What Is The Best Door Closer For An Aluminum Storefront Door?

Aluminum doors are most often the door of choice for exterior entry doors into retail stores. They have also gained popularity as interior office doors since the door itself is essentially an narrow stile aluminum frame around a single full height glass lite window, allowing for ample light into the room. Whatever your application is, either an exterior or interior aluminum door, this article will explain in our opinion, the best door closer for aluminum doors.

What Is An Aluminum Door?

An aluminum door is a type of commercial metal door. The frame is manufactured from aluminum and is often offered in clear anodized (silver) finish or dark bronze. Aluminum doors are most commonly used as front entrance doors to commercial buildings such as banks, gas stations, libraries, office buildings, and many other types of buildings, and for this reason is sometimes referred to as "storefront doors." It is also not uncommon to find aluminum doors used as interior doors since they work as great partitions in buildings like commercial car dealerships or office buildings.

Liberty Rockwell Door Closer

The Liberty Rockwell door closer in our opinion is the best door closer solution for aluminum storefront doors. Now let's explain in detail why.

Can Be Installed Directly On Aluminum Frame Or Door

Standard storefront aluminum door frames are 1-3/4" in height. Since most storefront aluminum doors are exterior front entrance doors, the door closer must mount on the interior side of the door. After all, you don't want to mount a door closer on the outside of building since it would be exposed to vandals. This means that most aluminum door closer are either mounted top jamb or parallel arm.

Can Be Top Jamb Mounted - The Most Popular Choice For Storefront Doors

Top jamb installation is the most popular on storefront doors since the door closer mounts to the top of the aluminum door frame and the door arm shoe mounts to the door. However, not all door closers can mount top jamb if the door closer body is too tall. The Rockwell door closer is heavy duty, but narrow allowing it to mount directly to standard 1-3/4" aluminum door frames.

Can Be Parallel Arm Mounted - Popular Choice For Storefront Doors With No Headroom

Parallel mounted door closers are sometimes used on storefront doors when there is not enough space above the door to mount the door closer top jamb. This sometimes happens if the electrician mounts an exit sign directly above the door. In these situations a parallel arm installation is your best bet. With a parallel arm mount, the door closer body attaches to the top of the door and the parallel arm mounts to the top of the door frame soffit. The Rockwell door closer is ideal for parallel arm installations since the narrow door closer body can be mounted on the top of most aluminum doors. Taller door closers typically will need a drop plate, since their door closer body is too big to attach to the top of the door.

Can Be Mounted Standard - Only Applicable To Interior Aluminum Doors

Since standard mount door closer installation requires the door closer body to be mounted on the exterior side of the door, it can only be used on interior aluminum door applications where the door closer body is not in any danger to potential vandals. With standard mount installation, the door closer body mounts to the pull side of the door, and the arm shoe mounts to the top of the door frame.

ADA Compliant

Aluminum Storefront Door Closer Should Take Atleast 5 Seconds To Close The Door

Most storefront doors are ADA doors. This means the door closer installed should be ADA compliant. The Liberty Rockwell door closer is completely ADA compliant with adjustable closing speed valves to ensure the door can be adjusted to meet ADA standards. Remember, according to section 404.2.8, the door should take atleast 5 seconds to close from the 90 degree full open position to 12 degrees open.

Aluminum Storefront Door Closer Should Only Require 5lb of Opening Force For Interior Doors and 8.5lb Opening Force For Exterior Doors

According to ADA standards, an interior ADA door should only require 5lb of opening force to open the door. For exterior doors, the opening force is typically 8.5lb, but varies depending on building codes and other jurisdiction requirements. The Liberty Rockwell door closer is available with a 5lb interior opening force or an 8.5lb exterior opening force, depending on your application.

Grade 1 Certified

A grade 1 door closer is a commercial door closer that has been tested for over 2 million door cycles. The Rockwell door closer by Liberty Door Closers, is a grade 1 door close that has exceeded over 2 million door cycles. As far as door closer testing goes, the Rockwell is at the top of the class and is proof that it is reliable. An aluminum storefront door is the main entry point to a commercial building. Installing an inferior door closer like a grade 2 door closer, can result in premature door failure in a matter of months. Having a broken door in 4 months can hinder business and impede the traffic going into your store. When you install a Rockwell door closer you can expect a lifetime of use out of the door closer.

Fits Any Storefront Aluminum Door Size

Most aluminum storefront doors are 36" wide, however their are door applications where the doors could be 42" wide or even 48" wide. The Rockwell door closer features an adjustable internal spring, allowing it to be used on any storefront aluminum door size.

Storefront Door Closer Accessories Available

Commercial storefront aluminum doors are primarily used for front entrance doors for commercial retail buildings. As a result there a variety of accessories and functions that can be added to the Rockwell door closer to better fit your storefront door application.

Friction Hold Open Arm

As an example, the Rockwell door closer is available with a hold open friction arm. This arm type allows you to mechanically hold the door open. This can be useful during "happy hour" in restaurants or "seasonal sales" in retail stores where you can keep the door open to help the flow of pedestrian traffic into your building.

Drop Plate

Aluminum storefront doors vary. Some door locations offer lots of space above the door, while others might have low ceiling height and offer zero space above the door. The Rockwell door closer has various drop plates available so that the door closer can be mounted in applications where there is not enough space for normal installation methods. For example, the parallel arm mounted drop plate is ideal when the door's top rail is too narrow for normal parallel arm installation. By using the parallel arm installation drop plate, the door closer can attach to the top of the door.

Conclusion

In our expert opinion, the Rockwell door closer is the best door closer for aluminum storefront door applications. The narrow size allows it to easily mount to the aluminum door frame. It is heavy duty and ADA compliant. The Rockwell door closer is also available with a variety of accessories like the hold open arm or drop plate. All Rockwell door closers are IN STOCK and SHIP FREE.



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