Zero International 326AA Perimeter Seal Set with Solid Neoprene

The 326AA set ships as three pieces: one 36 inch head piece and two 84 inch jamb pieces. That covers a standard 3 foot by 7 foot single opening, head and both jambs, with no cutting on the jambs. The seal itself is clear anodized aluminum with a solid neoprene insert, 1 inch wide and .219 inch high, and it screws on.

Fire rated and UL10C listed, and it also carries smoke and draft control plus a sound rating. That combination is what a fire-rated opening in a corridor or stair typically needs on the perimeter, so one product covers the fire label, the smoke seal, and the acoustic seal instead of stacking three.

Perimeter seal like the 326AA only handles head and jambs. The bottom of the door is a separate part, and it is where most sound and draft gets through. You need an automatic door bottom or a door sweep plus a threshold to close that gap. The 326AA is sound rated and adjustable at the perimeter, but no head and jamb seal alone will close an opening at the floor.

The nearest equivalent in the same construction is the NGP 108NA neoprene sponge seal, which pairs a neoprene sealing element with an anodized aluminum frame, the same combination the Zero 326AA uses with its solid neoprene element in clear anodized aluminum. The difference to confirm before you swap is the sealing element itself: the 326AA carries a solid neoprene insert, while the 108NA carries a sponge neoprene insert rated for a temperature range of -20 F to 200 F. Solid and sponge neoprene compress differently against the stop, so if the opening was gapped and shimmed around the 326AA, re-check the frame reveal before ordering the NGP frame in its place. Both are surface-applied to the frame and both are perimeter seals for commercial openings.

It depends on what the opening has to do. The Zero 326AA uses a solid neoprene sealing element and carries UL10c fire rating, smoke and draft control, and a sound rating. Two vinyl-insert options in the same surface-applied family are the NGP 155V vinyl perimeter seal in a mill aluminum frame and the Cal-Royal PG-601 aluminum channel perimeter gasketing with a vinyl insert. Vinyl seals are common commercial door weatherstripping for weather and light-seal duty on an ordinary opening. Where the door is part of a rated assembly or a sound-control assembly, the seal has to carry the rating the opening was specified to, which is where the 326AA's UL10c, smoke and draft, and sound ratings matter. Note also that the 155V frame is mill aluminum where the 326AA and the 108NA are anodized, so the finish will not match an anodized run down the rest of the corridor.

Two constructions are worth putting side by side. The Zero 326AA is an adjustable Compress-O-Matic perimeter seal set with a solid neoprene element that compresses against the stop, and it is sound rated. The NGP 159MA is a magnetic seal in an 84 inch anodized aluminum length, which pulls the door leaf into the stop magnetically rather than by set compression. Magnetic seals are typically chosen where the leaf is steel and will hold the magnet; compression seals like the 326AA do not depend on the door material. The 326AA also comes as a set covering the head and both jambs, with 1 x 36 inch and 2 x 84 inch pieces, and individual lengths of 36, 80, 84, and 192 inches; the 159MA is an 84 inch piece. Count your jamb and head runs before you pick.

For sound and smoke work, no. The NGP 602A is a nylon brush seal in an anodized aluminum housing, and brush seals sweep debris and cut drafts on openings where a door has to move freely against the seal. Brush filament does not form the continuous compressed barrier that a solid neoprene element does, which is what the Zero 326AA is built around, along with its UL10c fire rating, smoke and draft control, and sound rating. Use the brush where the requirement is a sweeping seal on a high-cycle or dusty opening; use the neoprene perimeter seal where the opening has to hold smoke, draft, or sound. The two share the same surface-mounted anodized aluminum frame format, so the door prep is not the deciding factor here.

It is a frame-applied perimeter seal, screw mounted to the stop on the head and both jambs. The housing is 1 inch wide with a .219 inch profile height, so measure the flat of your stop before ordering. On a hollow metal frame it takes sheet metal screws into the stop face; on wood frames it screws direct. Nothing about it goes on the door leaf.

Solid neoprene, which is what the Zero 326AA uses, takes more abuse and holds its shape on doors that cycle constantly, and it is the right pick where you need a fire label and smoke seal. Sponge neoprene compresses easier, so it forgives a door that closes soft or a frame that is out of square, and it is the better choice on a low-traffic interior office door where latching effort matters. If sponge is what your opening needs, the NGP 108NA neoprene sponge seal in an anodized aluminum frame is the alternative we stock.

Three different jobs. The 326AA is a compression seal, solid neoprene in a clear anodized aluminum housing, adjustable, and it carries fire, smoke, and sound ratings. A magnetic seal such as the NGP 159MA pulls tight to a steel door face by magnet rather than compression, which is common on acoustic openings. A nylon brush seal like the NGP 602A sweeps rather than seals, so it handles dust and light draft on doors that move constantly but is not a smoke seal. Pick compression when the opening has a rating to meet.

Yes, it uses ZERO Compress-O-Matic, an adjustable sealing system, so you can dial the neoprene in against the door after mounting rather than relying on the frame being perfect. That matters on older hollow metal frames that have racked, and on doors where too much compression makes the latch hard to catch. Adjust it after the door is hung and the closer is set.

The housing is 1 inch wide and .219 inch high. That .219 inch is the profile height sitting proud of the stop, which is what you check against your door clearance and against anything else on the stop, such as a strike or a mag lock bracket. On a tight gap the adjustable Compress-O-Matic action lets you set compression without swapping to a different profile.

Three of the common commercial perimeter options carry anodized aluminum frames: the Zero 326AA in clear anodized, the NGP 108NA neoprene sponge seal with anodized aluminum frame, and the NGP 602A nylon brush seal in an anodized aluminum housing. The NGP 159MA magnetic seal is also anodized aluminum, in an 84 inch length. The NGP 155V is supplied in a mill aluminum frame, and the Cal-Royal PG-601 is an aluminum channel with a vinyl insert. If you are standardizing a building and the frames need to read the same down a corridor, that anodized-versus-mill distinction is the one to check first, then match the sealing element to what each opening has to do.

The Zero 326AA is available in a 192 inch clear anodized length as well as 36, 80, and 84 inch lengths, so a long run can be cut from stock rather than assembled from set pieces. Among the alternatives, the NGP 159MA magnetic seal is supplied as an 84 inch anodized aluminum piece. If your openings are non-standard height or you are gasketing a wide pair of doors across the head, take the length into account before choosing between them, since the seal has to run the full leg without a splice at the corner.

Commercial. Solid neoprene in an anodized aluminum housing, screw mounted, with UL10C fire, smoke and draft, and sound ratings behind it. It is specified for institutional and commercial openings, not for a residential exterior door where a compression weatherstrip and a lower price point would do the job.

Clear anodized only. Every length of the 326AA, from the 36 inch through the 192 inch stock, comes in clear anodized aluminum. If a dark finish is required on the opening, this is not the seal for that spec.