Is there a reason that an entry door swings inward? The reason I ask, is that I
want the door from the garage to swing into the garage instead of the kitchen.
I’m sure there is a good reason.
Is there a reason that an entry door swings inward? The reason I ask, is that I
want the door from the garage to swing into the garage instead of the kitchen.
I’m sure there is a good reason.
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Replies
So the hinge pins are on the inside where the bad guys can't get at them.
whoever installed it didn't think that they were entering the garage. They thought they were entering the house.
So..
just think that from the house you are going to "enter" the garage....
so, just turn the door around so it swings into the garage. It will still be an inswinging door.
There!
And----
since the garage is theoretically protecting his hinge pins from assult by bad guys----he doesn't need to worry,but if he Still worries he can get the door with exterior hinge pins permanently mounted (for about $12 bucks more I believe)
The inward swing protects the hinges, allows a storm door to be added, and is "tradition", probably from the days that a crossbar was used to "lock" the door.
If you get hinges with safety pegs, and you don't plan to install a storm, there's no reason the door can't open outward.
If you have steps or a porch, an outswinging door can get a bit awkward.
Outswing doors and snow drifts are an interesting combination.
MES
Most everything I ever saw being built in the doorshops of south Florida were outswing doors. Probably a tradition started long ago based on the intuitive assumption that an outswing door would perform better in a hurricane.
For that market, or in fact anywhere an outside door is to be furnished that swings out, the door shops stock and build the doors with hinges that have nonremoveable pins. Some furnish a cheaper type of "anti-break-in" hinge that has tabs on one leaf that engage punched holes in the other when closed, but I don't they are quite as secure as when using the NRP hinges.
Having participated in a lot of the full-scale lab testing required to qualify entry door products as OK to be sold withing the south Florida building codes jurisdictions, I can say that an inswing will actually perform a little better, under the testing cycles required.
A garage floor is, by code, lower than the adjacent (attached) house, and I would only do a door swinging into the garage, if the door opened onto a substantial step platform. I am opposed to stepping DOWN when going through a door, in the direction of the door swing.
Edited 6/11/2004 3:16 pm ET by Bob Dylan
There are a number of different secure hinge designs. Probably the most secure is to not rely on the hinges at all but to instead install pins in the frame that engage holes in the edge of the door.
an outswing door is definitely better for emergency exiting in case of a fire... and most codes require spring loaded hinges between the dwelling and the garage.
Years ago I read an architect's reply to that question in a letter to the editor of a magazine. He dashed off ten or twelve reasons why and thoroughly impressed me with the multitude of reasons. I can only remember a few, though.
In addition to several already mentioned, the ability to add a screen door, the better security of the hinges, the safety of not being blocked by snow, and the convenience of not stepping backwards off the steps to open the door, here are a couple of others I remember. In an inward swinging door the top and interior of the door don't get wet when opened (which reduces rot). It's also easier when returning home with packages to push a door open rather than to have to set packages down (possibly on a wet stoop) and pull on a door. An inward swinging door won't drag snow inside when closed. It won't get caught by the wind. It can be left open for ventilation.
Maybe it depends on where you live, but here in the Northeast, an exterior outswing door is almost never seen on a residence. Wayne lists a lot of great reasons why this is so. For commercial and institutional doors, where fire safety is the primary concern, almost all doors are outswing.
In your case where the door is protected from the weather, the most important considerations are convenience and trip hazards. Try to imagine what it will be like going in with an armload of groceries.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA