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Home > Help Center > Door Closer Information > How Do You Install A Door Closer On A Storefront Door?

How Do You Install A Door Closer On A Storefront Door?

How Do You Install A Door Closer On A Storefront Door?

A commercial storefront door is an aluminum framed door with glass that is often used as retail front entrance doors. This guide explains how to install a door closer on an aluminum storefront door.

Installation On Storefront Doors


Step 1: Drill Mounting Holes

The first step is to choose the mounting type. Door closers can be installed either standard mount, top jamb, or parallel mount. All storefront door applications are exterior doors that swing out away from the building. For this reason the most popular mounting types are either the top jamb or parallel arm since the door closers are mounted on interior push side of the door away from the weather.



In some applications a drop plate may be required if the door closer mounting type chosen is the parallel arm type. This is because storefront doors typically have a narrow top rail and a full lite of glass in the door. A drop plate can be mounted on the narrow top rail, which allows the door closer to mount securely with all bolt holes. Please note that the drop plate will hang past the narrow top rail partially covering some of the glass. A drop plate installation is shown below.



Once the mounting type has been determined, hold the door closer body on the door, carefully marking the mounting holes with pencil. Do the same for the door closer arm shoe.

Since storefront doors are manufactured from aluminum self drilling screws are the most popular fastener type for storefront door applications. Once all mounting holes are marked we recommend screwing in all of the self drilling screws into the marked mounting holes first and then remove them. This will make it a little easier to install the door closer since all holes will already have been drilled.

Step 2: Mount The Door Closer Body and Arm

Next, mount the door closer body to the door and the arm to the frame using the screws. Always preload the door closer before connecting the arm to the closer body.



Step 3: Make Adjustments To The Door Closer

Carefully adjust the closing speed and latch of the door closer. Remember, that section 404.2.8 of the ADA Standards requires the door to take atleast 5 seconds to close from the 90 degree open position to the 12 degree open position.



Recommended Door Closer Options For Storefront Doors

Backcheck Option

We recommend that any door closer used on a storefront door have the backcheck function. A backcheck function controls the opening speed of the door closer from approximately the 75 degree open position to the full open position. Since storefront doors are exterior outswing doors, backcheck function can preserve the door from potential damage of abusive customers or high winds. An adjusted backcheck will allow the door not to "slam open" helping to increase the door and door closer's life span.



Delayed Action

Delayed action in a door closer is an adjustable hold open time once the door is in the full open position. This is a great option for storefront door installations since most storefront doors are used in retail stores where foot traffic can be heavy. By having a door closer that you can adjust the hold open time up to 30-60 seconds, it will allow the flow of traffic into your store to be more fluid and not impeded by the process of having to reopen the door each time.



Conclusion

Installing a door closer on a storefront door is one of the easier door closer installations. If you are in need of storefront door closer we recommend Liberty Door Closers. All Liberty door closers are ADA compliant and heavy duty for storefront door applications. Also each Liberty door closer ships FAST and FREE!



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