How can I stop Perko Door Closers from closing?

[salem2000]

There are products like this.

Click Here

They come in different colours, no wiring and quick to fit. Fitted to the most used door/s, at least then there will be no legal implications.

I'm sorry if you took offence to comments made on this forum, but we do try to give the correct information to whoever asks, and where Building Regs are concerned, cannot recommend other than what is recommend by your Building Control Officer.

Please don't dismiss the forum so quickly, they are a great bunch and help to a great deal of visitors to the site, including me and they do like a joke as well as the next man. Apparently

Salem.

 

[RobertSE6]

Salem - thanks - interesting idea

 

[ladylola]

A simple solution would be to cut some wedges to hold the doors open, they are easily removed at night and cheaper too.
You could also try the approach used in many offices and buildings and prop the door open with a fire extingusher, I kid you not , the amount of times I've seen that

 

[tweeter]

You can also cut the chain that attaches the two parts together.

These things are very annoying they keep slamming

 

[Jackthebiscuit]

I've just had some work done and fitted a fire-check door to a kitchen of a flat that will be rented out. The chippy who fitted the door told me that you no longer have to fit a door closer on a kitchen door, is this correct?

 

[woodywomble]

I would urge caution however, because if you have perko door closers fitted, then 9 times out of 10 the door is a FIRE DOOR as required by Fire Regulations and, annoying as the slamming is, it may save your life in the event of a fire.

A fire door must not be propped or held open in any way, except with a device which responds to a fire alarm in your building. Two products which fit this description would be an electromagnetic hold open or free swing door closer wired into your fire alarm (start at around £150 + VAT) or a fire door holder with automatic release (start at around £120 + VAT).

Best solution of all is to remove the perko and replace with a hydraulic overhead door closer[/url] which has a controlled close and adjustable latching action to prevent slamming (start at £9.50 + VAT). See some here:

 

[tweeter]

I would urge caution however, because if you have perko door closers fitted, then 9 times out of 10 the door is a FIRE DOOR as required by Fire Regulations and, annoying as the slamming is, it may save your life in the event of a fire.

A fire door must not be propped or held open in any way, except with a device which responds to a fire alarm in your building. Two products which fit this description would be an electromagnetic hold open or free swing door closer wired into your fire alarm (start at around £150 + VAT) or a fire door holder with automatic release (start at around £120 + VAT).

Best solution of all is to remove the perko and replace with a hydraulic overhead door closer[/url] which has a controlled close and adjustable latching action to prevent slamming

Haha very funny... but many new flats have these on every room even bedrooms, and most people cut the chains off. Job done. Most people have smoke alarms anyway.
It might make a tiny bit of sense keeping the kitchen and front door closer on but the rest of them are unneccesary, why would you need a bedroom door that slams?
You just have too much time on your hands. Why not just get a wire cutter and snap it off? If it was a commercial building then fair enough but slamming doors can also be heard by people up and below you too.

Another thing that slows doors down is to have a thick pile carpet. You dont need any stupid dampners or whatever rubbish the guy above has posted, just a thick pile carpet or raised carpet, and let it drag...

 

[joinerjohn]

Why not make some timber wedges to put under the doors to hold them open? Then when you go to bed at night just remove them as you go.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I would urge caution however, because if you have perko door closers fitted, then 9 times out of 10 the door is a FIRE DOOR as required by Fire Regulations and, annoying as the slamming is, it may save your life in the event of a fire.

A fire door must not be propped or held open in any way, except with a device which responds to a fire alarm in your building. Two products which fit this description would be an electromagnetic hold open or free swing door closer wired into your fire alarm (start at around £150 + VAT) or a fire door holder with automatic release (start at around £120 + VAT).

Best solution of all is to remove the perko and replace with a hydraulic overhead door closer[/url] which has a controlled close and adjustable latching action to prevent slamming

Haha very funny... but many new flats have these on every room even bedrooms, and most people cut the chains off. Job done. Most people have smoke alarms anyway.
It might make a tiny bit of sense keeping the kitchen and front door closer on but the rest of them are unneccesary, why would you need a bedroom door that slams?
You just have too much time on your hands. Why not just get a wire cutter and snap it off? If it was a commercial building then fair enough but slamming doors can also be heard by people up and below you too.

