Door Closers

[escupi]

We have had a loft conversion and the company installed very ugly and obvious door closers which we want to replace.

Any recommendations?

I have seen the Perko ones - does anyone know if these make the doors slam (we have little fingers to think about)?

 

[JohnD]

yes they do, particularly if the wind catches them when they are shutting and blows them shut.

This problem does not occur if people shut doors behind them, only if they walk through and leave the doors to slam.

My sister was obviously born in a barn and when she comes to stay the house reverberates to slamming doors (mine are fire doors which are quite heavy). I believe a soft or tubular draught-excluder would act as a buffer but have not tried it yet.

 

[noseall]

normally the intumescent strips fitted along with fire door frames will act as a buffer.

the friction created by the door rubbing on these strips is usually enough to prevent slam.

 

[escupi]

Are there any "invisible" alternatives to Perko?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Theres only on that I know of and thats the dorma one;

http://www.dorma-uk.co.uk/Products/...ails/index-d-91-123,,ITS96/ITS96_170,170.html

It complies with building regs part M which in laymans terms means it needs only gentle force to open it so I'd think that would be about the best you could do with regards to avoiding any squashed fingers. Though being Dorma it may not be that cheap!

Out of interest I've been told by several different building control inspectors that they expect closers in domestic properties to be taken out of the regs for new properties in the future because of so many accidents of lil' kids getting their fingers trapped and also because so many people just disable them after they move in anyway. Sprinkler systems will be installed instead in the future. You heard it here first.

 

[Softus]

I've never seen a Perko-type-closure-device cause a door to slam.

Note that the tension can be adjusted on the good ones.

 

[JohnD]

Mine slam when stupid people barge through them and leave the door to swing shut, then the wind catches it.

Being fire doors, they are heavy, and once they start to swing, they close hard, even in the last few inches after the Perko has stopped pulling.

 

[Softus]

Surely the slamming is caused by the wind, not by the Perko.

However, I can see that the piston type of closure device has the advantage that it dictates the rate of closure, thus preventing slamming.

 

[masona]

Being fire doors, they are heavy, and once they start to swing, they close hard, even in the last few inches after the Perko has stopped pulling.

What you need is a hydraulic smooth door closer, you can slam the door as hard as you can, it will slow it down and auto shut gently, can be a bit of a eyesore though