Door Closers
Door Closers are ideal for commercial usage on entrance ways that experience a high volume of foot traffic. They’re useful due to their ability to shut doors on their own after someone has walked through, leaving your hallways and stair cases safe and accident free.
When it comes to choosing the right door closer for your application, you’re given a few different options. There are four different styles of interior door closers: surface-mounted, concealed in frame, floor mounted, and floor-spring. The type of door closer you choose will depend on whether it’s an indoor or outdoor location, frequency and volume of foot traffic the door receives, size and weight of the door, and the type of door it is.
Surface Mounted Door Closers
Surface Mounted Door Closers are often the most commonly used because they feature a variety of options not found on the rest of the door closers. The options you can choose from include slide-track arm, regular arm, parallel arm surface mounted, and top jamb mounted. They’re ideal for low to medium traffic doorways.
Regular Arm or as it’s also known, the standard arm is located on the exterior of the door. The Regular Arm is the most power-efficient but it’s not the most esthetically pleasing due to its two arms that project out vertically from the frame. Parallel Arms are most commonly used in schools because they are hard to vandalize due to their location, as they sit on top of push-side doors. They are less power efficient than doors with Top Jamb and Regular Arms. The main difference between Top Jamb door arms and the rest is that the spring-loaded box is mounted on the face of the door. They are normally used on aluminum and glass store fronts because they work well with their narrow top rails.
Concealed in Frame Door Closers
For medium to high traffic doorways, Overhead Concealed Door Closers are ideal. They work well with narrow, medium, and wide style doors. They’re also visually appealing because they are hidden from view since they are stored in the headers of storefront on doors and frames.
Floor Mounted Door Closers
For the long lasting and most durable option, you’ll want to check out floor mounted closers. They’re ideal for high traffic areas featuring all-glass rail, patch-fitted, and heavy duty doors. They work with tall and wide storefront doors. Similar to the Concealed Door Closer, they are easily concealable which makes them visually more appealing.
Floor Spring Door Closers
Floor Spring door Closers are typically used on glass store fronts and are mounted and concealed within the floor or over-head. They are the most esthetically pleasing of the bunch and can be found in many upscale commercial properties. They typically have a feature that allows them to be left open, which is nice for fair-weather days or just trying to bring people into your business.
Manual vs Automatic Door Closers
One of your final choices to make when finding the right door closers and accessories for your entrance comes to choosing between manual and automatic. Manual Door Closers rely on the person to open the door with their own strength. Automatic closers are either fitted with push-button or motion sensor that opens the door for you. Automatic openers are ideal for entrances that experience the traffic of people with disabilities and make the operation easier for wheelchair users.
Choosing the right door closer for your entrance or doorway also relies heavily on your facility’s building codes. The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have created standards for each closer based on the environment and usage of the door.
Door Closer Grades
Grade 1 Doors Closers have the highest efficiency and durability level with 2 million cycles at 60% efficiency. Grade 2 Door Closers are at 1 million cycles at 60% efficiency. Grade 3 comes in at 500,000 cycles at 50% efficiency. According to standards set by the ADA (American Disability Act) interior door should require no more than 5 lbs. of force and that closing and swing speed should not be faster than 5 seconds.