Entrance and interior doors should not only be easy to use, allow free movement between rooms and fit correctly into the interior, but also comply with fire safety rules, so before installation it is important to correctly determine the direction of their opening. There are several simple tricks to determine whether a door is left or right.
Europeans determine left and right doors according to their own rules.
Different ways to define
The design of the hinge itself will also help determine the type of door. If universal hinges are installed on the door leaf, the door leaf can open in any direction.
Any door structure, when opened, should not block adjacent doors. It is worth considering the fact that according to fire safety rules, exiting an apartment or house to the street is part of the evacuation system, so the front door should always open outward so that in the event of a fire it can be knocked out from the inside, speeding up the exit of people.
The hinges are visible on the left, and the handle is located on the right side of them. The right-hand sash is moved towards itself with the right hand, and the handle is on the left.
When buying a door, you need to decide on its side - left or right, and whether it will open inward or outward. Since buyers sometimes have difficulty determining these parameters, let's clarify this issue.
Now you know how to correctly determine the opening direction of the door - stand facing it, if the door opens towards you with your right hand, and the handle is located to the left of the door leaf, then this is the Right door. If with the left hand, and the handle is on the right, then the Left door. When opening inward, it’s the other way around: if you push the door away from you with your left hand, then the door is Right, if you push with your right, it’s Left.
Fire safety standards
When designing a doorway, it is necessary to ensure full and free opening of the leaf. It should not block the entrance to adjacent rooms or impede access to the elevator or stairs.
Entrance doors, according to regulatory documents, are considered evacuation doors in the event of an emergency and should not prevent the flow of people from exiting to the street.
From the above information, it is clear that each country has its own rules and regulations that need to be followed. The main thing is that the installed door leaf meets fire safety requirements, because in emergency situations this factor will play a big role.
How to determine the side of a door according to Russian rules
Approach the door from the landing (street). If the door handle is located on the left edge of the door leaf, and the door hinges are on the right side of the door, and you open the door with your right hand, moving it towards you, then such a door is considered right-handed.
Approach the door from the side of the apartment. If the door handle is located on the left edge of the door leaf, and the door hinges are on the right side of the door, and you open the door with your right hand, moving it towards you, then such a door is considered right-handed.
Approach the door from the landing (street). If the door handle is located on the right edge of the door, the door hinges are on the left side of the door, and you open it with your left hand, moving it towards you, then such a door is considered left-handed.
The direction of movement of the canvas can be inward if you push the sash away from you or outward if you pull it towards you.
Examples
In our country, the designations of windows and doors on drawings according to GOST must be used as prescribed by regulations. The same applies to the labeling of such products. How can such information be deciphered? For example, wooden doors may be marked by the manufacturer as follows:
In some cases, the last positions in the door markings on the GOST drawings (as in example 6) may contain the letter O with a number. This designation indicates the type of door trim. In the marking, this characteristic may be indicated by the combinations “O1”, “O2” or “O3”.
How to find out
When choosing the side and direction of opening, you can be guided by several criteria:
Before purchasing a new front door, you need to decide on the side and opening direction that will be convenient for everyone.
The European classification has a different method of definition.
If it is not yet entirely clear which canvas is left and which is right, then we can give an even simpler method for this determination.
The determination of left or right door opening must be agreed upon not only with the apartment designer, but also with fire and sanitary services. During installation, most people do not think much about which direction the future door structure will open, but there are those who calculate everything down to the smallest detail. How can you determine the right and left opening of doors? In this case, experts offer several methods.
Historically correct - out
The most important part of a house, apartment, office, from the point of view of Feng Shui, is the entrance door to the apartment
First, let's figure out where the front door to the apartment should open. Just a few generations ago, most of the population (for example, my grandmother) lived in hut houses, which were covered with snow during snowstorms in winter. Since in such situations the front door could only open inwards, this was the correct way.
In many southern areas, the front door of an apartment or house, also according to tradition, is installed so that it opens inward, but the explanation is warmer - it’s more hospitable.
Fact:
The appearance of the porch played an important role in the question of how the entrance doors should open - such snow drifts at doors with a porch no longer happen.
According to Feng Shui - inside.
A little magic: the most important part of a house, apartment, office, from the point of view of Feng Shui, is the entrance door to the apartment. It is through it that the energy of good luck penetrates into the house. In this case, where should the door to the apartment open? - Only inside, so as not to block this flow.
First way
If you know the opening side of the canvas, you can:
Before installing a door structure, you need to decide on the method of opening it and its compliance with fire safety. Also, when installing the canvas, the following rules must be observed:
When installing a door in multi-story buildings, it must necessarily open outward, that is, when opening, the door handle pulls toward itself, and when leaving the room, away from itself. This rule is not a recommendation, but a safety measure in accordance with fire requirements. This method of opening will guarantee the rapid evacuation of people during the building in case of danger.
