Door Closer Basics
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Types of Door Closers
See also: Door Closer Adjustment
A door closer is a spring-loaded hydraulic device that closes a door automatically. The most common kind of door closer is the surface mounted door closer, so called because it is mounted to the surface of the door or header. Also available are concealed overhead door closers that are mounted inside the header above the door or inside the door itself, and floor closers that are installed beneath the threshold. Pictures of the different types of door closers are shown at right.
Surface Mount Door Closers
Surface mounted door closers are by far the most common kind of door closers. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. Unlike concealed door closers for which doors are almost always prepared by the door manufacturer, surface mounted door closers need no special prep.
As shown at right, surface mounted closers can be mounted in standard, top jamb or parallel arm configurations. Standard configuration is used on the pull side of the door whereas parallel arm and top jamb installations are for the push side.
Not shown are surface mounted track closers which use a single arm and a slide track instead of the double lever arm shown in the pictures at right.
Non-track surface mounted doorclosers are available with different kinds of arms that perform different functions. These functions are discussed below in the section called, "Arms."
Concealed Door Closers
Examples of two kinds of concealed door closers are shown in photos at right. There is a third kind, the overhead concealed-in-door door closer, but since it is so rarely used I will not discuss it here.
Concealed door closers are always used when a door is "double acting," that is, it swings both ways, and are often used in high traffic applications, such as the front door of a large office building. As you see above, surface mounted door closers are not about to win any beauty contests. Concealed closers offer designers a cleaner look than surface closers.
Floor closers are almost always used with pivot hinges as opposed to butt hinges. Pivot hinges are stronger and more durable than butt hinges.
What You Need to Know to Order
Here is a list of information that you need to know before you order a door closer:
- Interior or Exterior Door?
- Left Hand or Right Hand swing?
- Door closer to be mounted on the push or pull side?
- Door width?
- Pivot hinges or butt hinges?
- What is the door made of? Wood? Hollow metal? Glass and aluminum?
- If there is glass, what is the size of the piece of material onto which you want to mount the door closer?
When you have this information you are ready to call your hardware professional. If you are unsure what kind of closer will best suit your application, your hardware professional can suggest one based on the information above.
Arms
In the pictures of surface mounted door closers at the beginning of this article, the closers all have what is called a standard, double lever arm. This arm is pictured at right. Below it are shown a few examples of optional arms that are available to give surface mounted door closers more functionality.
Hold Open Arm
Most door closer arms are available in a hold open version. Usually they work by friction. Opening the door to a certain degree tightens a nut which causes the arm to stick at a point, holding the door open.
Dedicated Parallel Arm
Called by LCN an Extra Duty Arm and by Norton a Parallel Rigid Arm, this arm is for an extra sturdy, parallel arm only application door closer.
Stop Arm
Called a Cush'n'Stop arm by LCN and a Closer Plus arm by Norton, this arm doubles as a stop to keep the door from opening too far and perhaps hitting a wall.
Drop Plate
At the bottom of the column of pictures of door closer arms is a picture of an LCN 4041 door closer from the LCN catalog, parallel arm mount, on a plate that is called a "drop plate." It is used to provide a surface to which you can attach the door closer when the surface of the door is too narrow to do so. In the illustration, the 4041 is mounted on an aluminum-and-glass storefront door. The aluminum is too narrow, so the 18PA plate attaches to the aluminum of the door and the 4041 attaches to the plate.
CommentsLoading...
Hey Tom,
Thanks for the great information!
I need to buy a door closer and found this site
http://www.qualifiedhardware.com/door-closers-82/
I was wondering if this hardware is reliable or if you recommend something else?
Thanks,
Tim
The site you link to carries top line door closers. If you are looking for a good door closer and your first priority is reliability, Rixson and LCN are both good choices.
What is a bracket-mounted door closer?
There are special mounting brackets for door closers for special applications. One is the corner bracket, that allows a standard arm mounting on the push side of a door. Another is an adjustable soffet or door bracket that allows a door closer to be installed on a door with a round or curved top.
How do I disable the "Hold Open" mode on my door closer.
It depends on the type of closer you have. If you have a friction hold open that is adjusted using a nut on the arm, you can loosen the nut - just a little, mind you - and render the hold open feature ineffective, or you can replace the arm with a non hold open arm. If your closer has a slide track, it will probably have a hold open clip in the track that you can remove. If your closer has a nut or T handle that you must turn to activate the hold open feature, probably you will have to replace the arm.
Are their any special fixing for fitting a door closer to a hollow core door? I am worried the closer may pull away from the door over time. Is their anything I can do to prevent this?