Another thing that slows doors down is to have a thick pile carpet. You dont need any stupid dampners or whatever rubbish the guy above has posted, just a thick pile carpet or raised carpet, and let it drag...

Whilst woodywomble clearly posted in order to push his wares, your post was equally rubbish. You are right that many do disable their closers and they are indeed now not required under the latest regs however your suggestion that just because people have smoke alarms everything will be fine is one of the most stupid things I have ever read on this site, you clearly have little experience/knowledge as to the effects and speed of smoke. I suppose you're also aware that many kids actually sleep through smoke alarms too?

 

[tweeter]

I've also heard that they are not suitable for fire doors because they are drilled into the door?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I've also heard that they are not suitable for fire doors because they are drilled into the door?

Yet more miss-information.

 

[woodywomble]

I've just had some work done and fitted a fire-check door to a kitchen of a flat that will be rented out. The chippy who fitted the door told me that you no longer have to fit a door closer on a kitchen door, is this correct?

Yes JacktheBiscuit, your chippy was correct. Recent legislation means that as long as the flat FRONT door is fully fire rated & sealed, with a self closing device fittted, then the INTERNAL doors (including internal fire doors, see the building's fire plan) of a flat are considered to be under the control of the occupant, and do not require a self closing device/door closer. The occupant is responsible for keeping internal fire doors closed by hand.

 

[Jackthebiscuit]

I've just had some work done and fitted a fire-check door to a kitchen of a flat that will be rented out. The chippy who fitted the door told me that you no longer have to fit a door closer on a kitchen door, is this correct?

Yes JacktheBiscuit, your chippy was correct. Recent legislation means that as long as the flat FRONT door is fully fire rated & sealed, with a self closing device fittted, then the INTERNAL doors (including internal fire doors, see the building's fire plan) of a flat are considered to be under the control of the occupant, and do not require a self closing device/door closer. The occupant is responsible for keeping internal fire doors closed by hand.

Thanx woody,

What my chippy mate said made sense, that when they are fitted that they get wedged open, and hence always remain open because people don't remove the wedges when going to bed.

The other aspect for perko's was child safety. I've was going to rent the flat out to a housing association who wanted a perko fitted. But they also wanted the garden tools removed from the shed for 'health a safety reasons'..!! I said that the perko was more dangerous to young children than the garden tools, which were locked in the shed so a key was needed to gain access.

When people need to protect them against fire is early warning such as fire alarms.?

As for the front door. I don't really see the logic of a door closer here as this is the very door which is not only closed virtually all the time, but often deadlocked also. For this reason the housing association didn't require a door closer on the front door,, just the kitchen.
This was one reason (f many) why I didn't go with them. If a child had been injured due to a perko which didn't need to be fitted, then what?

Being a bit of a sceptic, I do wonder if the M.D. of 'door closers ltd' helps compiling building regs, and wants them made law as it helps sales.!!? And of course the dreaded insurance companies who will comb policies when a claim is made, looking for the tiniest reason not to pay out..!!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Housing Associations often have many more regulations/standards they need/wish to adhere to than just the Building Regulations. For example BREEAM, Code fo Sustainable Homes, Lifetime Homes, all sorts and then their own requirements too! Any of those ring a bell with you? No? Thought not! The reason front doors to flats have closers is usually that a fire escape route runs past the front door which would be compromised should a fire occur within the property. Simple.

Did you also know that many kids sleep through smoke alarms too?

 

[JohnD]

... If a child had been injured due to a perko...

that's an interesting thought but I don't know that it's correct

e.g. if a child gets his hand in a door which slams because the wind caught it, or his sister slammed it in a huff, is that equally bad?

how does it compare with a child who is suffocated and killed by smoke because the fire doors were open?