Force8 have recently been promoting their range of composite panic doors apparently in response to the growing popularity of composite doors generally. Any company experienced in the commercial sector will totally understand the value of aluminium commercial doors.
Most expert installers would only specify aluminium for fire exit doors, so what is the advantage of a composite door with panic bars?
Plastic doors and composite doors simply do not have the longevity of aluminium not because of the greater inherent strength of aluminium, but more importantly the long term reliability of commercial aluminium door hardware. It is hardware over construction that gives doors long service life. Rarely does a door fail because of it’s construction, it is the hardware that will fail long before a door will.
Composite doors are designed for use in dwellings not in commercial high use buildings. It cold be argued that there are definintely better domestic entrance door solutions than composite doors, nonetheless they are popular. With many home improvement companies choosing only to offer composite doors and no other credible or better alternaitves consumers are buying them.
What value do composite doors have in high traffic environments?
There is presently litte information available on what cycle testing plastic door hardware undergoes. It is a fair statement to say that plastic doors and composite doors are primarily intended for dwellings. Consider how many times the average door in a house is opened and closed during the working day? The operation of doors intended for the residential market is nowhere near that of aluminium commercial doors specifically intended for this purpose – high use, high traffic doors in commercial buildings that have more users and occupiers than any dwelling.
Force 8 say in their recent press articles that their door offers
a high spec safety option for every sector as composite doors continue to grow in popularity
but in what type of application could such a door possibly be useful? In high traffic environment such as schools a door such as this in our view would be a recipe for failure and ultimately as has been proven countless times over the years it would soon be replaced with an aluminium one. Even the experienced and knowledgable plastic door companies in the market acknowledge that in commercial or high traffic use, an aluminium commercial quality entrance door is the preferred and most reliable solution.
There is no possible way such a composite door with panic bars, a door designed to be opened in low traffic dwellings, could possibly withstand a school environment. Those who have been active in school contract work will be only too aware of what demands are made on doors particularly where you have hundreds of pupils streaming out of doors at the same time during breaks and end of school days. It is the tried and tested hardware in concealed closers, threshold pivots and the absence of lever handles with multi point locking that enables commercial doors to functions for many years with only routine maintenance carried out.
A Composite door with panic bars can only be useful in low traffic environments but arguably still with ongoing issues.
If the purpose of fitting a composite door with a panic bar is solely to facilitate ease of exit compared to operating a lever handle, in a very low use environment they may turn out to be reliable. If a composite door is intended to be used on an “emergency exit only” type door that remails shut at all times untill needed for escape, it could be argued they provide a cost effective purpose.
However it is well documented by professionals in this sector and hardware manufacturers such as Dorma Door Controls that low use doors remaining shut and that are not still subject to routine maintenance and testing could still fail when needed. Our article here explains why.
Despite the reported popularity in composite doors we must remember that in commercial applications the correct product has to be used. This is not to say the Force 8 composite door is not fit for purpose. There is little information as to whether its hardware is designed for high traffic or whether the same hinges are used on this and doors to dwellings. If you are considering a composite or plastic door in a high traffic environment we recommend you determine its precise use beforehand. If it is likely to be a high traffic door we would recommend an aluminium door every time that correctly installed and maintained will perform better.
Have you ever used a plastic or composite door in a commercial application?
The post Why would you buy a composite door with panic bars? appeared first on Aluminium Trade Supply.
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