Door closers in Northland
Fitted, adjusted and repaired - including the fire door closers that have to work properly whether anyone is watching or not.
A door closer is the least glamorous piece of hardware on a building and one of the most consequential. Its job is to make sure a door that should be shut is actually shut.
We supply, fit, adjust and repair door closers across Northland for shops, offices, schools, apartment buildings and homes.
Why a door that does not close is a problem
- Security. A door standing ajar because the closer has given up is an unlocked door, whatever is fitted to it. This is one of the most common ways a well-secured building is left open.
- Fire. A fire door only works if it closes fully and latches. One that stops an inch short, or that has been propped open with a chair, is not a fire door - it is a hole in a fire wall. On a commercial building this is a compliance matter, not an opinion.
- Weather. In Northland, a door that does not shut properly lets in wind-driven rain, and the damage turns up later in the frame and the floor.
- Safety. A closer adjusted too strongly slams, catches fingers, and is very hard work for elderly or disabled users. Adjusted too weakly it does not latch. There is a correct setting and it takes a few minutes to find.
If a door in your building is being held open with a wedge, a bin or a fire extinguisher, that is a fault report, not a solution. Usually the closer is over-tightened, damaged or the wrong size, and people are working around it. If the door genuinely needs to stand open, there is proper hardware for that - hold-open devices that release automatically on the fire alarm.
On a commercial building those doors are not just hardware. Doors that close on fire alarm activation are listed among the specified systems that go on a building's compliance schedule, and the building owner is responsible for making sure they are inspected and maintained.
The kinds we fit
- Overhead closers - the familiar arm above the door. Adjustable, serviceable and suitable for most commercial doors.
- Concealed closers - fitted into the door or the frame where appearance matters.
- Floor springs - set into the floor, typically under heavy glass doors on shopfronts.
- Hold-open and free-swing closers - hold a door open in normal use and release it on the alarm, which is the right answer for a fire door in a busy corridor.
- Domestic closers - for internal garage doors, and for anyone who would like a door to stop being left open.
Adjustment is a real job
Most closers have separate adjustments for closing speed, the final latching action and often a backcheck that stops the door being flung into the wall. Getting these right is the difference between a door that closes reliably and quietly, and one people prop open. If your closer has never been adjusted since it was fitted, it is almost certainly not set correctly now.
Closers also wear and leak. A closer weeping oil is at the end of its life and adjusting it will not bring it back.
Door closer services
- Overhead closer supply and fitting
- Concealed closers
- Floor springs
- Fire door closers
- Hold-open and free-swing devices
- Closing speed and latch adjustment
- Backcheck adjustment
- Repair and replacement
- Replacing a leaking closer
- Matching closers across a building
- Domestic and internal garage door closers
- Assessing doors held open with wedges
Related
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Tell us what you need and you will know what it costs before we start.
Fire doors
A fire door that does not close and latch fully is not doing its job. We fit and adjust so it does.
Adjusted, not just fitted
Speed, latch and backcheck set properly - which is why people stop propping the door open.
Get in touch
Tell us what has happened
We will tell you what the job needs and what it costs before anyone sets out.
Mobile across all of Northland, from Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Paihia and Russell down to Whangarei, Ruakaka, One Tree Point and Marsden Cove - see all 55 areas we cover.
Questions
Common questions
My door slams. Can that be fixed?
Almost always, and usually in minutes. It is a closing-speed and latching adjustment. If adjustment will not hold it, the closer is worn or is the wrong size for the door.
Can I just take the closer off?
On an ordinary internal door, that is your choice. On a fire door, no - the closer is part of what makes it a fire door, and removing it is a serious matter on a commercial building.
The closer is leaking oil.
That one is terminal. The hydraulic damping is what makes a closer controllable, and once it has lost its oil it cannot be adjusted back. It needs replacing.
We need a fire door to stand open during the day.
There is proper hardware for exactly that - a hold-open device that releases automatically when the fire alarm sounds. It is the compliant answer to the wedge under the door.
Can you match closers across a building?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Consistent hardware means consistent adjustment, one set of spares and doors that all behave the same way.
Locked out, or want it sorted properly?
One call reaches a mobile locksmith in Northland who will tell you what it costs before any work starts.
0800 243 503