Blog

Once, revolving doors were a brand-new innovation that property owners were excited to add to their buildings. They were first invented in Germany in 1881 to prevent air drafts from entering along with guests. Shortly after, the three-partition version that’s so familiar today was patented in America. By the turn of the century, it became common to see revolving doors in New York and elsewhere. Indeed, they are still popular even today and are found at all types of properties, including shopping centers, healthcare facilities, restaurants, and much more.

However, revolving doors have experienced setbacks in their popularity over the decades. In particular, a 1942 nightclub fire in Boston resulted in nearly 500 people losing their lives, in part because panicking people became trapped in the club’s revolving door. To prevent such a tragedy from occurring again, revolving doors must now be collapsible in case of an emergency. Some jurisdictions also dictate that there must also be at least one swinging door nearby to aid in escape.

Despite the setbacks, revolving doors are still very common, especially in taller buildings where it is important to block drafts and prevent the chimney effect from occurring. Some of their other advantages include improving traffic flow, facilitating access for visitors using mobility aids, and generating energy savings.

They cut down utility bills, help disabled people with access and make life a little more convenient for everyone—automatic doors do a lot for us, and it’s all managed by relatively simple technology. The “magic” of automatic doors in New York and around the world is thanks to sensors. As you’d expect from their name, sensors sense things, including sound, light, motion, pressure, and more. The stimulus that activates an automatic door depends on what kind of sensor it utilizes.

For example, some doors are triggered by pressure sensors. When the sensors pick up the pressure of a person near the entrance, they tell the doors to open. The pressure sensor may be disguised in a rubber mat near the entryway or even incorporated into the flooring.

Another popular sensor type for automatic doors is motion. A camera-equipped sensor is mounted above the entryway or built into the door frame. When something moves within the sensor’s range, the doors open right away and then close shortly after. Doors can also use different types of sensors, but motion and pressure are the most common varieties. Each has its advantages, so determining between pressure and motion is a matter of what works best for that particular property.

If you’ve ever been to a major metropolis, you’ll notice that most large buildings have double or revolving doors. Since only large cities have unusually tall buildings, they are one of the only places you will see these types of doors. Although it may seem as though revolving doors in New York buildings are there to improve traffic flow, they also serve a structural purpose.

Pressure Relief

You may have found that a windy day can make a door harder to open or close. You’re fighting against the pressure because of sudden compression inside the building as you open the door. In some cases, doors get sucked open as if by magic when a building doesn’t have an adequate seal. The same principle applies to a skyscraper but on a much grander scale.

Don’t Break the Seal

The pressure never changes when a revolving door opens and closes because the seal never breaks. The action of multiple doors spinning prevents air from escaping or entering as someone moves through the space. Maintaining equilibrium is essential in large structures, and few buildings are quite so large as those found in Manhattan.

The next time you walk through a revolving door, you can thank the installers for making it much easier to enter and exit the building.

The benefits of stainless steel have long made it the go-to choice for various applications, with use as door material at the top of the list. Durability and longevity are its primary advantages, but given the range of selection, it can be challenging to know what to look for in stainless-steel doors. In New York, home and business owners can narrow their options by using simple guidelines.

Location

The intended location of the door will often dictate the style you choose. An entrance into a utility space will likely have different requirements than a front entry door.

Purpose

If you’re moving equipment in and out of a room, chances are you need a stainless-steel door that can hold up to a lot of wear and tear. A business entrance will also experience increased traffic, but the demands on the door will be less intensive.

Material

Not all steel doors are created equal. Is the door galvanized or stainless? Galvanized steel is less expensive, but the quality of stainless-steel doors often makes the difference worth the price.

Weight

If you’ve ever tried to open a heavy door, you’ll understand why weight is essential. The door you love may be beautiful, but if no one can open it, then it’s best to keep looking.

Insulation

Check the core material used for the door. If you’re looking for insulating properties, you want to ensure the door has the kind of filler you need.

At some point, the parts inside your automatic doors will start to wear down and eventually break, requiring you to contact an automatic door repair company. But how do you know which repair professional is the right one for your needs? We’ve created a simple primer for you to use to help you when it comes time for your business to receive automatic door repair in New York. The top considerations to think about include:

Training & Experience – When it comes to any trade—including automatic door repair—few things are as essential to look for as training and experience. You want to ensure that the technician and company you work with has been in business for several years and has a good track record. This can show you that they know what they are doing to help minimize the amount of downtime you experience when your doors are being repaired.

Excellent Customer Service – You should have confidence in your repair company. One of the best ways to build that confidence is by receiving excellent customer service from the first moment you reach out to hire a technician. A dedicated staff member should be ready to handle any concerns you might have as a customer to help you successfully through the entire repair process.

Always on Time – Your automatic doors are how employees and customers get into your business. If your doors aren’t working, it becomes harder for these individuals to get inside. That means you need to know that the door automation company you hire is going to get out to your location when they say they will so you can reduce the amount of time your doors are not functional to minimize the impact on your business.