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Door Handing

Understanding how to properly hand a door is essential to ensuring your door is properly installed for functionality, safety, accessibility, and aesthetics.

Door handing is the way a door opens or closes in relation to the person outside of the door. Door handing is essential for specifying, ordering, and properly installing commercial doors in your facility, whether it is new construction or a retrofit. 

Why Does Door Handing Matter?

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Functionality

Knowing how a door is handed is crucial to ordering the correct hardware for your project. Door handing is essentially how a door opens and closes, so knowing the direction of your door’s swing is crucial to ordering the correct hardware, specifically the hinges and locks.

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Safety & Accessibility

Commercial buildings must comply with building codes and guidelines such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which dictates rules for door clearance among other technical requirements. Proper dooring handing ensures your doors meet the necessary ADA guidelines, but also open and close as intended in normal situations and emergencies.

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Aesthetics

Doors play an important role in the layout and movement of a space. Properly handed doors guarantee your building has rooms that are functional and visually appealing from all points of view.

See Door Handing in Action

Prefer a visual explanation? Watch our step-by-step instructional video demonstrating how to determine door handing quickly and accurately.

 

Download the Pocket Card Guide

Take the Guesswork Out of Door Handing

Equip yourself with the knowledge and resources to install doors with confidence. Enter your email to download the How to Hand a Door Pocket Card now and get it right every time!

2024 Door Handing Pocket Card

Who Is This Pocket Card Guide For?

  • General Contractors & Installers: Prevent costly rework and ensure smooth installations.
  • Architects & Designers: Specify door handing correctly for compliance and functionality.
  • Facility & Security Managers: Ensure doors are installed for optimal safety and accessibility.