One of the top concerns we hear from our customers is whether or not the hardware they’ve chosen is going to hold up if the opening are in high traffic areas. Of course, the first thing we do is make sure they have the proper grade hardware installed. That, alone, can save the customer hundreds of dollars right away.

Next, if they’re a customer of LockNet, we track the warranty on their hardware. We keep track of all of that information in-house so it’s easy for us to make sure people get the most out of their warranties. However, if neither of these options help with any savings, there are many other ways to increase the durability of your hardware in high traffic areas.

Kick/Armor Plates in High Traffic Areas

Protective hardware is a must if you want to increase the durability of any door. Kick plates and armor plates are great options if you are tired of scuff marks and damaged doors. They’re typically made of metal and placed at the bottom of the door. They help protect the door from any damage caused by rolling carts, shoe scuffs and any other items that may crash into the door.

Heavy Duty Hinges

When you deal with high traffic areas, your doors are often in constant motion. This, in turn, puts a lot of wear and tear on the hinges. Most people don’t realize all hinges aren’t made the same, which makes many of them unable to handle a large amount of use. If you begin to notice squeaking sounds or the door begins to drag, you should check the hinges. Look into heavy duty hinges to increase the durability of your door. There’s a lot of weight that rests on hinges and if you have a door that endures a lot of traffic, a smaller hinge is going to wear out sooner rather than later. In the end, if you decide on a heavy duty hinge up front, you will save you money in the long run.

Door Closers

Door closers are often overlooked in the grand scheme of the door world, but they can solve so many problems! A door closer helps control the swing of the door and is located at the top corner of the door. It helps keep the door from slamming shut, which can damage your door. If you have high wind/high traffic areas, a heavy duty closer is key. The closer supports a lot of the weight of the door so the weaker your closer is, the faster your door is going to need repair. A heavy duty closer can keep better control of a high traffic door and will decrease the amount of repair needed to your door.

Spring Assisted Dead Stop

A dead stop absorbs the impact from the door arm and prevents the door from opening any further. It protects the closer arm from opening past the designated opening angle, and keeps the arms and all other working components intact. A spring assisted dead stop has an arm that hits a spring and that slowly absorbs the impact. The amount of force exerted onto the arm is decreased if the door is ever blown open.

Are you looking to increase the durability of your doors? Do you have high traffic areas but aren’t sure what hardware you need? LockNet is more than happy to help!