf swings. The long rod is what lets you reach the header on a tall door without extension hardware. Because it surface mounts, you're screwing it to the door face rather than routing a pocket into the edge.

Strikes are ordered separately. Deltana builds an assortment of matching strikes for its surface bolts so you can pick the one that suits where the rod lands, a mortise strike for a threshold or floor, or a surface strike at the head. Decide the strike when you decide the mounting location, and match it to the same finish as the bolt.

Ten, so you can match it to the rest of the door hardware in the building: PVD Polished Brass, Polished Brass, Unlacquered Brass, Antique Brass, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Brushed Nickel, Antique Nickel, Polished Chrome, Brushed Chrome, and Paint Black. If you're standardizing a fleet of units, PVD Polished Brass holds its color better than lacquered brass in high-touch or exterior-facing locations, and Unlacquered Brass is the one that will patina by design.

Length is about reach, not strength. Pick the 18 inch Deltana 18SB when the bolt has to be mounted low on the door and still throw into the header, or when you want the operating lever within hand reach on a tall door. For a bolt sitting right at the top rail or right at the floor, a short one does the same job, the Emtek 8511 solid brass surface bolt is 6 inches, and the Ives SB360 in steel is 12 inches. All of them latch the same way, the rod just spans a different distance.

Commercial. The 18SB is the heavy-duty build in Deltana's surface bolt line, solid brass rather than plated steel or a hollow rod, which is what carries it through repeated daily use on an inactive leaf in a lobby, corridor, or multi-family entry. For a heavy traffic opening where you also want the bolt to hold itself down, the ABH HD1805 uses a 3/4 inch stainless steel bar with auto-locking.

Both hold an inactive leaf, but they install differently. The Deltana 18SB surface mounts, everything screws to the face of the door, so it goes onto an existing door with no routing and it's visible from the inside. A flush bolt has to be mortised into the door edge, which means machining, but it disappears into the door. On a retrofit where you don't want to pull and machine the leaf, the surface bolt is the practical choice. On new work where appearance matters, flush bolts are the cleaner look.

The 18SB is thrown and retracted by hand, there's no key and no locking of the bolt in position. Anyone on the inside can operate it. If you need the bolt itself secured so it can't be released by someone reaching the inside face, that's a different part, the Ives SB1630 is a locking surface bolt with a 1 inch throw and keyed security. Choose the keyed version for a stairwell, a storage room, or anywhere tenant access to the inactive leaf has to be controlled.

They are both surface bolts but they are not the same part. The Deltana 18SB is solid brass with an 18 inch rod and is offered in decorative finishes including PVD Polished Brass, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Antique Nickel and Unlacquered Brass. The Ives SB1600 is a heavy duty steel surface bolt with a 3-1/2 inch throw and a fire rating. If the opening was specified for the fire rated steel bolt, the brass 18SB is not a drop-in for it, and if the door was specified for the brass finish family, the steel bolt is not a match for the rest of the trim.

Within brass surface bolts, the Delaney Solid Brass Surface Bolt and the Delaney Decorative Solid Brass Surface Bolt are the closest peers by material, the Delaney decorative version carrying a dressier face for exposed applications. The Emtek 8511 is a solid brass surface bolt at 6 inches, and the Ives SB1640 is a brass construction surface bolt with a 1 inch throw that carries a fire rating. The Deltana 18SB is the long-rod option among these at 18 inches, heavy-duty and solid brass.

The Deltana 18SB is a commercial-rated heavy-duty solid brass surface bolt in an 18 inch rod, offered across ten finishes from Polished Chrome and Brushed Nickel through Oil Rubbed Bronze and Antique Brass, which is what makes it easy to hold one bolt across doors with different trim finishes. The Trimco 4800 Series and the ABH HD1805 Series are the series-based alternatives if the standard is being written around a single manufacturer series. Where individual openings need a fire rated bolt within that same standard, the Ives SB1600 and SB1640 are fire rated, and the Ives SB1630 is 3-Hour UL Listed.

It mounts on the inside face, which keeps the working parts out of the weather, and brass doesn't rust the way a plated steel bolt will where damp gets to it. Two finish notes if the opening sees sun or salt air: Unlacquered Brass will darken and patina, and lacquered finishes can eventually check. PVD Polished Brass is the finish in the range built to hold its appearance.

Delaney Hardware makes two solid brass surface bolts, a plain one and a decorative version, if you want a brass bolt in a different profile. Trimco's 4800 Series is the option to look at when the spec is a commercial architectural bolt. For matching to existing hardware, the deciding factor is usually finish rather than brand, and the Deltana 18SB spans ten finishes from Polished and Antique Brass through Oil Rubbed Bronze and Brushed Nickel, which covers most of what's already hanging on a building.

Among the comparable heavy-duty surface bolts, the Ives SB1600 carries a 3-1/2 inch throw, the Ives SB360 in 12 inch length carries a 1-1/4 inch throw, and the Ives SB1630 and SB1640 each carry a 1 inch throw. The Deltana 18SB is distinguished instead by rod length, an 18 inch solid brass rod that reaches from the mounting point to the head or sill of a tall opening.