Your worries are well founded, Baz. A hollow core wood door is not usually designed to support a door closer. Hollow core doors are usually reinforced with solid wood at the lock location so that you can put a passage set on it without breaking it or having it dimple in. But at the top it is likely to only have its thin veneer - nothing to bite into for the screws that hold a surface mounted door closer to the door. And if you through-bolt the closer, the through bolts will crush the door.
In order to make the installation, the installer must reinforce the door. This could be done with metal or plywood plates. On the pull side of the door, the plate should be flush with the top of the door so that it can be screwed to the thin strip of wood inside the top of the door. On the push side, the plate should be through-bolted to the other plate. Between the inside and outside plates, use copper tubing to create sleeves for the through-bolts so as to help stop them from crushing the door.
A better, but bit more involved way to reinforce the door would be to remove the top strip of wood inside the door and replace it with a solid piece of wood of the same thickness that runs the width of the door and extends down inside the door far enough to mount the door closer on. This is difficult, because the veneer is glued to the strip of wood on both sides of the door, and it may be difficult to remove the top strip without damaging the door.
The best solution would be to replace the door with a solid-core door.
Alternatively you could use spring hinges, but these would simply slam the door.
Very interesting advise Tom.I think inserting a solid timber block inside the door might be the way to go.alot more time consuming and work but the finished job will look far better than having bolts on the face of the door.I will have to set up a router with a fence and router out the top rail and glue a new piece of 100mm timber in.this will give a much better fixing for the closer.thankyou for your advise.
Baz
Thanks for stopping by!
I have french doors from my den, outside swing to a second floor dec,. We use the right door, the wind catches it and often pulls from your hand or just swings it back hard against the house. What type of closer, preferably exterior would you suggest.
Thanks
Julia
Hi Julia,
It sounds to me like you need a stop more than a closer. You could use a crash stop chain, that is a kind of spring loaded chain such as the Ives CS115, or you could use something a bit more elaborate like a Rixson 9-236 or similar. You should be able to search these model numbers online and find examples of what I am talking about.
All the best,
Tom
How does one determine whether a right or left closer is needed? I have heard that if it opens to the right if you are standing outside the door, a right hand is needed. Is that correct?
Closers are handed the same as doors. If you push the door and it swings to the left, it is a left hand door. If it pushes to the right, it's a right hand door. Choose your closer accordingly.
I am wondering if an overhead door stop and a door closer can be used together? It seems like they would occupy the same area at the top of the door, yet I want something to pull the door shut, (the closer), and something to keep an open door from getting caught up in the wind, (an overhead stop). Since I need both these features, can I use both devices? Or do they make a heavy duty closer that doubles as stop?
Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Yes you can use an overhead stop and a door closer on the same door. The easy way is to put the closer on the pull side and the stop on the opposite side. Then you can use both a surface mount closer and a surface mount stop without them interfering with one another. But we don't always have this luxury.
The most common way to deal with stop/closer conflict is to use a concealed overhead stop with a surface closer. This also eliminates the conflict, but it is a LOT more work.
Several companies, such as Rixson and LCN/Glynn Johnson, have special application surface closers or special application surface applied stops that are designed to work with each other when both are installed on the same side of the same door. I have an applications book for LCN/Glynn Johnson, but you might cut to the chase and phone LCN or Rixson tech support and ask them what their solution is. They will be happy to tell you.
very helpful info... thank you... that gives me some direction.
mc
We just installed our door closers now. Why is it too heavy especially for my 3 year old to open. Is there an adjustment on the resistance?
Many closers have a tension adjustment and many do not. To be sure, check the installation instructions. Door closers that do not have a tension adjustment are often sized to a specific size door. If your door is, for example, a 30 inch door and you have a door closer designed for a 36 to 42 inch door, you may find your door difficult to open.
Hey Tom,
My door closer in my apartment broke. It is similar to the "Surface mounted closer, standard mount" that you posted above. The screw that connects the door frame to the actual hinge broke off. I am just wondering if any standard screw and cap can fix this issue, or will I have to get some special one that is made specifically for a door closer?
Thanks,
Raymond
It sounds like you have a "standard mount" installation and that one of the screws that hold the shoe to the header has broken off. You have some leeway about the size of the screw that you use to reattach it. The hard part will be getting the broken off screw out of the header if it's still there, because it's fairly important to get that shoe back in the same place it was if you can.
Tom, I'm trying to switch a right-hand open parallel arm closer to the left-hand open door but I think I need to switch the arm around somehow to make it work. How would I do that? It is an old Yale Amarlite, if that matters.
Some door closers are handed. My initial research has not revealed to me whether your door closer is handed or not, but if it is, you cannot take a right hand closer and put it on a left hand door.
