What does a door closer actually do?

It brings the door back to the frame under control, then gives it enough push at the end of the travel to engage the latch. Those are two different jobs, and a closer has separate adjustments for them. Get the balance wrong and the door either slams or stops short and sits open.

Why do door closers fail?

Usually the hydraulics go. Sometimes it is the main closing speed, sometimes it is the latch speed at the end of the travel — on the three at this job the latch adjustment had failed completely, so the doors slammed no matter where the screw was set. They also fail from being forced open, and from arms and brackets working loose. Once an adjustment stops responding, the unit is replaced rather than repaired.

Do you take on small commercial jobs?

Yes. A failed closer, a loose handrail or a door that has started dragging is not enough work for a building contractor, which is exactly why it tends to get left. If several small jobs have built up, they can usually be dealt with in one visit.

Commercial Door Repairs in Wakefield

New overhead door closer fitted to an office door and set up to latch properly — One of the three replacement closers, fitted and set up.

Not every commercial maintenance job is a big one. Doors that slam, doors that will not latch, a handrail that has worked loose — none of it is dramatic, but in a working office it is a daily nuisance, and it is the sort of thing that gets left because it never quite justifies calling anyone out.

Heritage Joiners was called in by Spawforths, a firm of planners, architects and masterplanners in East Ardsley near Wakefield.

The problem with the office doors

Three of the overhead door closers had failed, and on all three it was the latch action that had gone.

A closer does two separate jobs, with a separate adjustment for each. The closing speed brings the door most of the way across, under control. Then for the last four inches or so the latch speed takes over, and that is what gives the door the final push to engage the latch properly.

On these three the latch adjustment had stopped doing anything at all. Wind it in, wind it out, no difference — the doors came across and then slammed into the frame every time. No amount of adjusting was going to bring them back. Once that side of a closer has gone, it has gone: you are replacing the unit, not tuning it.

Failed overhead door closer on an office door before replacement — One of the failed closers, no longer pulling the door to.

The replacement closers had already been supplied, so the work was to strip out the failed units, fit the new ones and set them up for the individual doors.

Replacing and setting up the door closers

All three were replaced and adjusted so each door closed at a controlled speed and latched every time.

Setting them up is the part that takes the time. Closing speed set too hard and the door still slams, even on a new unit. Set it too soft and the door drifts to a stop short of the frame and sits there, which is worse than useless on a door meant to stay shut. Then the latch speed on top of that, so it engages cleanly without a bang.

Adjusting the latch speed on a newly fitted overhead door closer with a screwdriver — Setting the latch speed — the last few inches of travel, adjusted separately from the main sweep.

Each door was then run through its full swing to check it opened freely and closed properly every time, not just once.

Refitting a loose staircase handrail

While we were on site, a staircase handrail had come away from the wall. It was repositioned and fixed back with suitable fixings, solid and usable again.

Timber staircase handrail refitted and secured back to the wall on a commercial staircase — The handrail back on the wall and solid again.

Straightforward work, but a handrail is not decoration. On a commercial staircase in use all day, a rail that moves when someone grabs it is worth sorting the same week you notice it, not the same year.

Replacement overhead door closer and arm fitted above an office door — Closer and arm back on, working against the frame as they should.

Small commercial repairs and office maintenance

This was a small job, and small jobs are exactly the ones businesses struggle to get done. A failed closer, a loose rail, damaged door furniture or a door that has started to drag will not interest a main contractor, so it sits — and a sticking door becomes a forced door, which becomes a new door.

Heritage Joiners takes on commercial joinery repairs and maintenance for offices, architects, landlords and other business premises across Wakefield, Pontefract and the surrounding parts of West Yorkshire:

Commercial and office door repairs and door hanging
Door closer fitting, replacement and adjustment
Doors that stick, drag, slam or fail to latch
Loose handrails and minor staircase repairs
Repairs to frames, timber and door furniture
General carpentry repairs around business premises

If several small jobs have built up, they can usually be dealt with in one visit rather than several.

Need a commercial joiner near Wakefield?

If you manage an office or a commercial property with doors, handrails or other timber that needs attention, send some photographs for an honest first opinion — the item itself, and enough of the surroundings to show how it is fixed.

Planned maintenance or one-off repairs, across Wakefield, Pontefract and West Yorkshire, by a fully qualified apprentice trained bench hand joiner, time served.