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inswing vs. outswing doors

Factors in Choosing Between Inswing and Outswing Doors

When you’re choosing a new door for any entryway in your home, there are a few important factors to consider. Everything from material type to color and design is worth spending the appropriate amount of time on, both for aesthetics and home value reasons and for practical purposes.

At Peach Building Products, we’re here to tell you about another important choice you’ll want to consider or everything from patio doors to entry doors: Inswing versus outswing. This basic question, as the terms suggest, is asking whether you want your door to swing outward when opening, or inward toward the interior of the home. There are a few reasons why you might choose one or the other – here are a few of the top factors you’ll be considering here.

inswing vs. outswing doors

Basic Space

In some cases, the layout of your home or entryway will essentially determine the answer for you here before you even get started. Let’s say, for instance, you’re looking for a new patio door to connect to your back yard from the kitchen – and there’s a table fairly close to the door on the inside where the family eats. In this case, an outswing door will make more sense, as it won’t intrude.

The assessment here won’t always be quite this cut-and-dried, but you get the idea. There might be situations where barriers outside the home make it smarter to purchase an inswing door.

Ease of Use

Both door types have their benefits when it comes to ease of use:

  • Inswing doors: These doors have a sweep gasket at the threshold which is meant to keep air and water out. This gasket uses friction to seal tightly, which may make for a slightly stiff operation, but one that’s worth it for the protection you get.
  • Outswing doors: Outswing doors use a positive stop and compression gasket, which creates the same kind of seal without any friction. If ease of use is among your primary desires for your new door, outswing should be the first area you look in.

Security and Protection Qualities

When it comes to protection from the elements, including water infiltration and air leaks, inswing doors come up a bit short compared to outswing options. This is because of the threshold design mentioned above, which requires regular adjustments and replacements of weatherstripping. Outswing doors, on the other hand, are less susceptible to this and can resist stronger winds more effectively.

When it comes to actual home security, both options have strong qualities. Inswing doors can sometimes be forced open due to their swinging direction, but this can be counteracted with items like deadbolts or heavy-duty strike plates. Outswing doors, meanwhile, are very difficult to force open – you just have to remember to purchase them with non-removable pins in their hinges if security is a priority, as these hinges cannot be removed as easily as those with removable pins.

Building Codes

Finally, in some rare situations, actual building codes might play a role here. These usually relate to hurricane-prone or heavy snow-prone areas, or doors in certain commercial buildings. Our pros can tell you more if you’re purchasing a door for such a structure.

For more on choosing an inswing versus outswing doors, or to learn about any of our new doors or custom window solutions, contact the pros at Peach Building Products today.

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