I think your closer is a pot type closer. If it is reversible, you should be able to simply swing the arm around, slide the dog into the spring sprocket and there you go. If, however, your closer is handed, you might find that the arm stops or if you reposition it so that it looks like it will work, you will find it has no spring tension.
Alternatively you might be able to mount in on the push side of the door if the door is at least seven feet, six inches tall, using a corner bracket. Then from the door closer's point of view it will act like a right hand door.
Hey Tom which is more durable in high traffic areas like apt doors spring loaded hinges or auto door closer and why thanks
Really I feel that is a comparison between apples and oranges. Sure, they both close the door, but spring hinges slam the door, whereas door closers are designed to close the door slowly and quietly. On apartment doors, spring hinges are often used to try to help ensure that the doors are closed in the event of a fire rather than for security, insulation or any other purpose. Door closers are generally used on public entrances where doors need to be more surely closed and with more finesse.
Given that, as far as durability, I have seen both door closers and spring hinges work well for forty or fifty years. I do not think there is an observable difference.
Tom, Is it important to screw in the valve on the back of the closer on 4041 p.a. mounting? Easy step to miss. Jeff
Not sure what you're referring to, Jeff, but I will say that the 4041 (now the 4040XP) comes with great directions. Best follow them, be it a parallel arm, standard or top jamb install.
Tom, i know exactly what Jeff is talking about, its called the backcheck selection valve, not seen when mounted to the door since the valve's location is on the mounting surface (surfaces of closer that are in contact with the door)
Jeff:
Yes the valve on the back of the 4041/4040XP is important to adjust when mounting one of these to the push side of a door.
the reason, is because of the hydrualic circuitry in an LCN 4040/4041 backcheck function happens earlier in the door opening cycle if the valve is closed (all has to do with arm geometry) if left open,factory default when they send these closers), the backcheck will arrive later in the door cycle and not recommended.
even though to many the instruction on the "barrel" (called the spring tube) shows the steps "if" with diagram of the 6 hole mounting plate and "then" showing the valve screwed in. here's an easier way to explain it,
push side: close the valve
pull side: open valve (3 full turns)
hope this helps,
-Jess the door closer doctor
You know Tom the best place to buy Norton Door Closers is
SMR Architectural Hardware in Nashua NH. They have the largest supply in all models and finishes in the USA and of course the finest customer service and competitive pricing. If you need any please call 800 524 2432!
Awesome, Jess, thank you! If I'm not mistaken, if the backcheck needs adjusting after the closer is installed, one has to remove the door closer to do it. Correct?
Tom,
Yes, removal of the 4 bolts from body is required to gain acess to the backcheck selection valve on back of the 4040/4041's, if referring to the valve closest to spring tube (above or below the bolts when mounted, depending if its on a left or a right door) that is just the backcheck and no you will not have to remove your closer to adjust the backcheck regulation,
can drill throught e door to make a port for it on the door, but then you have an unsightly hole in the door on the opposite side of the closer.
due to once installed correctly there will be no need to have to turn it again unless taking closer off and putting it on pull side (if previously installed on a push) hence why its suppose to be set BEFORE putting it on the door (or frame if doing a TJ install)
hope i wasn't too confusing to understand, please email me (you have my email address) if still confused about backcheck selection
-Jess the door closer doctor
Thanks for that explanation, Jess. I very much appreciate your knowledge. You add a lot to my writing about door closers.
I was under the impression that there was no difference in installation between the 4041 and the 4040XP, and now I know better. Thank you!
Tom,
there really isn't any difference in installation method on the LCN 4041 or 4040, being they both have the same adjustments and the same body, the 4041 was out before the 4040XP,
mainly the difference is now is bigger bearings and pinion as well as different "O" rings used in the 4040XP preventing them from leaking.
in the future the 4041 will be phased out and is basically same thing as the 4040XP,
lets put it this way, 4040XP is basically the improved version of the 4041.
It is common with installing the 4040XP/4041 that the installer forget the backcheck position selection valve,
i once seen an installation video (of a brand that has a closer similar to the 4041) where they totally didn't even mention the valve, i told them about it and not heard back from the company about what i seen in the videos.
the instructions that came with my 4040XP, is the SAME installation sheet sent out with 4041's
-Jess the door closer doctor
My problem was that I have installed hundreds of 4041's and I never new about the backcheck selection valve! Boy do I feel dumb. I kept thinking everyone was talking about the backcheck valve. In my career as a locksmith, I just never had a need for backcheck in a parallel arm installation. Anyway I looked at some closers and some directions and even called LCN tech support and now I know what it is.
And it is always good to have a lesson in humility, too.
