Disabling self-closing mechanism on self-closing doors

sydthebeat said:
many public building have elctrically operated self closing doors.... these would work fine in domestic and apartment situation (ie come into operation at the detection of a fire)...... but of course these are more expensive...

this thread is simply a result of a builder using the cheapest lowest tech installation..... if they are such a pain why not lobby to get them outlawed....
Click to expand...

Its not feasible or necessary to use elecro magnetic closers internally in apartments. If you read the article in the link below you will see the the english regs are being relaxed for the need of these closers for internal doors. There is no question of closers being removed for 1 hour doors or external doors.
 
"The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is minded to remove the need for self-closing devices within
dwellings. This is because they can present a hazard to children; they can
interfere with the day-to-day convenience of the occupants and many of
our stakeholders tell us they are often disabled soon after occupation. The
fire safety benefits of closing doors, particularly at night, remain and it is
proposed to reinforce this message through national and local Community
Fire Safety programmes (see www.firekills.gov.uk) and other fire safety
initiatives. We would therefore particularly welcome consultees’ views on this particular proposal."
Is that good enough level of expertise?

That is taken from the offical government document in the UK, which will more than likely come into effect here as well. I work for a builder and in the majority of cases where we have fitted these closers the owners have them removed.
Please note i am not talking about overhead closers , just the ones with the chain. To be honest i have never heard anyone stand up for these devices ever before.
 
Folks, all this isn't exectly helping the OP. Could we keep it on-topic please?
Leo
 
as ive stated above i have no problem with someone wanting to augment or replace a closer..... but the idea of removing it, or tampering with it so it looses its self closing mechanism.. i do have a problem with..

The OP has been advised of different installations he/she can use.... its the removal or breaking that is most definately not advised.
 
I have these in my apartment. They are a total nuisance. I prefer having my doors opened most of the time, and prop them up anyway, so they are no use from a fire-prevention perspective. Also, my younger brother nearly lost a finger in one.

The mechanism can be disabled but it is very easy to injure yourself doing this so I decided to invest in kick-down door stops instead.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

For what it's worth I live in a 3 bed semi-d. It's 3 storeys which probably explains why these self closing chains are present.

They are such an annoyance that I just use door stops to keep frequently used doors open all the time. Which is obviously the worst thing to do from a fire safety viewpoint. But that's the behaviour that these closers are encouraging.

As others have mentioned, they are a safety concern especially if you have small children.

I will investigate replacing them with "sensible" closers which don't cause the doors to slam behind you.

But I'm still tempted to just remove them - then I will happily close the doors after me rather than propping them open all the time......
 
I have the spring ones in my apartment and they are a pain, the bathroom one works properly and doesnt slam but the rest slam really hard. Is there any way to adjust them?
 
Previous discussions regarding door closers in apartments have no relevance to your scenario.

There is no question that a 3-storey townhouse must have the door closers to doors leading onto the stairs on the ground floor and first floor in place, this is to protect the occupants of the 2nd floor. This is a building regulation and fire safety certificate requirement. Discussions in the UK regarding removal of door closers are in respect of apartments only.

I would suggest you replace the chain door closer with the more traditional over head type, which are easily adjustable.
 
Thought I'd post here instead of starting a new thread

I live in a apartment and have removed the puller chains from my doors as they slam pretty badly. Probably selling up this year. Can anyone tell me if this will cause any problems when I go to sell??

I'm also considering replacing the doors to newer one's to try and improve the apartment will there be any issue if I dont put fire doors in? I know when we were buying there was nothing mentioned about fire doors

Any advice appreciated
cheers
 
Manic said:
I live in a apartment and have removed the puller chains from my doors as they slam pretty badly. Probably selling up this year. Can anyone tell me if this will cause any problems when I go to sell??
Click to expand...
Do you mean doors in your apartment area or in common areas (corridors etc.) leading to it?
I'm also considering replacing the doors to newer one's to try and improve the apartment will there be any issue if I dont put fire doors in? I know when we were buying there was nothing mentioned about fire doors
Click to expand...
Does your management lease say anything about making such changes?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top