Powermatic controlled, concealed door closers have long been the designer’s preferred choice when it comes to retaining the aesthetics of doors and interiors, and prestigious projects such as the Savoy, Café Royal and Aria Resort bear testimony to the door closer’s appeal for use in new-build and improvement projects.
The benefits of enhanced aesthetics are recognised not only in high-end, design-conscious interiors, but also in other applications where the sight of mechanical devices can create an undesirable institutionalised, functional atmosphere, such as mental health facilities and care homes.
However, Samuel Heath, manufacturers of Powermatic, are reporting increasing interest for the door closer for reasons other than enhanced aesthetics. Demand from health, care homes, education and social housing has increased due to the benefits that arise from the fact that the door closer is totally concealed when the door is closed and can easily be incorporated in retrofit situations.
In addition to its excellent technical performance, the door closer’s total concealment provides many other practical benefits in the areas of health and safety, economics and even hygiene.
The risk of a door closer being damaged by vandalism, or horse-play, is particularly high in many public buildings, especially schools and colleges. The protruding arms and control boxes that are so evident with surface mounted door closers can present a very tempting target for the would-be vandal or prankster.
The costs of repair and replacement can extend beyond replacing the door closer to repairing or replacing the entire door, and they can be considerable.
More worrying, a damaged door closer can render the door useless. The result may only be inconvenience, but in the case of a fire, the potential for disaster is easy to appreciate.
The Powermatic concealed door closer removes much of the temptation and opportunity for vandalism, potentially reducing costs and enhancing the comfort and safety of a building’s occupants.
Additionally, whilst not a risk immediately associated with mainstream educational establishments, the risk of door closers being used as a point of ligature might also be a consideration. Recent anecdotal evidence suggests that one education authority replaced overhead door closers throughout all schools with Powermatic® to reduce the risk of self-harm.
This risk is also present in certain areas of health, care and secure accommodation. Reduced, or anti-, ligature solutions are vital in many such areas, and Powermatic can make a valuable contribution to reducing the opportunity for self-harm. The concealed door closer’s total concealment when the door is closed is an obvious factor in its anti-ligature credentials, as it reduces the temptation and opportunity for the closer to be used as a point of ligature. However, particularly apposite is the fact that Powermatic can be mounted within 300mm of the bottom of the door, a height at which harm through ligature is considered impossible in the majority of circumstances.
Hygiene and cleanliness are vital in every health establishment. With minimal surface exposure to the environment the jamb-mounted closer attracts very little detritus when in service. This feature and its low mounting height (normally no higher than the centre point of the door) make cleaning procedures and inspection regimes quick, easy and effective.
Powermatic can also make a valuable contribution towards the well-being of a health establishment’s clients. In both frontline health services, and provision of care for the elderly and mentally ill, there is broad recognition that providing a homely, less clinical atmosphere aids recovery and enhances the lives of the service’s consumers. As already mentioned, the concealed door closer can help to create a less institutionalised appearance to interiors, making for a more pleasant, comfortable and welcoming environment.
From a practical perspective, the jamb-mounted door closer can also make a contribution towards sound insulation. Tests undertaken for architects on one high profile hotel project showed that the Powermatic® door closer offers some advantage over other concealed closing devices, as installation requires minimal morticing of the door to accommodate its body.
Furthermore, the absence of protruding mechanical control arms and surface mounted boxes means that a jamb-mounted door closer offers an ideal solution in situations where door clearance is restricted, such as with 90° reveals.
In addition, Powermatic’s convenient position within the door facilitates quick and easy fine-tuning, unhindered by the restricted headroom experienced in some guestroom reveals.
Further advantages stemming from the nature of the jamb-mounted door closer’s installation are its suitability for use in raised floor applications, where floor mounted door closing devices can be costly and for specialised installations in heritage and refurbishment projects where shaped door heads and the excavation of floors pose challenges for overhead door closers and floor springs respectively.
