Does Your Building Need Heavy-Duty Door Closers?

Door closers are an important security layer in commercial buildings. This essential hardware ensures a door latches and locks properly. Without this safeguard, an unlatched door leaves your building at risk of intrusions. Interested in learning more about how door closers reduce unauthorized access?

Three Security Applications for Door Closers

Door closers are a critical aspect of access control. Every building has openings where it’s paramount that the door latches and locks independently of users. The aid of a door closer ensures safety and security is preserved.

Use closers wherever an unlatched door is a serious vulnerability, such as:

1) Exterior Auxiliary Doors: While much of access control is focused on main entrances, side and back doors are just as important. These entrances are often “out of sight, out of mind,” with the assumption that they are locked at all times. If one is mistakenly left ajar, it can be the perfect opportunity for a bad actor to gain entry.

2) Fire Doors: Doors on stair towers, especially near elevators, need to fully latch during a fire so they can maintain positive pressure. This stack pressure ejects smoke in an emergency situation; however, it can also prevent the door from shutting on its own. A door closer will help override that pressurization so the latch engages.

3) Interior Doors: Door closers are helpful on interior doors where noise intrusion or hands-free operation is a concern. Doors for classrooms, auditoriums, gyms, retail spaces, storage closets, and mechanical rooms are common applications.

Door Closers and Code Requirements

It can be challenging to balance opening force with code compliance. Physics, engineering, and regulations can all compete with each other.

Both ADA and IBC require interior doors to need no more than 5 pounds of opening force. ADA's guide on accessible entrances notes this requirement “applies to the continuous application of force necessary to fully open a door, not the initial force needed to overcome the door’s seal resulting from unequal pressure.”

Exterior doors represent an added dilemma for architects. Wind, stack pressure, door sweeps or weatherstrips, and sticky latches can create resistance. While there’s no accessibility standard for exterior door opening force, state and local building codes may stipulate 8-10 pounds of opening force while IBC is no more than 15 pounds.

There’s also the fact that the force diminishes during the closing action. Friction can reduce the closing force applied to the door by 20% or more. For example, if a door has an 8-pound opening limit, the closing force is reduced to 6.4 pounds.

However, that 80% closing efficiency is only a best-case scenario depending on door quality and force factors. What does this mean? If accessibility code limits the opening force to 5 pounds, then the maximum closing force available is a mere 4 pounds – that may be too weak to securely latch on its own.

That’s why Norton Rixson 7575 Series or 2800ST Cam Action door closers have adjustable opening power, sweep speed, backcheck cushioning and positioning as well as 1-6 spring sizes. This flexibility enables architects to account for every factor affecting door force.

Especially in institutional settings, door closers and their housing should be constructed of durable materials such as aluminum, brass, or stainless steel. The 7575 series even includes security arms that prevent disassembly. Door closers that can withstand high traffic, corrosion, and abuse help keep buildings secure.

For buildings that require higher levels of access control, a high-duty door closer will add another layer of protection and peace of mind.