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...why, when British front doors open inwards, do those in Scandinavia open outwards (to judge from Scandi TGV serials)?
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So the snow doesn't fall inside the house?
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An obseravion that seems to be made fairly frequently on the web judging by the number of articles on the subject. There are various reasons it seems.
scandinaviafacts.com/why-do-doors-open-outwards-in-sweden/
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The design of our house is such that an outward opening front door would be an asset. But given that I probably need planning permission to walk across the carpet and building regs approval to put a mug on the breakfast table I won't put my mind to it. Indeed, my first thought about Sweden before reading the article was "that'll be fire regs".
I do need some work doing on our front door though - the wooden frame has started to rot. No idea in the world who or how you get someone for that kind of a job though - tiny to anyone else, insurmountable for me to do. so I expect it will be added to the long list of similar jobs around the house.
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Get it replaced by a plastic door. I got a very nice kitchen door installed in this way by a double glazing outfit.
There must be plenty of builders and carpenters who can fit a new wooden door.
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First job - and one which will take the most time - is to make a jobs list.
This list should be frequently consulted and amended, it should also be presented in several ways - alphabetical order, urgency, cost, anticipated disruption etc. The more computer literate could, and should, write a programme. Above all it must NOT be hurried.
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>> First job - and one which will take the most time - is to make
>> a jobs list.
>>
>> This list should be frequently consulted and amended, it should also be presented in several
>> ways - alphabetical order, urgency, cost, anticipated disruption etc. The more computer literate could, and
>> should, write a programme. Above all it must NOT be hurried.
Indeed my list making takes years, and well, as for the planning process... who can say.
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My back from the kitchen opens outwards.. Inwards door would take up valuable kitchen space.
>>I do need some work doing on our front door though - tiny to anyone else, insurmountable for me to do.
You pick up the phone to your local door supplier (not a national firm) you pay them, they do it and you get on with the rest of your life.
You choose local because they will have done it to a home under similar circumstances within a few hundred yards of you.
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Isn't there something similar around windows?
Euro windows used to have shutters on the outside so opened inwards.
If there was snow blocking the outside then you wouldn't be able to get out of a door that went outwards.
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>>
>> The design of our house is such that an outward opening front door would be
>> an asset. But given that I probably need planning permission to walk across the carpet
>> and building regs approval to put a mug on the breakfast table I won't put
>> my mind to it.
I looked into this for the new house and I don't think there's anything stopping me having outward opening. In an existing house I'd just do what you want.
Security is theoretically lower because the hinges are exposed, and opening the door to callers probably makes you [feel] slightly more vulnerable - less easy to pull the door shut than slam it in somebody's face. In practice, as Ambo says, houses the world over have outward opening doors. In the end I stuck with inward and accepted that the (outward opening) 'accessible' door of the downstairs WC would have to be shut when the front door opens.
Fixing the rot is easy for a good joiner, they can cut out the rotten bits and replace them.
If mission creep takes over, I found the external doors hard to shop for. Plastic doesn't look right to me, most are made like window sashes, with a frame and rebated infills - same with most of the aluminium ones, which aren't even cheap.
If you feel like spending £3k or so including installation Kloeber, just up the road from you in Huntingdon, do some passable-looking engineered timber door sets in various styles with softwood frames, which they make to measure. That can include side lights, fanlights, or what have you. I ended up getting the external doors from them.
www.kloeber.co.uk/products/made-to-measure-doors/entrance/
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If changing to new doors, thresholds can usually be lowered. That might help for mobility-impaired occupants, like me.
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>> If changing to new doors, thresholds can usually be lowered. That might help for mobility-impaired
>> occupants, like me.
Mandatory on new build, along with sufficient door width and accessible downstairs WC.
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Well, spurred on by all your "oh FGS just get on with it" responses, for which I thank you, I looked this morning at these people:
www.schnauber.co.uk/doors-windows-cambridge/
I could feel my wallet emptying whilst I read it.
Then I called a "carpenter and joiner" who lives in the village and advertises in the Parish magazine. Tooth sucking, will call round to look tomorrow evening, but instantly said "probably not worth cutting out the rot and splicing, it's as easy (I note he he didn't say "as cheap") to replace the whole door frame."
As always in these situations I smile and nod and hand over gobbets of cash, because I have no clue.
So we'll see. I'm guessing £2.50 for the materials and £498 for the labour and the extra one-thing-and-another.
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So we'll see. I'm guessing £2.50 for the materials
"Not bought any timber lately then?"
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>> So we'll see. I'm guessing £2.50 for the materials
>>
>> "Not bought any timber lately then?"
>>
It’s not as if it grows on trees.
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Befire we moved to Austria, we had a Scandia Hus Swedish chalet bungalow with an outward opening door. The reason that the doors open outwards, as it was explained to us, is that when the wind blows, the door presses harder against the seals so you are less likely to get draughts. And the snow never accumulated outside the door because the eaves had a very wide overhang so that you could walk round the house in the winter.
With regard to security and the point about exposed hinges, it actually made our house more secure. We did have an attempted break-in not long before we moved to Austria. Some low life had attempted to pry the door open at the lock side with a garden spade. Trouble is, he was prising it the wrong way on the assumption that it opened inward, and all he managed to do was break the handle of the spade. Gave us a laugh.
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If you are worried about the security on outward opening doors, dog hinges are the answer.
www.ratman.co.uk/products/h102-5-dog-bolt-hinge/
Holds the door in place even if someone tries removing the hinge pins
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I’m surprised more shady characters don’t invest in outward opening doors, I would have thought they are better suited to withstand a police battering-ram…
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In the US fire & safety regulations insist that doors open outwards in places open to the public.
Obviously because a panicking and evacuating crowd would find it difficult to step back sufficient to allow the door to open inwards.
Whereas private houses open inwards to allow those same fire & safety people to smash their way into your house if they need to rescue you.
I have no idea if any of that logic carries across to the UK.
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>> I have no idea if any of that logic carries across to the UK.
I'm pretty sure fire doors that open outwards, or at least are capable of opening outwards, are required in the UK.
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>> >> I have no idea if any of that logic carries across to the UK.
>>
>> I'm pretty sure fire doors that open outwards, or at least are capable of opening
>> outwards, are required in the UK.
>>
Fire exit doors (fire doors are a different thing) must open outwards and if lockable must be fitted with a pressure bar.
In the Uk domestic from doors usually open inwards but other doors like patio doors and traffic doors on bifolds usually open outwards but there are no regulations
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>>
>> Fire exit doors (fire doors are a different thing) must open outwards and if lockable
>> must be fitted with a pressure bar.
>>
>> According to RRFSO 2005 fire exit doors should when practicable open in the direction of the exit. Not therefore mandatory as I read it.
>>
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Doors opening inwards mean that it can be shut in the face of an unwanted visitor.
Doors opening outwards risk damage to passing pedestrians if it's opened without looking. In fact looking first is not an option with a solid wood door!
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Just Wondering... - bathtub tom
