Do you love solid wood doors, hallow-core doors, French doors, screen doors, security doors, garage doors or any other type of door? If you said yes, we have that in common. Hello. My name is Pat, and I take doors seriously. Whether I'm hanging a bedroom door for my kids, buying new doors for my rental properties or advising a real estate client on new doors, I take the task seriously, and I spend a lot of time researching. After years reading about and testing multiple types of doors, I have decided to share my wealth of knowledge. Please explore, and I hope you like what you find.
If you are buying doors for your business, apartment building or other facility, you need to ensure they work for all kinds of people, regardless of their abilities. In particular, here is a look at five handicapped-friendly features all automatic doors and their surrounding areas should have:
1. Open button
Unless your doors are operated by a sensor that can tell when people are near it, you need to have an "open" button attached to it. This button allows anyone to open your door even if they aren't strong enough to pull open a heavy door or can't get close to the handle due to being in a wheelchair.
2. Easy-to-operate hardware
Lest someone prefers to pull open your doors rather than using the open button, make sure you have hardware that is easy-to-operate. In particular, you want to think about clients or others who may have manual dexterity issues such as arthritis, and you want to supply them with a handle that is easy to grasp and doesn't require turning.
3. Ample opening time
If your doors open automatically at the push of a button, you need to ensure they stay open for a reasonable amount of time. In particular, imagine how long it may take someone to turn their wheelchair and maneuver through the door. Remember, however, that is not the only scenario to keep in mind --also think of the speed of people with walkers or with physical maladies that simply slow them down.
4. Lots of room
In addition to being able to get through the door before it closes, your clients or visitors also need to be able to physically pass through your doorway. Luckily, most commercial doors have been made with handicapped accessibility in mind, but you also want to keep in mind the need for lots of room while owning and using the doors as well.
Most importantly, make sure they aren't blocked by random items such as shovels or bicycles, and certainly don't block them with merchandise displays or signage.
5. Beveled threshold
Of course, if you don't want people tripping and falling in your doorway, you need a beveled threshold. Ideally, your threshold should not include more than a small bump, and to ensure this bump doesn't trip anyone with a cane or stop a wheelchair in its tracks, you need the ground leading up to it to be sloped or beveled.
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