Making sure every aspect of your business works properly and operates smoothly is prevalent for the success and well-being of the whole company, as well as the happiness and prosperity of the workforce. As an owner, a manager, or anyone else in charge of certain things around a business, you want each and everything to be in tip top shape no matter how big or small it seems. It is not relevant how important it seems on the outside because unless it is working properly, you will not be doing the most as a company and you risk downtime and inconveniences.
Speaking of inconvenience and not being able to perform routine daily tasks the right way, there are not many annoyances that can occur in a workplace than a commercial door failing. Not being able to enter or leave a building or a room without a fuss is not something that should be taking the time of your day as it is a basic concept nobody really thinks about as a struggle. Commercial doors come in a great variety of shapes and sizes so it is only natural for the issues with them to also vary.
To help you prevent future issues or solve current ones, in this article we talk about what you need to do when your commercial door stops working. Fixing it is not always possible on your own and you may need the assistance of professionals. If you want to learn more about door repair services, maintenance, and installation, make sure to visit Doorsincontrol.com/door-services/.
Solving Your Commercial Door Issues
It is not always the door itself to blame for the trouble as it is usually something else that causes the door to refuse to open and close the right way. Overtime, the door experiences more and more wear and tear, resulting in a malfunction that could have been prevented if the immediate surroundings were fixed on time. In any case, there is always something that can be done but first you have to identify the type of issue at hand.
Warpage
A lot of materials tend to warp and change their shape over time, especially when exposed to extreme temperatures for extended periods of time. For example, if your metal door faces the sun most of the time during hot summer weather, it will surely get warped to some degree and start causing issues. Over the years, the warpage will become worse and cause a bow along the lock edge.
Hollow metal doors are the worst when it comes to heat and warpage and it is prevalent that you identify the warpage in its early stage, or else there is not much you can do except replace it. There are models resistant to warpage too, so if you suspect something like this can happen, make sure to get such a model. In certain cases, the warped part could be sanded or grinded away but it depends on the situation, the door type, the proximity to the wall and the floor, etc.
Increased Traffic
Although this is good for the business, having a lot of people coming in and heading out is an extraordinary amount of wear and tear for any type of door. The jamb, locks, closers, and hinges go through a lot of work over the years and they may need replacing once they become too wiggly or no longer operational in any way. The way people open and close doors also matters as there is no need for excessive force especially if the door has a slow closing mechanism.
In terms of traffic, between 400 and 500 openings per day are considered a high amount of door traffic and these are the ones that will have small moving parts break down the fastest. To ensure a longer lifespan of a commercial door that experiences increased traffic, make sure to equip it with heavy duty products and parts. Do the same if your door has already stopped working due to too many openings.
Refusing to Close
The worst thing that can happen to your commercial door is for it to be unable to close. The door’s sole purpose is to close and be an obstacle between the inside and the outside, so there is not much use for it if it can no longer perform this function. A lot of things can happen for an average commercial door to fail to close. From the floor to how it was mounted to the jambs and the walls, many things can go wrong and only worsen over time. To ensure your own will not break down and experience a failure, you should make sure there is no initial trouble with the closing.
It could be the hinges, the door hardware and the mechanisms, the position of the door, or even the size. Warps and physical damage can move it out of place and make it useless in its sole function of keeping your property securely behind it. Then again it could be the weather strip that is too thick and does not allow closing. Inspection is key here and you should absolutely make sure there are no initial problems when the doors are first being installed.
Door Gaps
Last but not least, we should talk about the gaps. To limit the gaps, thresholds are installed almost everywhere. However, it could happen that even with a threshold under the door there is still a large gap. This is not something that should exist because it allows all sorts of potentially dangerous things to happen. Air gets in, heat, cold, and even smells.
Critters and insects will have no problem getting in and causing mayhem. It is of course possible to fill in the gaps thanks to gasketing products designed for different types of gaps and spaces. Thresholds are not enough as sometimes you may also need a bottom sweep or some kind of reinforcing or protection that can be extended and act as a gap filler too.
