Door closer

[butterfly]

We have just fitted a door closer on a door as requested by buildin

control. I dont think we carried out the fitted correctly since i turned out to be a nightmare to fit, requiring the strength of 2 men t do it properly. (we fitted one side in, but had to use a lot of force t position the other hinge into place to screw it in...). Anyway, its don now, and the door closes automatically when opened but it doesnt sla shut. Is it ok if its slightly ajar or will building control require i to slam shut? We used this kind of closer:

advice on where we went wrong during the fitting would also b appreciated

-- butterfly

[Steve]

FWIW (I know nothing about fire doors) it would seem to me that a fire door should shut properly otherwise it would seem a bit pointless having it in the first place.

HTH Steve

[John]

The secret is to use a steel nail or similar - push it between the links of the chain whilst the door is open - then you can perhaps remove a link from the slack end

[Weatherlawyer]

They should have had a pin or gadget like that to hold the chain out while it was fitted. Why they couldn't follow the instructions is beyond me.

They are tightened or slackened by turning the spring flange. Open the door as wide as possible, insert the catch or clip or whatever they supplied or buy another Perko to use that. They are only a couple of quid.

An 1 1/2" nail might do.

Remove the flange set in the frame and turn the chain -without straining it, to suit. Replace the flange and remove the catch. Check the door closes and if it doesn't, try again.

That's all there is to it.

[Ed Sirett]

These are very tricky to fit. However you should have found inside the packet a small steel slightly cranked rod about 2mm diam x about 50mm long. This is used to wedge the chain. You could also improvise something.

The tension/length of the mechanism is adjustable to achieve a result, but the door needs to be hung right of course.

If you are only trying to get a completion certificate then fit the ugly but cheap and simple rotary type and remove later.

[Phil L]

Where you went wrong was paying £1.79p for a door closer - a fire door weighs a lot more than a regular internal flush door and therefore requires something more substantial to close it. No the building inspector won't pass it if it doesn't completely close (every time) and the fire officer won't be too happy neither, if he's required to see it.

is what you should have used.

[Andrew Gabriel]

a cheaper one, which will do for domestic fire door use.

If you've never fitted one of these before, get a tube of filler too, to fill all the mounting holes you make for positions which turn out not to work when you test them ;-)

[Steve Walker]

Yup - use a vice & mole grips to pull out 2" of chain, and then lock it in place with the supplied rod (sometimes a notched steel plate is provided instead). The resulting 'slack' allows you to fix the spring barrel into the door, and then the plate onto the frame.

Having done this, you'll probably then need to take it off again to wind the spring in or out, adjusting the tension. Open the door wide, put your locking pin or shim back in, unscrew the plate and then wind the chain with pliers as you need to.

I find them perfeclty usable for domestic doors, but they don't usually give you a full fire-door 'slam' unless you wind 'em up tight. I don't like the noise, so ours are adjusted to pull the door 'nearly closed' without latching.

[auctions]

on domestic properties, so you might be able to do without if you have a friendly BCO. A few other things have changed too though, so you need to check that you don't get caught out by any of those.

The Perko type closers work fine when adjusted right, although the ones I've used are a bit more expensive. If it nearly closes, try leaving a window open when they are checked - the easier air movement sometimes makes the difference.

Another option is spring loaded hinges - screwfix have some for =A39.99 a pair in clearance which seem pretty solid (and springy).

A

[Phil L]

With the dearer ones, you only fix it once and it is fully adjustable in several directions / speeds / strengths /etc...and they are tested to 10,000 operations!

[The Medway Handyman]

And a packet of plasters in case you get your fingers in the way.

[adder1969]

A woman at work leaving a meeting room blindly put her hand up in front of her while she was tlakign to somebody behind her, thinking the door was there but she'd put her hand (well some of her fingers) into the space between the door and the door frame (on the hinge side) and the heavy fire door slammed shut..... I know we used to have "how to walk up stairs" training but I don't remember getting "how to open a door" training after that.