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People,in a panic will rush to the first available door. If there is enough people with a door that opens in, the pressure of the crowd can keep the door from opening. This is why commercial buildings have exterior open out doors.
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In Europe a few years ago I greatly admired not only an inner (apartment) door that swung open but it also had no door knob on the outside, just a little curled indent that you could use to pull it towards you. It also had a key system that threw at least top and bottom dead bolts into the steel frame (maybe left and right too). Impenetrable I'd say. Anything like that available in the U.S.?
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Another post made me think of this. Are out swing exterior doors available? I saw an old this old house where the evil bob traveled to Sweden, and these doors were the norm.(toh pun!) The theory was the blowing wind pushed the door against the weather striping for a tighter seal. I'm thinking it would help gain a few valuable feet of floor space in this little house! Also, I'd be true to my Swedish roots. Think I'll find one? Jeff
*Real common, just hasn't come up for you yet I guess. The butts have a setscrew to keep the pin from being removed.
*yep- what he said. get them bout anywhere jeff- just ask...
*Guess I'll just open my eyes! Yeah, I've never run into this for a customer, and am think for my own house. Thanks, I'll do some checking. Jeff
*Yep, what he said, too.You can get anything Jeff. It's all about HOW MUCH MONEY YOU GOT!!
*every mfr. makes 'em..they are not a great idea though...the door is in the weather...you have a problem with the screen door....they're out there but htere is a bunch of reasons they arn't more popular..b but hey, ........
*They're good in case of wolves, though.
*They are code for commercial applications here. That means any business that has a POTENTIAL for a walk in customer. Code says they must swing outward in case of fire. This way the door does not get blocked, or people have a hard time opening and getting out.I have never seen them on a home, but I do know they are available.James "Finally Got Some Rain" DuHamel
*Definitely a Swedish thing. They also make the door pretty hard to kick in....Just don't have it swinging out over the stairs!
*Jeff, we use a lot of outswing doors on our homes up(down for you, I guess) here in north GA. Most of our houses have at least one view wall and the wind really can get rough. We've tried all kinds of premium doors, single-point and triple-point locks, etc. and have settled on outswings as standard on all exposed doors.Problems: can't use a storm door, if you want a screen you gotta' use the manufacturer's proprietary model, and the effin' siding subs always manage to jam the siding in too tight on at least 1 door in every house, bowing the jambs at the hinges and binding the door.Just installed several Peachtree sliders in a house just framed, but they've not been in long enough for an honest evaluation. Plus, sliders cost more than a conventional double-hung.They're out there and readily available.Bill
*They certainly are hard to kick in, but a flat bar will pop one open without much trouble. (Before you go getting any wrong ideas about my line of business, I used to work for a door and window outfit and fix 'em.)Ron
*People,in a panic will rush to the first available door. If there is enough people with a door that opens in, the pressure of the crowd can keep the door from opening. This is why commercial buildings have exterior open out doors.
*Jeff,We install these all the time. Ditto on the locking hinges. Senco is a brand we use. I'm sure there are others.Check with Jones & Brown in the Strip District? They handle doors besides windows, don't they? Also, there is a guy on Route 18 between Burgettstown and Washington, Pa. who has a custom wood door manufacturing business. His sign and his shop can be seen from the road. It is Costello Doors. He is near Airport Road on Route 18 (west) just before you get to the Hickory/Avella turnoff.Also, Kiem Lumber in Sugarcreek, Ohio makes custom doors (and they will deliver). What about Iron City Sash & Door Company in Pittsburgh? Bet you could get it there too.Good luck,Davo.
*1996 BOCA code says for a residence the door may swing in either direction. However, when you have high loading...50 or more persons the door must swing out..as noted by kfa. GeneL.
*Jeff; Outswinging doors are a great idea, especially in cold climates. One simple way to defeat hinge pin removal break-ins; pre-drill and drive 16d duplex nails just under all hinges and drill a matching hole in the door edge. An out-swing door combined with a bumper type threshold will keep wind driven snow, rain or dust from being blown under the door. steve d.
*I considerd an outswing french door for the home I just finished. Went with a slider after being told by my door supplier that they had some problems in the past with leakage when these units were not installed under a patio cover, etc. 2nd reason was that I was told by a contactor friend that code said that for outswings you couldn't have more than like 1" step down from inside to outside. We kind of thought that maybe that would also explain the leakage problem. Never did any more research than that. Just seemed like too many red flags going up.
*Jeff, One more thing you might consider is the wind catching the door and ripping it outta your hand. Might be a place to consider a door closer or some sort of shock cord.
*Ron's right, even pinning the hinges won't stop a good flatbar. solution? steel doorjamb, and a good tight fit.