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Oct 02

Correct Door Closer Mounting Position

It is no secret that I take pictures of doors. Myself, as well as others in my industry, like to bring awareness to the blatant disregard for fire and life safety codes and requirements we see during our travels. We also like to take pictures of unique hardware applications, beautiful and unusual doors, etc.

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But sometimes I will take a picture of an opening showing an issue that is a little less dramatic.

That happened at a Subway restaurant recently. I took this picture of these restroom doors because the closers would have been much better placed on the opposite “push” side of the door.

No major life safety violations, not a beautiful 10′ ornate wood door on a church with antique hardware, so alone not “post worthy”!

But imagine my delight when later that same day I was in a convenience store and noticed the exact same scenario.IMG_2991 Poof, a blog post was born in the mind of a door & hardware industry professional!

Again, no code violations but a little fore-thought could have helped these openings be more aesthetically pleasing.  Of course, the doors to the right have many other issues that contribute to their unsightliness.

Some insight by the hardware installer and a simple parallel arm mounting plate would have tucked these closers out of site on the other side of the door.

On new projects the suggested mounting position should be noted in the hardware schedule. In the after market situation an installer should carefully read the manufacturer’s installation instructions to determine the best mounting application for each door he is working on.

Not too long ago, a parallel arm mounting plate had to be noted if desired.  Now, most closers on the market come packed to be mounted in any of the 3 popular positions, regular arm mount, parallel arm mount and top jamb mount.

IMG_3065This blog post was destined to become reality when I found this third picture of side by side restroom doors.

Aesthetics is not the only concern when determining the correct door closer mounting position.

It is important on exterior doors to make sure the closer is on the interior side of the opening out of the weather. The change in temperature affects the thickness of the hydraulic fluid in the closer body.  This could make the door close too slowly  or slam depending on the weather.

These closers are mounted in the “top jamb” position and would have benefited from a “regular arm” mount position on the “pull” side or interior side of the door in this case.

 

 

 

 

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