Door closers · Montreal
Repairing commercial glass doors and door closers
A shop door that slams hard enough to rattle the glass, or a lobby door that drifts open in January. Most of these come down to one worn part: the door closer (ferme-porte), a pivot, a hinge or a lock. We connect businesses, landlords and syndicates with independent local contractors who repair commercial doors and say plainly when a part will do. For the rest of the building, see commercial glass.
- Often one part, not a new entrance
- Closers, pivots, locks and door glass
- Shops, lobbies and common areas
What you're seeing
A door closer that slams or no longer closes
A closer controls how fast the door swings shut and how firmly it latches. When it wears, the signs are plain:
It slams or won't latch
The door bangs into the frame, or stops short without catching. Often the closer only needs adjusting.
Oil on the door or floor
A hydraulic closer that leaks has reached the end. It gets replaced, not topped up.
A loose or bent arm
Wind and carts bend the arm, which can usually be replaced on its own.
Why it happens
Winter and foot traffic: why commercial doors go out of adjustment
Montreal winters are long, the temperature crosses freezing on many days, and freezing rain comes every year. A commercial door takes all of it, plus a steady stream of people.
Most closers use oil to slow the door. In a vestibule caught between heated air and outdoor cold, that oil thickens and thins, so a closer set in October can crawl in January and bang in a thaw. Add slush freezing at the threshold and salt on the pivots, and doors drift out of adjustment every season.
Beyond the closer
Pivots, hinges and locks on aluminum doors
Aluminum shop and lobby doors hang on pivots or heavy hinges. A pro usually works through a door that drags or won't lock in this order:
How it hangs
A door that scrapes the floor has usually dropped on a worn pivot or hinge. A new pivot often brings it back into line.
The lock, strike and sweep
If the door closes but won't lock, the latch and strike may have drifted apart. A torn sweep lets snow in at the bottom. Both are small repairs.
Repair or replace
Pivots, locks, sweeps and glass can all be replaced on a door that is straight and solid. If the frame is bent, the corners have cracked or corrosion has eaten the bottom rail, a new door may be the better spend.
The glass
Broken glass in a commercial door
Door glass takes knocks from carts, bags and the occasional forced entry.
Make it safe
Keep people away and photograph the damage. A temporary panel can cover the opening; see emergency board-up. Broken panes beside the door are covered under storefront glass.
Match the glass
Door glass is normally tempered or laminated safety glass, sometimes a thermos (a sealed insulating unit), made to measure for the existing door.
House or plex doors
For glass in a residential entry door, see door glass replacement.
Shared spaces
Doors in the common areas of apartment buildings
Lobby and corridor doors in a multi-unit building have a second job. The City of Montréal notes that interior doors don't need a permit unless they are in common spaces shared by several dwellings, where they must form a fire separation.
A common-area door that no longer closes on its own is more than a draught, so tell the pro which doors open onto shared spaces. Several doors can be grouped; see help for landlords and property managers.
What affects the quote
What shapes the price of a door repair
Door work is priced on the part and the time:
- Which part has failed: closer, arm, pivot, hinge, lock or glass
- Closer size and type, matched to the door's weight and width
- Frame condition and corrosion
- Whether the entrance has to stay open during the work
A short video of the door closing and a photo of the closer help a pro identify the part before visiting.
Questions
Commercial door questions
Explore your options
Related commercial glass
Local pros repair commercial doors in shops, offices and apartment lobbies, including Montréal, Saint-Laurent, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Laval and Longueuil.
Tell us which door, and what it's doing
Say whether it's a shop entrance, a lobby or a common-area door, and what it's doing. A short video helps. We pass it to an independent local contractor who repairs commercial doors.