# Know the Various Functions that Can Help You to Choose the Right Door Closer | GW GeWalt Blog > Overhead, floor-mounted or concealed, Grade 1 or Grade 3: the functions that decide which door closer suits your door, its traffic and its fire rating. URL: https://gwgewalt.com/know-the-various-functions-that-can-help-you-to-choose-the-right-door-closer/ Last-Modified: 2020-07-25 Author: GW GeWalt Technical Team # Know the Various Functions that Can Help You to Choose the Right Door Closer GW GeWalt Technical Team · Published 25 July 2020 · 5 min read ![Hydraulic door closer mounted at the head of an office door](/images/featured/hydraulic-door-closer-mounted-at-the-top-of-an-off.webp) Door closers close a door automatically, and they earn their place when a room has climate control, or when you need to keep the cold out and pets and small children in. They have to be durable and matched to the traffic they carry. This is a general guide to how closers differ. For the GeWalt range and its specifications, see our auto door closer [/auto-door-closer/ →](/auto-door-closer/) page. ## Where a closer mounts **Overhead** is the common type for medium to heavy traffic. There are versions for internal doors and versions for main and entrance doors that see the most use. **Floor mounted** suits very heavy traffic and appears mostly in public buildings, where doors swing in or out. These are not visible in the way an overhead closer is. **Concealed in the frame** suits interior doors with less traffic, and hides the closer from view entirely. ![Cutaway of a hydraulic floor spring unit](/images/content/cutaway-diagram-of-a-hydraulic-floor-spring-unit-s.webp) ## Matching the closer to the door To choose well you need to understand how the types work and what each one gives you. A closer has to be matched to the door it is mounted on and to the number of operations it carries out each day. Heavier doors need stronger, more durable closers, and more so when traffic is heavy. Building codes grade closers on performance. The best grade, Grade 1, has to perform 2,000,000 cycles at 60% efficiency. Grade 3 has to perform 500,000 cycles at 50% efficiency. An office building or a shopping mall needs Grade 1; a home can use Grade 3. Closers also have to be operable by people with disabilities, which means no more than 5 lbs of force. They should not close faster than 5 seconds, and the latching speed should be quick enough to latch properly without the door reading as a slam. ## What to know before you choose Six things decide the specification: - The size and weight of the door - Its location - How often it opens and closes - The mounting location - Backswing requirements - Cost Floor-mounted closers have to be sunk into the floor and covered so they are not visible, which can mean redoing the floor and whatever tiling covers it. That is a real cost and it is easy to leave out of a comparison. Closers can also have adjustable strength to account for door size and weight. This matters more than it sounds: when a door is closed and the room’s windows and other openings are shut, air pressure inside rises and the closer has to be adjusted to a higher strength to shut the door properly. ![Speed adjustment valves on a hydraulic door closer body](/images/content/adjustment-valves-on-a-hydraulic-door-closer-body-.webp) ## Arm types and concealment The most commonly used closers have a slide arm, a surface-mounted regular arm, a surface-mounted parallel arm, or are transom mounted. Concealed closers, including overhead ones, can be hidden in the door itself, the door jamb, or the transom where the architecture has one. Concealed closers look better. Floor springs are the most durable and longest lasting, which is why they are in most public buildings. ## Hold-open and fire rating A hold-open function keeps the door open for a long period, which helps when you are moving things in and out, or hosting an event where people move freely between rooms. It also matters for smoke control during a fire, and a closer used on a fire door has to carry the proper fire rating. Fire doors and exit doors are better fitted without a hold-open function at all, for the obvious reason. Separately, a closer should have an option to stay open for a specified time, so someone carrying bulky items or using a wheelchair can get through. Most closers use a different speed for the main closing sweep than for the last few inches. ## Choosing Work through the factors above against the particular situation your door has to function in, and buy branded products from a reliable manufacturer. If you would rather not work it out alone, send us the door weight, width and traffic level and we will specify the closer. Our glass door hinges [/glass-door-hinges/ →](/glass-door-hinges/) page also covers floor springs, which are the heavy-duty end of the same decision. ![GW GeWalt Technical Team](/images/misc/gw-gewalt-technical-team-members-in-work-polos-at-.webp) GW GeWalt Technical Team Entrance Systems & Ironmongery Specialists The GW GeWalt technical team handles ironmongery specification, on-site measurement, installation and after-sales maintenance for automatic doors and glass systems across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak. Automatic sliding and swing door maintenance specialists ## Related Posts ### 3 Popular Types Of Automatic Commercial Doors Sliding, folding and swinging automatic commercial doors each suit a different building. Here is what separates them, including the fire, acoustic, sanitary and radiation variants. [3 Popular Types Of Automatic Commercial Doors →](/3-popular-types-of-automatic-commercial-doors/) ### 7 Things to Consider Before Installing Automatic Doors Before you order an automatic sliding door, work through power draw, reliability, design, safety, security, cost and material. Getting these wrong costs more than the door. [7 Things to Consider Before Installing Automatic Doors →](/7-things-to-consider-before-installing-automatic-doors/) ![](/images/misc/wide-shot-of-heavy-duty-automatic-glass-sliding-do.webp) Fast Local Response: Klang Valley & Perak ## Ready for an Entrance Transformation? Get a professional engineering assessment of your entrance. We analyse weight loads, traffic flow and safety requirements before quoting. 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