Rockwood 325 Cast Latch Protector Satin Chrome Finish

The 325 is a cast plate that covers the gap between door and frame at the latch, so a pry bar or shim card cannot reach the latchbolt. It is the fix for out-swing openings where the latch edge is exposed on the attack side. It protects the latch; it is not a lock or a strike, and it does not change how the door latches.

It mounts with 1/4-20 thru bolts and finish washers, so the fasteners pass through the door and are secured from the protected side. There are no exposed fasteners on the face. Because it is a thru-bolt mount, you drill the door rather than relying on wood or sheet-metal screws in the edge.

For aluminum storefront and narrow-stile aluminum entrances, the guards built for that opening are the Don-Jo LP-307 and GLP-307 at 2-5/8 by 7 inches, and the NELP-207 at 3-1/2 by 6.5 inches, all out-swing entrance guards. The Rockwood 325 is a cast brass guard for general commercial openings. Match the guard's footprint to the stile you have; a storefront stile will not always take a wider plate.

No. A latch guard protects the latch on doors that swing away from the attacker, where the gap at the latch edge is reachable from outside. The comparable entrance guards are all specified out-swing for the same reason. On an in-swing door the stop covers the latch, and your exposure is the frame and the strike instead.

Material and construction are the dividing line. The Rockwood 325 is made of .375 inch solid cast brass with 1/4-20 thru bolts and a finish washer, and it has a clean face with no exposed fasteners. The Don-Jo LP-307 is a 12-gauge steel latch protector measuring 2-5/8 inches by 7 inches, built for aluminum storefront entrance doors and out-swing openings. If the opening is an aluminum storefront stile, the LP-307 is dimensioned for that narrow stile; the cast brass 325 is the heavier plate for a wood or hollow metal out-swing door.

Solid cast brass, .375 inch thick. That is a casting rather than a formed sheet guard, so it resists bending under pry pressure instead of deforming. Peer guards like the Don-Jo LP-307 are 12-gauge steel, a different construction entirely.

If some openings have exit devices and you want one family covering both conditions, the Trimco PG8000 Series is a panic and latch guard line. The Rockwood 325 is a latch protector only. Buyers standardizing a mixed building often run one series across the exit-device doors and a cast guard on the rest.

Mount it flat on the door face over the latch area. It is a .375 inch thick casting, so it stands proud of the door face by that amount, and on an out-swing door that projection sits outside the frame rather than in the closing path. Check clearance against face-applied weatherstrip and any surface stop in that zone before you drill for the thru bolts.

The Don-Jo NELP-207 is 3-1/2 inches by 6.5 inches in 12-gauge steel, for aluminum entrance doors on out-swing openings, so it covers close to an inch more width than the 2-5/8 inch by 7 inch LP-307 while being half an inch shorter. The Rockwood 325 is the cast brass alternative, .375 inch solid cast with a face carrying no exposed fasteners.

One finish: 630, satin stainless steel. On the Rockwood order code that is the US26D-equivalent satin appearance, so it blends with the satin chrome and satin stainless trim already on most commercial openings rather than standing out as a bright piece.

It is a commercial-duty product. Rockwood trim of this type goes on institutional buildings, offices, retail, education, detention, sports facilities, hotels and restaurants, and higher-end residences. A property manager standardizing a building can spec the same 325 across openings that share the same latch condition.