Finding the right door closer for your business isn’t only important for the convenience of everyone who walks through your doors. It’s also a key safety device for emergency preparedness. As such, you may be feeling the pressure to find the right model for your commercial or public space!
Here at Reliable Locksmith, we’re happy to share everything we’ve learned during our many years installing door closers on businesses around Minneapolis. Here’s our guide to choosing the right door closer for your needs.
Door closers are mechanisms that control the swinging motion of a door with the use of a spring-loaded hydraulic system. They serve a variety of purposes, including:
The first thing that you’ll notice when you start your search for commercial door closers is that there are many different kinds! In general, they can be divided into the following categories:
Concealed overhead door closer. Concealed door closers are housed within the door frame so that the only visible part of the device is the arm when the door is open. Others conceal the arm as well so that the entire door closer is hidden from view.
You’ll notice that door closers are graded on a scale of 3, 2, or 1. This refers to how well a certain door closer performed during testing that replicates the kind of everyday use the device will see in the real world. In the controlled setting, a grade 3 closer remained functional for up 500,000 cycles. Grade 2 closers can generally withstand somewhere around 1 million cycles. A grade 1 closer, which is the highest grade, was functional for up to 2 million cycles. For this reason, Grade 1 door closers are recommended for commercial settings with a lot of daily traffic.
Automatic door closers can offer an additional safety feature for fire doors. These closers are triggered by the presence of smoke or an alarm system that causes them to close in the case of a fire. They are mounted on fire rated doors which act as barriers to prevent the fire from spreading.
Because there’s a variety of different door closer designs and grades available, the prices for these devices fluctuate. Here are a few factors to keep in mind when estimating how much you might pay for a door closer:
Basic door closers are not overly complicated to install. If you have a good knowledge of handywork, you could probably install them in your business. But, here are a few circumstances when it’s best to call in the pros:
When you need a door closer for your commercial space, you can simplify the process by calling Reliable Locksmith here in Minneapolis. Well work with your business to make sure that every entryway is outfitted with the right door closers that will fit your budget and give you years of use!