By Kent · Lock Depot Staff Writer

A landlord re-locking a small strip-mall suite does not need a Grade 1 lock on the break-room door, and a tight budget on a light-commercial build should not get spent evenly across every opening. Schlage makes a lever for exactly that door: the Schlage AL Series, its Grade 2 cylindrical lever. It is the same Schlage build quality one tier down from the Grade 1 ND, and on the right door it is the smart buy. The trick is knowing which doors are the right doors, and picking the function to the room. Schlage is an Allegion brand.

Grade 2 versus Grade 1: what the tier actually means

ANSI grades commercial locks by how much abuse they survive on a test rig: cycles, impact, and load. Grade 1 is the top tier, built for high-traffic and high-abuse doors. Grade 2 is the middle tier, built for normal commercial traffic. The AL is Grade 2; the Schlage ND is Grade 1.

The difference is not quality of manufacture, it is how hard the door gets used. A Grade 2 AL on a private-office door, a break room, an interior suite door, or a light-commercial back office will run for years, because that door does not see the hands a public corridor sees. Put that same Grade 2 lock on a high-traffic entrance or an abused institutional corridor and you will be back to replace it. So the rule is simple: match the grade to the traffic. Spend Grade 1 money where the door earns it, and let the AL cover the doors that do not.

Function: passage, entry/office, or storeroom

The AL codes the function into the number, same as the rest of the Schlage line. Three functions cover most of a light-commercial suite. Read them off how the room is used:

ALX10, passage

No lock at all. Both levers always retract the latch, so the door latches closed but never locks. The ALX10 passage function is for a corridor door, a conference room, a closet that needs to pull shut but never lock.

ALX50, entrance / office

A lockable entry. The occupant can lock the outside lever with a key or a pushbutton and still exit freely from inside. The ALX50 entrance/office function is the workhorse for a private office or a suite entry the tenant controls day to day.

ALX80, storeroom

The outside lever is always locked and takes a key every time; inside always exits. There is no unlocked state, so the door defaults secure. The ALX80 storeroom function is for the stock room, the utility closet, the server room that should stay locked.

Keyway: the Schlage C advantage

The reason to stay in the Schlage family on a light-commercial job is the keyway. The AL runs the Schlage C keyway, the same keyway as the ND and most of the Schlage commercial line. That means the AL on the break room and the ND on the front door can key alike, live on the same master system, and take the same cut keys. You are not carrying two keyways because you mixed grades. Tell us your keyway and master system and we key the AL doors right into the same schedule as the Grade 1 doors.

Lever and finish

The AL comes in several lever styles, Omega and Saturn among them, all clean ADA-compliant commercial levers with a solid return. Pick one and keep it consistent across the suite so the doors match. Finish is the end of the number: 626 satin chrome is the standard commercial finish and hides wear, with bright brass, satin bronze, oil-rubbed bronze, and satin nickel available. Match the lever finish to the door's other hardware and the lock disappears into the opening.

When to step up to the ND

Step up from the AL to the Grade 1 ND when the door is a main public entrance, a high-traffic corridor, a door that gets kicked or leaned on, or any opening where a lock failure locks people out or lets them in. The extra grade is cheap insurance on a door that actually gets abused. On the ordinary interior and private-office doors of a light-commercial suite, the AL is the right buy and the ND is money you did not need to spend. Buy the grade the door earns, not the grade the packing slip finds easiest.

Common questions

Is the Schlage AL good enough for a commercial door?

For normal-traffic light-commercial doors, yes. The AL is a Grade 2 cylindrical lever built for standard commercial use: private offices, break rooms, interior suite doors, light back offices. For high-traffic or high-abuse doors, step up to the Grade 1 ND.

What is the difference between the AL and the ND?

Grade. The AL is Grade 2 (normal commercial traffic); the ND is Grade 1 (high-traffic and high-abuse). Both are Schlage, both run the Schlage C keyway, so they key alike on one system. Match the grade to how hard the door gets used.

Can the AL be keyed with our Schlage front-door locks?

Yes. The AL uses the Schlage C keyway, the same as the ND and most Schlage commercial locks, so it keys alike and lives on the same master system. Give us your keyway and master and we key the AL doors into your schedule.

What function do I want for a private office?

ALX50 entrance/office, so the occupant can lock the door from outside and still exit freely. Use ALX10 passage for a door that never locks, and ALX80 storeroom for a room that stays locked by default.

Lock Depot stocks the Schlage AL Series in passage, entrance/office, storeroom, and the other commercial functions, keyed to your Schlage system. Start at the Schlage hub, or if the door takes real traffic and you want the Grade 1, read Schlage ND-Series Lever: Which Function for a High-Traffic Office Door. Or call 877-365-5625 with your door list marked by traffic and your keyway, and we will spec the grade and function per door.