Rockwood 604 Door Guard

Plan on a strike footprint of 1-5/8 x 1-1/16 inches on the frame and a body footprint of 1-1/16 x 2-9/16 inches on the door. Both are small enough for a narrow stop or a tight stile, but on a hollow metal frame with a shallow stop, check the strike leg against the 1-5/8 inch dimension before you drill.

It meets ANSI A156.16, product code L13042, which is the BHMA standard covering auxiliary hardware including door guards. Rockwood lists the 604 as commercial hardware, and the body is solid cast brass rather than a stamped or zinc part, which is what carries it through the cycle testing in that standard. For a spec that calls out A156.16 auxiliary hardware on guest room or apartment entries, this answers the callout directly.

The Delaney Safety Door Guard, Ball Bearing is the other swing bar style door guard to look at. The Rockwood 604 is a solid brass swing bar guard with a 1-1/16 inch x 2-9/16 inch body and a 1-5/8 inch x 1-1/16 inch strike, and it certifies to ANSI A156.16, L13042, so it is the one to specify when the door schedule calls out a BHMA auxiliary trim number. The Delaney unit is sold as its Safety Door Guard series and uses a ball bearing pivot at the bar. Both mount to the door face with the strike on the frame, so the swap is a face-mount for face-mount change on an occupied opening.

Three finishes: 612 satin bronze, 619 satin nickel, and 626 satin chrome. 626 is the one that matches the satin chrome levers and closers on most commercial openings, and 619 satin nickel is the usual match where the building was specified in US15. All three are on solid cast brass, so the finish is applied over brass rather than over plated steel.

Rockwood publishes the 604 in US10, US15 and US26D, and those map to the ordering codes 612, 619 and 626. US26D satin chrome is the same finish as 626, so a 626 guard will sit beside your existing US26D hardware. US10 satin bronze corresponds to 612. Order by the number and you'll land on the same finish family as what's already hung.

A swing bar like the Rockwood 604 uses a rigid cast bar that drops into a strike knuckle, so there is no slack to pry against and nothing to unhook by reaching through a cracked door the way a chain allows. Chains are cheaper and forgiving of sloppy alignment, but they stretch and the links deform. For turnover-heavy multi-family and hotel entries where the guard gets used daily, the rigid bar is the one that survives; the tradeoff is that it needs its 1-5/8 x 1-1/16 inch strike landed accurately on the frame.

The Delaney Safety Door Guard is the other guard we stock, built as a ball bearing type rather than a plain swing bar. It's the alternative where you want the bearing action; the Rockwood 604 is the one to spec when the job calls for solid cast brass and an ANSI A156.16 listing.

They are both swing bar door guards, but they are not the same part and they do not share a strike. The Rockwood 604 is cast brass, is graded to ANSI A156.16, L13042, and comes in 612 satin bronze, 619 satin nickel and 626 satin chrome. The Delaney part is the Safety Door Guard with a ball bearing bar. Because the Rockwood 604 strike is 1-5/8 inch x 1-1/16 inch and secures with 4 each #6 x 3/4 inch oval head sheet metal screws, replacing one brand with the other means re-prepping the frame side rather than reusing the existing strike.

The 604 is solid cast brass, not plated pot metal or steel, so the base material doesn't rust if the finish wears through at the pivot. That matters on the bar itself, which is the part guests grab and swing hundreds of times. Rockwood positions the line for institutional buildings, hotels and restaurants, offices, education and detention work, which is the traffic level it's built around.