Exterior Doors Swing Direction

See the picture for a visual reference.

Exterior doors swing direction.

It is also code that these doors swing outward. Now hinging is either left or right and is simply determined by the side you want the storm door hinges to be on. In south florida it is the norm for all exterior doors to swing outward. Since garage doors are an exit we would install the doors to open in the path of least resistance.

Installing a new door in a rough opening. Safety is the critical issue when deciding the swing direction. The design of the room typically determines the left or right swing designation for doors. When the door opens toward you and the knob is on the left hand side it is a left hand inswing door.

Know where to stand to figure out if you have a left hand or right hand swing door. Generally interior doors will swing into the room opening towards the nearest perpendicular wall in the room. If there is a fire or explosion that occurs an outward swinging door could. View the diagram to learn what hand your door is.

Determine what hand your door is. Without that information you may end up with a door that has the hinges on the wrong side. To order the correct exterior door you need to know both the desired handing and whether it is inswing or outswing. Changing your door from a right hand swing to a left hand swing can be a fairly easy task as long as it s the same height on both sides and you re okay with the inside face of the door becoming the outer face.

There are exceptions but these doors must not only pass a forced entry test but also a water infiltration test. You are standing inside the house. Slightly different specifications from interior doors. An inward opening door should swing in the direction needed to provide adequate passage.

Now a good rule of thumb is that you want the handle of the screen door to be on the same side as the entry door. If it bumps or blocks passage because of a wall barrier or other object when you open it such as a toilet or cabinet the door should swing in the opposite direction. In order to determine your door swing direction by using the diagram shown above imagine the square box is the room. And have either metro dade product approval or florida product approval with additional approval for high.

Watch ask this old house carpenter nathan gilbert as he helps general contractor tom silva change the swing of an entry door. Ask this old house carpenter nathan gilbert helps general contractor tom silva change the swing of an entry door subscribe to this old house. Learn door swing direction for properly choosing the correct door for your room.