Narrow-stile aluminium is the default commercial entrance across the GTA: every plaza on Kennedy, every strip on Highway 7, most of Queen West. The stile is often only two inches wide, which dictates the entire hardware set — conventional locksets do not fit, and the work is a specialised subset of commercial door service.
Typical range: $275–$2600 CAD. Ranges are typical for the GTA and depend on the door, the hardware and the time of day. We confirm the price before dispatching.
Adams Rite hardware and narrow-stile latching
The standard narrow-stile lock is a hook bolt or a deadlatch fitted into the stile, with a mortise cylinder through the face. The deadlatch is the component that does the daily work, and its most important feature is the auxiliary deadlocking pin beside the main latch bolt. That pin is what stops the latch being carded or shimmed open, and when it is worn or misaligned the door becomes trivially bypassable while still appearing to lock normally.
Checking that the deadlocking pin is riding correctly on the strike, rather than dropping into the strike opening alongside the latch, is a two-minute check that we do on every storefront call. It is one of the most common latent vulnerabilities on commercial frontages.
Corner assemblies and racking
Aluminium doors are assembled from extruded rails and stiles held together by corner assemblies — internal brackets tensioned by screws. Years of use loosen them, the door loses its squareness, and you see a diagonal gap open up at the top of the door while the bottom still meets the frame.
Caught early, this is a re-tension and re-square job at modest cost. Left long enough, the stile itself tears at the fastener and the door section has to be replaced, which is a substantially larger job that depends on matching the extrusion profile.
Pivots and hinges
Most narrow-stile doors are pivot-hung rather than hinge-hung, with an offset or centre pivot at the top and a bottom pivot often integrated into a floor closer. Pivots wear, the door drops, and the first symptom is the door dragging on the threshold or the latch sitting low in the strike.
Replacing pivots on a door with a floor closer means lifting the door out, which is why it is worth doing alongside any floor closer service rather than as two separate visits.
Security upgrades for storefronts
- Latch guards and astragal plates to defeat prying at the latch
- Upgrading a hook bolt where a plain deadlatch is being defeated
- High-security mortise cylinders on a restricted keyway
- Floor bolts and secondary locking for after-hours
- Laminated security film on adjacent glazing, which addresses the actual weak point on most storefronts
- Alarmed exit devices on rear service doors
Frequently Asked Questions
My storefront door lock turns but the door still opens. What is wrong?
The cylinder is turning without driving the latch — usually the cam or the tailpiece has failed, or the set screws holding the cylinder have backed out. It can also mean the hook bolt has broken internally. It is not a door you should leave overnight in that state, because it is effectively unlocked while appearing locked.
Can you replace just the glass, or does the whole door need replacing?
Glass in an aluminium door is held by removable stops and can normally be replaced on its own, provided the frame is square and the stiles are sound. If the door has racked badly enough to crack the glass, though, the racking has to be corrected first or the new glass will go the same way.
Why does my storefront door keep going out of alignment?
Usually the corner assemblies have loosened and the door is racking. Sometimes it is a worn pivot letting the door drop. On an exposed entrance, wind load accelerates both. The repair is straightforward if it is caught before the stile tears at the fastener points.
What is the most common way storefront doors get broken into?
In our experience, prying at the latch on doors where the deadlocking pin has failed, and breaking the adjacent glazing rather than attacking the door at all. Both have proportionate answers — a latch guard and a correctly functioning deadlatch for the first, security film for the second — and neither is expensive relative to the cost of a break-in.
Storefront Doors across the GTA
We provide aluminium storefront door service throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Pick your city for local detail, or call and we will tell you straight away whether you are in range.
Related services
Commercial Door Repair
Doors that bind, drag, sag, will not latch or will not close — diagnosed at the door and frame rather than blamed on the lock.
Break-In Repair
Same-day repair and re-securing after a forced entry — doors, frames, locks and hardware, with documentation for your insurance claim.
Door Closers
Surface, concealed and floor-spring closers supplied, adjusted and replaced — including the fire-rated assemblies that have to self-close and positively latch to pass inspection.
High-Security Locks
Pick-, drill- and bump-resistant cylinders on patented restricted keyways, for doors where a standard cylinder is not adequate.