On left-hand opening doors, the handle is on the right and the hinges are on the left; on right-hand opening doors, the opposite is true.
When ordering a door, people choose color, size, finish, but do not always think about the correct and convenient opening of the door. This is one of the important criteria that you need to decide on before starting production.
Gates
Gates are functional building structures that are used to restrict access to a particular territory.
They can play both a strictly utilitarian and decorative role. In the latter case, they often do not have doors and are simply an arch. If the gate is intended for the passage of vehicles, then its dimensions are taken into account during their development and production.
According to their design, gates can be swing, rotary, sliding, sliding, up-and-over and lift-up. The simplest in design and most common are swing and sliding gates. There are also swinging gates, in which the leaves are made of sheets of rubber or elastic transparent plastic. They are most often installed in industrial buildings and can significantly reduce heat loss.
How to understand which opening is needed
When determining the side and direction, you need to stand in front of the entrance to the room, facing the door.
Internal opening is preferable in the following cases:
If you are replacing an old door with a new one and you are happy with which way it opens, just order a similar one. When you need to install from scratch or the previous door opens inconveniently, you should think about choosing a comfortable opening.
Many people face this problem: they needed mortise locks for their doors, but after purchasing them it turns out that opening and closing the lock is impossible, since the bevels on the tongues point in the other direction.
The problem of installing locks does not apply to standard, mass-produced entrance doors, because they are always sold with locks installed in accordance with regulations.
It is important that different doors are not interchangeable!
“... it doesn’t matter whether you are inside or outside the room.” No, it's important!
Window companies “close” the perimeter of the home, protecting the interior from the street and always looking at the evil world from inside the room! Therefore, in contracts, schematic drawings and commercial offers from window manufacturers, the view of the products always be from the side of the room!
If you look at the commercial offers of window companies, you will definitely find phrases like:
“View of the products from the side of the room” or “View of the products from the inside” or “View of the products from the side of the hinges, and if they are not visible, then always from the side of the room.” Well, so on.
How to choose the right locks
If most locks are universal, then universal hinges, although they exist, are not always suitable. Non-separable universal hinges make the process of removing doors from hinges very problematic, so they are used infrequently. When purchasing right and left hinge options, it is better to contact a good seller who will help you determine them correctly.
Example of marking of metal structures
Such doors, for example, can be designated as follows: DSV DKN 2100-1270 M3. This marking is deciphered as follows:
- "D" - door;
- “C” - steel;
- “B” - internal entrance;
- “DK” - double-field with a closed box;
- "N" - opening outwards;
- 2100-1270 - designed for an opening with a height of 2100 mm and a width of 1270 mm;
- M3 - lightweight strength class.
The symbols on the drawings of metal doors are the same as for wooden ones.
Choosing a lock for different door locations
- If the door handle is located on the right and the door opens towards itself, then the design is right-handed.
- Accordingly, if the handle is mounted on the left and the structure opens away from you, you should purchase fittings and the door itself in the left direction.
Universal hinges that are suitable for any side of the door opening are quite difficult to find. Unlike choosing a locking mechanism, where there are alternative options, when purchasing elements for fastening, you need to be extremely careful. This is due to the fact that even the hinges, called universal store sellers, cannot always be positioned correctly for comfortable opening of structures with different directions of the doors.
Even an incorrectly installed lock may take some time to open. However, due to incorrectly rotating blades, over time the springs can weaken and fail. After such a situation, it will be impossible to open the lock.
Scheme for opening the door from yourself
When installing interior doors, the opening side plays an important role, since the design option for the doorway depends on it. Before installation work, it is worth finally deciding on the opening side of the interior structure. The door frame must be installed in such a way that the leaf is firmly pressed against the ledge, and the type of hinges allows the door to swing open in the desired direction.
Note:
In developed countries, they care about safety during possible emergency situations, so a lot of time and attention is paid to compliance with the rules. To determine the type of door, stand in the doorway facing the widest part of the frame. The door should open in the direction opposite to your position, that is, away from you. When opening a door, remember the hand you use to push the door. The left hand opens the left-hand door counterclockwise, and the right hand does the opposite.
European definition rules
Europeans determine left and right doors according to their own rules.
To understand the direction in which the door of a European manufacturer will open, stand facing it in such a way that the door leaf can be opened away from you. The hand you use to push the door determines the side of the door. A model that opens to the right with the right hand in a clockwise direction is considered right-handed. The one that opens with the left hand counterclockwise is left-handed. There are also exception countries: in Italy, Spain, Israel, the door is opened with the left hand, which is considered the right hand and vice versa.
