How to find the right Commercial Swinging Doors AI guide
Written by an AI model from its trained knowledge.
What the AI looks for in Commercial Swinging Doors
- Door type for the use
- Use double-acting impact or traffic doors for kitchen and back-of-house pass-throughs and cart traffic. Use hollow metal or solid doors with closers and latching hardware for egress, security or rated openings. Impact doors are built for hands-free push-through traffic but generally do not latch, secure or carry fire ratings.
- Fire rating
- Any door in a fire-rated wall must be a labeled assembly installed per NFPA 80, with a matching labeled frame and hardware. Most traffic and impact doors are not fire rated, and an unlabeled door in a rated opening fails inspection.
- Hollow metal duty level
- Under ANSI/SDI A250.8: Level 1 standard duty (20 gauge), Level 2 heavy duty (18 gauge), Level 3 extra heavy duty (16 gauge), Level 4 maximum duty (14 gauge). Choose Level 3 for high-traffic or abuse-prone openings. Lighter-gauge doors dent and sag under commercial traffic and lose hardware reinforcement over time.
- Impact door construction and hinge
- Match the material to the abuse level: ABS or polyethylene for light carts, stainless or aluminum for food service wash-down, and heavier-core or reinforced panels for forklift or pallet-jack traffic. Gravity or cam-lift hinges self-close without springs. An undersized door cracks or warps quickly under cart and pallet impacts.
- Accessibility
- Provide at least 32 in clear width. Opening force on interior non-fire doors must be no more than 5 lbf. Thresholds may be no higher than 1/2 in, beveled. Commercial swinging doors on accessible routes must meet ADA 404.
- Size, handing and frame fit
- Order to the measured rough or frame opening, specify handing (LH, RH, LHR, RHR) for single-acting doors, and confirm the frame depth matches the wall thickness. Handing and frame mismatches are the most common reasons a commercial door will not hang.
Brands that matter
- Eliason: Long-established maker of double-acting Easy Swing impact and traffic doors.
- Chase Doors: Impact and traffic doors for food service, retail and industrial use.
- Curtron: Impact traffic doors, including the Supr-Swing line, plus strip curtains.
- Aleco: ImpacDor traffic doors and strip doors for back-of-house and warehouse use.
- Steelcraft: Major commercial hollow metal door and frame manufacturer.
- Ceco Door: Hollow metal doors and frames, including fire-rated assemblies.
- Mesker: Commercial hollow metal doors and frames.
- Curries: Hollow metal doors and frames for institutional and commercial projects.
What to avoid
- Installing a traffic or impact door in a fire-rated opening.
- Using residential-grade or light-gauge doors in high-traffic commercial openings.
- Ordering without specifying handing and the measured frame opening.
- Using lightweight plastic impact doors where pallet jacks or forklifts will hit them.
Questions
Do restaurant kitchen swinging doors need closers?
Double-acting impact doors usually self-center with gravity or cam hinges and need no closer. Latching or egress doors do use closers, typically ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 for commercial traffic.
What is the difference between single-acting and double-acting?
Single-acting doors swing one way and stop against a frame, so they can latch and seal. Double-acting doors swing both ways for hands-free traffic flow, but they do not latch or seal tightly.