Hello Tom,
the body and valve locations on a 4040/4041 LCN can confuse people who do not understand what they are looking at,
i can understand this, when i seen the 4040 (first edition of the 4040 body style) it had no graphical label on the spring tube and just by looking at it i thought right the opposite with the adjustments and though tit was put together much like a screen door closer (adjustment on end of spring tube be sweep/latch) then when i seen the insides were rack and pinion and how the piston travelled inside the closer body, i learned what things did,
i too when i was in 8th grae i seen more and more of the dark gray 4040's (FP fluid years) off their doors getting rebuilt, i once asked one of the repairer's what the mystery valve was, i was told "thats a valve" not telling me much of what it DID,
high school years is when i started seeing more of the 4041's with the graphical spring tube label adjustment instructions and figured out what the BCS valve did
(BCS= my shorthand for BackCheck Selection)
i got finished reading your new hub dedicated to the LCN BCS valve,
i am sorry if i made you feel dumb or embarrassed about the knowledge about what the valve does, being your a locksmith. theres nothing to be a shamed about, many people learn different ways, (by reading or doing or asking)
what also could contribute to the learning, some locksmith courses don't cover the advanced skills and "hints and tips" of closers, but just how to perform "fresh installs" on doors and make the main adjustments.
as for LCN/IR csutomer support, i never had to call them for anything (yet) but i do know everyone at LCN has passion for what they do and do really good at it in the knowledge department, but do email with a couple employees at LCN plant
(no idea why i have not been offered a job working at Norton or LCN, but about every locksmith (on the internet) that i have communicated with and even people at IRST (ingersoll rand security technologies) have told me about visiting the LCN plant to watch closers be made or even take a course in them,
I'm sure if i did it would be like heaven to me.
-Jess the door closer doctor
Thank you Jess. I only felt a little foolish because here I am in the business for over 30 years, installing and selling LCN 4041's the whole time, and I never knew about the Backcheck Selection Valve! Actually I am delighted to have had the opportunity to learn something new about one of my favorite products.
Hi Tom,
I was wondering if there is a device that would be able to either close a door or keep it open at 170-180 degrees. The door is my pantry door in the kitchen and if left open is always in the walkway path. Since its in the kitchen, a pull side mount would be the only mounting option, but I haven't been able to find anything that can keep the door at that kind of angle and close it if its less than that angle. Also do they have timers that can close the door after a certain period of time and if open less than 170 degrees. Can the door close after 1 - 2 minutes after being open?
Thanks
Byron
Off the bat I thought of an electromagnetic door holder with a timer, but I am still researching a mechanical solution. I'll be back. :)
Just to be clear, i am looking for one or the other. The 1st solution would be a device to either close the door after a period of time (1 to 2 minutes) or the other device would close the door, but keep it open if opened to 170-180 degrees. I would prefer the latter.
Thank you
I think you can have your cake and eat it, too, if you use an LCN 4011T to close the door and an electromagnetic hold open with a timer. There are many variations on how you could get this to work. You could have the electromagnetic hold open on a timer for two minutes or you could have it activated and deactivated using a wall switch. Alternatively, the catalog section on the LCN 4010T series says to consult the factory if the door is to be held open at 180 degrees. This makes me think that they may have a "special template" solution that would allow you to have your "latter" option.
I have a round top door. Is there any add-on (or OEM closer) available that allows mounting where my current cheap tubular hydraulic closer is, which is about 18 inches off the threshold? The arm or closer would have to mount on the side jamb, not the top jamb. The cheapo I have now is usually OK but this door recently got caught in a windstorm, the safety chain failed, and I am now rehabbing the door. Would prefer something with adjustable latch speed and back check.
The Touch n' Hold by Greenstar is a heavy duty screen door closer, but it does not offer back check. To have true back check, the closer would need to be hydraulic. For a round top door application, I would usually recommend the Norton 78B/F and the adjustable bracket Norton offers for round top applications. However, this set up would not likely fit between the storm door and the door. I have sold LCN 1461T track closers for this application in the past. Ordered with the optional track bumper, it acts as an overhead stop in addition to being a full featured adjustable door closer.
Tom- nice site! Are there surface mounting closers that conceal the arm assembly in a track? I've found one that may work (Ementematic- European), but can't tell for sure from their site, and no sign of US dealers.
I searched for Ementematic but could not find anything. Many US manufacturers make track closers. Not sure if this is what you mean. But you could check out the Sargent 421 series or the Norton 2800 seris.
Industry Links
- LCN Homepage
LCN Door Closers - Dorma Door Control Overview
Dorma USA - Norton - The American Original - Since 1880
Norton door closer web site.
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How do i keep it from slaming when the door is closing i have a stop arm standard mount door