In Europe, much attention is paid to fire safety rules, and they are somewhat different from ours.
To determine the right or left side of door opening, the following parameters must be taken into account:
When you can independently determine the opening direction of entrance and interior doors, it will not be a problem for you to choose suitable door hardware and install the door frame in accordance with fire safety standards.
If, when choosing a door leaf, it is not possible to distinguish the left from the right door, then experts advise giving preference to a universal door leaf, the hinges, handle and lock of which can be easily moved to the other side. The opening sides of such a door may vary depending on the configuration of the doorway and the purpose of the room.
That is, when determining the door on hinges, it is imperative to ensure that when the doors are opened at the same time as neighbors, the leaves do not block each other. Otherwise, in the event of an emergency, you or your neighbors simply will not be able to leave the premises. In apartments on high floors without evacuation balcony stairs, this situation can endanger the life and health of residents.
Tips and tricks
Locksmiths advise ordering doors along with hinges and locks. Sellers will find the right fittings that will definitely fit.
Don't Miss: Smooth and Textured Walls
If you decide to move the doors to another location, then according to the law, this is considered a change in layout. All movements must be clarified with authorized organizations before they are carried out. This is not a whim of the state, but fire safety. In the event of fires, the rescue team has a plan for the layout of rooms and doorways, and an unauthorized change may affect their work for the worse and not save anyone's life.
See examples of safe door locations below:
Where should interior doors open in an apartment?
This rule can be ignored only if the door leads to a non-residential (for example, bathroom) or utility room, the dimensions of which do not allow the door to be positioned with an opening into the room. The safest option in this case would be to install an accordion door or sliding doors.
The left-hand door can be used:
When installing a left-hand door, remember that there are both left-hand and right-hand hinges. It is important not to confuse the fittings, otherwise it will be impossible to install the doors.
If you decide to install a new door, think about which opening side to choose so that it is convenient and does not violate building codes.
There are several criteria to consider when choosing an opening side:
Symbols of doors on the drawings according to GOST
On drawings with a scale of 1:50 and larger, doors must be indicated. An example of a notation scheme can be seen below:
| № | Image | Construction type |
| 1 | Single-sex | |
| 2 | Two-field | |
| 3 | Double two-field | |
| 4 | Double single field | |
| 5 | Sliding external single-floor | |
| 6 | Single-floor sliding with opening into a niche | |
| 7 | Sliding double-sided | |
| 8 | Folding | |
| 9 | Folding-retractable |
This designation of the door in the drawing must be present in all diagrams. For example, the table clearly shows that the sliding system is indicated in the form of rectangles with parallel lines running towards them, but the swing system is drawn with rectangles and lines running at an angle, etc.
Materials from which hinges are made
Door hardware manufacturers most often use:
- brass;
- steel;
- stainless steel.
Brass hinges are considered the highest quality and therefore expensive. They are not susceptible to rust. Brass-plated parts should be distinguished from these products. They are made from alloys of various metals: zinc, steel or aluminum, and a thin layer of brass is applied on top. It ensures smooth operation of moving parts and reliably protects hinges from corrosion.
Hinges for interior doors
Steel sheds are cheaper but also less durable. If the steel is stainless, then the low cost of such fittings is combined with good wear resistance. However, stainless steel parts do not come in a variety of colors and only come in their “native” metallic color. It is worth noting that hinges for glass doors (with or without drilling) are also made of bronze or aluminum.
Advice. For interior structures, hinges made of any material are suitable. If we are talking about entrance doors, take parts made of brass or stainless steel.
Installation of hinges. Step-by-step instruction
Installation of the cover part
includes the following stages:
- Using a ruler and pencil, mark on the door and frame the areas where you will attach the hinges (about 20 cm at the top and bottom).
- Using a drill, make holes for the fasteners.
- Use a screwdriver or screwdriver to secure the part to the door, and then to the jamb.
Procedure for installing a mortise hinge
:
- Make markings.
- Use a chisel to prepare recesses for the part in the jamb and door.
- Use a drill to drill holes for the fasteners.
- Insert the loop and fasten with self-tapping screws.
Required number of loops
Installing a screw-in hinge
:
- Mark and drill holes for the pins on the door and frame.
- Screw the hinges: first to the door frame, then to the door leaf.
- Adjust the part.
- Decorate the design with special caps.
Installation of products that secure a glass door requires the use of special tools and precision in work. For this reason, it is better to entrust the installation, as in the case of hidden fittings, to a professional craftsman - regardless of what kind of hinges you have for glass doors (without drilling or with it). For such structures, the gluing method is sometimes used. In any case, in order not to damage the glass, it is necessary to use special rubber gaskets.
Advice. It is more convenient to install any type of hinges in the company of a partner.
