INTERIORS Better safe than sorry
Door closers may not define an interior design, but their clear impact on safety and aesthetics should convince architects to think twice before specifying them. Samuel Heath comments
espite being essential safety features, door closers are rarely of the highest priority to architects when considering interior fittings. However, the specification of these devices can have a significant effect on the appearance and ambience of a place and its occupants’ comfort.
D
Key to the selection process is to ensure the door closer meets the performance requirements stipulated by legislation, building documents and published standards. Fire resistance and accessibility, for example, are paramount. As a minimum, door closers should carry the CE mark denoting their suitability for use on fire resistant door sets. In addition, to ensure accessibility, these devices should aid compliance with the requirements of Approved Document M (AD M) of the Building Regulations in England and Wales (Section 4 in Scotland and Part R in Northern Ireland) and BS 8300. Beyond these key considerations, specifiers must also examine other factors which can have a direct bearing on the safety and well-being of the building’s occupants. Poor product reliability or the practice of wedging fire doors open can lead to devastating consequences in the case of fire, so ensuring a door closer can perform its intended function at all times is of major importance.
Made to last
The failure of a door closer will inevitably cause the failure of an entire fire door to close and stop the spread of a blaze through a building in the event of fire. Quality of design and manufacture, alongside cycle testing of door closers, can provide some assurance of a product’s durability. Scheduling regular maintenance and monitoring offers further protection and control, but this can impose an undesirable burden on building managers. Opting for an alternative type of closers, such as concealed door closers, can be key for the
ADF MAY 2017
61
long term as they are designed to be maintenance-free.
Damage control
Beyond addressing the closers’ quality and making provisions to ensure their correct use, specifiers must also assess the potential impact of vandalism and tampering with door closers. This too can have a detrimental effect on the fire doors’ overall performance or prevent them from closing altogether. In educational buildings and other public facilities, for example, the users’ duty of care may not be particularly high and such risks are significant. Surface-mounted door closers, with their visible control boxes and mechanical arms can become a target for pranksters, whereas concealed door closers, particularly jamb-mounted models, virtually eliminate such a risk. Controlled, concealed door closers are invisible when the door is closed and have very few visible parts when it is
Opting for concealed door closers can be key for the long term as they are designed to be maintenance-free
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
