How To Select The Right Commercial Interior Doors
An important part of any building or development are the doors selected – commercial buildings often have door considerations other than simply as entrances or exits from rooms or the building itself! Some doors for commercial buildings will require certain safety features, and the aesthetic finish and appearance of the door may be important considerations in certain environments. Here are some aspects of interior doors for commercial buildings for you to consider:
Material
There are different options for the material from which you can have your doors constructed – you can choose your option depending upon what environment the doors are going to be situated in and the individual purpose of the doors.
Wood
From an aesthetic point of view, wood doors offer the natural beauty of the material and can enhance any office space – wood doors are also durable and hard-wearing making them a practical choice for a commercial environment. The wood surface can also be painted or stained to provide a specific appearance suitable for commercial space. These doors are often finished with a wood veneer, of which there are many different styles and appearances, making these commercial interior doors ideal for hotels, apartment buildings and offices.
Metal
Metal doors offer a more industrial appearance that may be more suitable for certain commercial environments. These doors are durable and strong and can provide important safety features such as fire protection and prevention of illegal breach of the premises. They are also ideal for providing noise reduction and insulation for a space. Environments such as hospitals and other care and educational establishments, often deploy metal commercial doors in their buildings.
Plastic Laminate
Other doors commonly used in hospitals, schools and other high-traffic environments are plastic laminate doors. These doors are easy to maintain, practical and affordable. They can bring a high-end finish to a room and can be customised to accommodate any style or look. There are a variety of different wood finishes that can be applied over the door’s laminate core, which is importantly made from fire-retardant material.
Door Core
Again, there are different door cores from which you can have your commercial doors constructed including a composite core, honeycomb, particleboard or, for specific environments, fire-rated cores. The composite core combines wood and laminate which provides a strong core, whilst the honeycomb core uses a corrugated material in a hexagonal pattern which produces a lighter door that is often more affordable than the other options. Particleboard offers solid cores made from fibres of recycled wood – these doors are more environmentally-friendly than the other options and offer an ecological and cost-effective commercial door option. Essential for many commercial environments is fire protection, so fire-rated doors will be the choice in these cases. Often using mineral core, which is a non-combustible material, these fire-rated doors are strenuously tested to specific standards with regards to offering protection from all the dangerous features of a fire outbreak such as heat, flame, and smoke. Fire doors are available in different ratings of protection – Fd30 fire doors offer protection from the fire elements for a minimum of 30 minutes, Fd60 are 60 min fire doors offering that same protection for up to 60 minutes, Fd90 doors for 90 minutes and so on.
Door Type
There are different styles of door that are suitable for commercial buildings. Most commonly used is the hinged door – they can be installed on either the left or the right side of the door frame, and are usually supplied as a complete doorset, with the pre-hung door already affixed in the frame. Folding doors, often referred to as bi-fold doors, open by folding into two panels – these are practical for areas with limited space as they only take-up half the space of a standard swinging door. Sliding doors and bypass doors both offer options for functions where space may be at a premium and are often used as closet or storage space doors.
Hardware
Your door furniture, or hardware, also needs to be considered. Hinges, pivots, locks, and handles are available in many styles and finishes. Certain doors will also need more specialist hardware features depending upon their use and environment – fire doors will need door closers whilst many environments, such as schools, will require finger safe doors to prevent hands getting trapped. Certain commercial environments may want doors fitted with kick or push plates for greater protection and ease of passage.
Commercial interior doors can be manufactured in many different sizes and styles – speak with an established commercial door manufacturer or supplier about the many different options available for doors for commercial buildings.
Enfield Doors
Speak to Enfield Doors they are established bespoke door manufacturers in the UK trading for many years and manufacturing doors of all types to every environment across industry and the home. Their knowledgeable and experienced staff can advise you on all aspects of commercial interior doors including manufacture, installation, maintenance and security. If you would like further information on our company, please contact us and we will respond as quickly as possible. We look forward to helping you.
