Push plates, pull plates and kick plates: sizes, materials and how to order them

Push plates, pull plates and kick plates are ordered by type, size, thickness, finish and options. This page explains how Ives, Rockwood, Hager, Trimco and Burns describe and size them, and how to read the model numbers in our product names.

Kick, mop, stretcher and armor plates

Ives names four types of protection plates (Hager uses almost the same words):

• Kick plate - protects "the bottom of the push side of doors subject to scuffing from foot traffic"; Ives recommends it "for all doors subject to normal use (especially doors using a closer)".
• Mop plate - protects "the bottom of the pull side of door subject to cleaning and mopping procedures".
• Stretcher plate - for areas "where consistent contact is made by stretchers, service carts or other equipment".
• Armor plate - protects the "lower half of doors from abuse by hard carts, trucks and rough usage".

Kick plate sizes: height and width

Each catalog prints its own height range for each type:

Mop plates are 4 to 6 inches high at Ives, 6 or under at Trimco. A 20 inch high plate falls in the kick plate range at Ives and Burns, the armor plate range at Trimco. Ives lists widths of 22 to 48 inches; Ives and Hager size protection plates in 1/2 inch increments.

Rockwood gives a width rule for its door plates: 2 inches less than the door width on the push side, 1-1/2 inches less on the pull side. It asks for "height x width x finish code". For armor plates Rockwood recommends 48 inches high; its ordering steps subtract different amounts from the door width, such as 1-1/4 inches for a single door without door edges.

Thickness, material, bevels and mounting

Metal plates by thickness (in Rockwood, Trimco and Burns numbers the digits give it):

Ives offers the 8400 in brass, stainless steel or aluminum, and in 1/8 inch plastic.

Edges, holes and adhesive:

• Ives 8400 plates come with "four beveled edges and countersunk mounting holes (B-CS)"; B-NH means no holes, B-NHA no holes with adhesive.
• Trimco's cut sheet lists "Pencil beveled on all four sides standard"; heavy bevel and countersinking are options.
• Rockwood options for the K1050 include B3E or B4E (bevel 3 or 4 edges), CSK (countersunk holes) and SA (self-adhesive).
• Burns plates have "eased edges and countersunk screws unless otherwise specified".

Standard screws are #6 x 5/8 inch: oval head at Ives and Burns, truss head at Hager. Ives recommends gasket tape "when using a brass plate on a metal door to reduce tarnishing from electrolytic oxidation".

Commercial door push plates and door pull plates

Ives 8200, Hager 30S and Rockwood 70 push plates come in the same standard sizes, written width x height (Ives: 4 x 16 is 4 inches wide, 16 high): 3 x 12, 3-1/2 x 15, 4 x 16, 6 x 16 and 8 x 16; Rockwood adds 4 x 20.

Rockwood's push plate number is a series plus a size letter. The series gives the thickness: 70 is .050 inch, 71 is .062 and 73 is .125.

A door pull plate joins a plate and a pull:

• Rockwood writes pull x plate: the 125 x 70C is a 1 inch half round pull on 6 inch centers on a 70 plate, 4 x 16 inches.
• Hager adds the pull to the plate series: plate 30 plus pull 3G is ordered as 33G. Its 30, 40 and 50 series plates are .050 inch, with square, radius and rounded corners respectively.
• Ives numbers the set: 8302, 8303, 8305 and 8311 are pull plates with the 8102, 8103, 8105 and 8111 pulls.
• Burns joins a plate number and a pull number; see our Burns model number guide.

Standard Ives and Rockwood pulls are through-bolted; Rockwood asks to be told if the door is not 1-3/4 inches thick.

Push and pull plate cutouts: cylinder and thumbturn

Ives, Hager and Rockwood list the same standard cutouts: 1-1/4 inch for a cylinder (CFC) and 3/8 inch for a thumbturn (CFT; Rockwood writes CFTT). Ives and Hager place the cutout 2 inches from the top, centered on plates up to 4 inches wide; on wider plates it sits 2 inches from the edge, so give the hand of the door (see our door handing chart).

Plates on fire-rated doors

Hager's catalog prints lines from NFPA 80 with its protection plates, including "Field installed protection plate shall be labeled and installed in accordance with their listing" and 'Labeling is not required where the top of the protection plate is not more than 16" (406 mm) above the bottom of the door.' Ives's UL version is the 8402, and "special cutouts are not allowed on UL kick plates".

Reading Ives, Rockwood, Hager and Trimco plate numbers

• Ives 8400 US32D 10x35 B-CS - finish US32D, 10 in high x 35 in wide, beveled with countersunk holes
• Rockwood K1050 10X34 US32D - .050 inch plate, 10 x 34
• Hager 190S 10X36 US32 - .050 inch plate, 10 x 36, finish US32 (629)
• Trimco KM050 6X34-CSK.630 - .050 inch mop plate, 6 x 34, countersunk, finish 630
• Trimco KA050 34X34-CSK 630 - .050 inch armor plate, 34 x 34 (compare Trimco's ordering example, KA050.630 34" x 34" B4E-Heavy C-Sunk)
• Rockwood 70F US32D - .050 inch push plate, 8 x 16
• Rockwood 125 X 70C US32D - 125 pull on a 70C plate; the last 6 in our title is the center-to-center
• Hager 33E 4X16 US4 - 30 series plate with a 3E pull (6 inch centers), 4 x 16

Finish codes are explained in our door hardware finish codes chart.

Push, pull and kick plates at The Builders Supply

• Kick plates and door protection
• Push plates, pull plates and push bars
• Door pulls and push plates

Questions about a plate? Our customer support team is available Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM Central Time, at 1-888-800-7789 or [email protected].