Design Hardware 116 Parallel Arm Drop Plate, 3-1/2" Height, Steel, Non-handed

A drop plate lowers the closer body below the top of the frame face so the shoe and arm still line up when there isn't enough flat frame surface to mount the closer directly. The Design Hardware 116 PA drop plate is 3-1/2 inches tall and is the part you add when a narrow top rail, a stop, or an existing frame condition leaves too little mounting area for the closer body in parallel arm application.

It's specified as a parallel arm drop plate, so it's intended for PA mount, where the closer body mounts to the door face under the stop and the arm runs back to the frame soffit. For regular arm or top jamb mounting you need the plate made for that application, not this one.

Corbin Russwin makes drop plates that serve the same purpose. The 188F65 is a Grade 1 door closer drop plate for the DC3220 with full cover, and the 597F58 is a drop plate for the DC3210 with full cover. Both are listed for 1-3/4 inch doors. The difference is fit: the Corbin plates are cut to their own DC3000/DC5000 series closer bodies, while the Design Hardware 116 drop plate is a 3-1/2 inch tall steel plate made for the 116 series closer in parallel arm mounting. Match the plate to the closer brand and body you actually have on the door, not just to the mounting style.

Non-handed. One 116 PA drop plate covers both hands, so you don't have to stock two versions for a building with doors swinging both ways.

Two painted finishes: Aluminum Painted and Dark Bronze Painted. Match it to the closer body already on the door so the plate doesn't read as a patch, since the plate sits in plain sight under the closer.

Yes, it's catalogued as a replacement part for 116 Series door closers, so you can order the plate by itself when the original is bent, missing, or the wrong finish. It does not include the closer, arm, or shoe.

Often yes. Dropping the closer body 3-1/2 inches gives you mounting surface on the door face below the frame stop and restores the arm-to-soffit geometry for parallel arm mounting. If the top rail is wide enough already and the problem is arm length or bracket location, the plate won't solve it.

They fix different problems. A drop plate lowers the closer body when there is not enough flat head frame surface to mount it - that is what the Design Hardware 116 parallel arm drop plate does, at 3-1/2 inches tall in steel. An arm changes how the closer connects to the door or frame: the Corbin Russwin 688F77 is a regular arm with hold-open, and the 688F95 is a regular arm for top jamb mounting. If the closer body has nowhere to sit, you need the plate; if the linkage or mounting geometry is the issue, you need the arm.

The 116 PA drop plate is steel and rated standard duty, which suits typical interior and office openings where the closer itself is a standard duty unit. For high traffic entrances running heavy duty closers, use the plate matched to that closer rather than a standard duty part.

Hold-open is a function of the closer arm, not the drop plate. The 116 parallel arm drop plate is a plain steel mounting plate, offered in aluminum painted and dark bronze painted finishes. For hold-open on a Corbin Russwin closer, the part that provides it is an arm such as the 688F77 regular arm with hold-open. Specify hold-open when you select the arm and use the drop plate only to gain mounting surface.