The outward opening represents a real technological and aesthetic challenge, for which the hinges represent the main ally when it comes to creating the perfect door.
Doors opening outwards
In many countries in Northern Europe and Eastern Europe, the house entrance system is, in most cases, equipped with two doors. That’s due to the need to create a barrier against the cold climate in winter. The entrance is composed of a buffer door with two doors: one leading outside and one leading inside.
The two doors open in opposition to each other to allow the passage of people and things. For safety reasons, the door leading outside opens outwards: this configuration exposes the door to a higher level of danger of tampering but also to that of unhinging.
Wind and unhinging
The outward opening leaves the door exposed to the action of wind which, if not properly managed and mitigated, can cause hinge break and lead to the unhinging of the door itself. This is an event that forces the user to costly repairs, periods of insufficient thermal insulation and to a lack of protection against burglary.
The door management system must be equipped with robust hinges and a retention mechanism for abrupt movements caused by potential wind gusts. All these accessories are to be sized and made keeping in mind their use in an external environment.
A dynamic brake may represent a good ally to the prevention of the above-mentioned dangers, and nowadays it’s available for special hinges that are capable of slowing down the speed of the door movement.
Safety and anti-burglary
The outwards opening requires the installation of robust hinges on the outer side of the door. This positioning exposes the hinges to easy attacks of vandalism and favours burglary attempts.
To get rid of these dangers, a good ally is represented by concealed hinges: they allow the installation of entrance doors outside with no visible hinges. This system raises the entrance door’s degree of safety without affecting the evacuation safety requirements, in the event of an alarm.
A door with hidden hinges, i.e. made with concealed hinges, has a higher security level against burglary attempts. It is obvious to say that you should only use CE certified hinges that are suitable for armoured doors, according to EN 1935.
The aesthetics will benefit greatly, elevating the external port of the vestibule from a mere functional object to a high design component in the architecture of the house entrance.
Cover photo by David K. Marti
