The second door to the apartment: how to install and why it
What are the functions of the second entrance door, what should it be and how to install it? Deciding to get answers to these questions, just read this article.
The functions of entrance and interior doors in the apartment are completely different. The first ones ensure the inviolability of housing and prevent the penetration of cold air, dust, street noises and smells into it. The latter are designed to provide comfort and serve as interior decoration. But why do we need second entrance doors? As practice shows, they do an excellent job with the functions of both input and interior.
Arguments for the second door
Many homeowners, installing a metal door at the entrance, notice that all sorts of noises are better to penetrate the apartment. Especially if it is not the most expensive and is not equipped with good sound insulation.
In this case, its installation is able to eliminate this problem, since the air gap between the two canvases perfectly suppresses noise (see the Noise Isolation of the Front Door with your hands). The same air buffer is an excellent heat insulator and prevents foreign odors from entering from the outside.
Another pros argument is the ability to create a complete interior. In the hall or hallway usually goes several interior, and the entrance is very different from them in their appearance.
And the second can be from one collection with all the others. In addition, you do not have to subtilize with finishing the slopes of the front door.
Finally, no matter how solid it is, it does not always protect against uninvited guests. If, after breaking into one door, the intruders will find another obstacle in front of them, this can restrain their ardor.
Summary: the second is needed for:
- Heat and noise insulation (see noise isolation doors of various configuration)
- Preventing odors from entering the apartment
- Beauty
- Reliability improvements
And in your own home, you can make it completely glazed or lightweight, covered with a mosquito net. In the first case, when the door is open, it will become an additional “window” in the daytime, and in the second it will allow fresh air into the house, but will become an obstacle for mosquitoes and midges.
What to do the second door
If the main one is strong enough and reliable, then when deciding what to put the second one, the emphasis should be placed on its appearance and conformity to the interior.
Most often, the latter are made the same as all the other interior rooms in the apartment - wooden, veneered, laminated. No one bothers to make it plastic, if required by the design concept. The only material that is not very suitable for this is glass.
But the metal second door may well be. They do this in order to mislead the intruders: at the entrance they place the most usual inexpensive wooden one, behind which there is a real armored barrier.
Features of the installation of the second door
If you decide to install the second door (How to install the front door correctly), the best solution would be to order the construction of two at once in a single unit.
Installation in one wide box of two cloths reduces the risk of errors during installation. In addition, you do not have to think about how to trim the slopes between the doors - they are immediately closed with a box or dobor.
But this is an ideal option, which is not always possible. Often the idea to put the second door comes to mind after installing the main one. In this case, the installation of additional little differs from the installation of a conventional swing indoor.
But some features are still there:
- The second should open inwards and attached to the same side of the joint as the outside.
- The distance between them should be such that the fittings do not touch. That is, the minimum distance between them can be determined by the depth of the door handle. However, it is not worth doing too much, as this will worsen the thermal insulation.
- To enhance the practical functions of the second door is desirable to do with a thresholdthat does not always look aesthetic. And to cross at the entrance and exit at once through two thresholds is not very convenient.
Council If you do not want to make a threshold, make a minimum gap between the bottom end and a clean floor, and at the end fix the brush-compactor for the doors of wardrobes.
Course of action
How to install the second door:
- First, the door frame is assembled, hinges are cut into it, and the box is placed in the prepared opening.
- After careful alignment of the level, it is attached to the slopes with anchor bolts.
- Then the canvas is hung, and the gap between the box and the opening is filled with mounting foam. After drying, the protruding foam is cut off.
- The slopes between the two doors are closed with dobory or revetted with decorative panels, and the trim are installed on the outer perimeter of the box.
Locks for interior door
If the inner door does not perform the function of protection against burglary, then putting on it a consignment note or a massive mortise lock does not make sense.
In this case, the lock should simply hold the door in place and not disturb the aesthetics of the room. Agree, the key sticking out of the door will not decorate it. The ideal option is a rotary or push handle with a latch (see. Handles for entrance doors) or a magnetic lock.
If the doors still play the role of additional protection, then the lock can be provided with a well for the key only from the entrance or the street, and locked in the apartment by turning the turntables.
Another thing, if the second door is designed to ensure the safety of the home - the lock in this case must be very reliable. But also it is necessary to try to make it secret, so that the apartment does not look like a metal safe from the inside.