How To Determine Door Swing: The Dual Logic of Doors

I often receive questions concerning the handing or swing of the door. Customers often describe their door in terms of how they relate to the door--some see themselves outside the room, others see themselves inside the room. The truth is that door handing has a dual logic. It should be one rule of logic but old habits die hard and the industry has kept it this way for many years causing grief for everyone involved.

First things first. In determining door swing, you must first identify the make of the door and jamb. Typically you have wood, fiberglass and steel. These three types fall into two categories known as Wood Handing and Metal Handing, but don't let the names fool you, certain doors fall into categories that don't necessarily make sense. And a righted handed door for one is a left handed door for the other, so it's critical to know the difference.

Wood Handing: Wood doors and wood jambs.

Metal Handing: Fiberglass doors, steel doors, and metal frames.

The exceptions of the rules are as followed: Fiberglass doors often have wood jambs but the handing is determined as if it was a Metal Handing. Normally a wood door has a wood jamb but in the unlikey event that you're using a metal frame, then the handing is determined as if it were a Metal Handing.


Wood Handing Doors
The best tip in determine the handing of Wood Handed door is to look for the knuckles of the door(otherwise known as the portion of the hinge that protudes out from the door). A door always has knuckles sticking out on one side of the door. Stand on the side of the door where the knuckles protrude, then simply identify which side the they sit on. This will determine whether the door is a Left Hand door or a Right Hand door.

Left Hand Door

Right Hand Door

Metal Handing Doors
The best tip to offer in determing the handing of a Metal Handing Door is to step inside the door with your back against the frame, whichever arm rest against the door tells the swing of the door.