I am wondering if anyone knows whether an inswing or outswing door is more efficent? I once read somewhere on the internet that one is more efficient than the other because of the amount of air that escapes when the door is opened. But I cannot find that website nor can I remember which it stated was more efficent. Does anyone know which is what? Or have a link to a reliable website that states such? Thanks.

Outswing exterior doors aren't that common because the hinge pins would be on the outside of the door casing. This would make it easy for someone wanting to break in by just pulling the hinge pins on the door.

Commercial exit doors are usually out-swinging for code reasons.  Hinges with non-removable pins are readily available as are security pins for doors and frames. 

Economical security pins for wood doors/frames can be easily done in the field by setting a screw (#10 or 12) into the door frame, cutting off the head with a projection of about 1 to 1.5" and then drilling a matching hole in the edge of the door stile.  If you do this at the top, bottom and middle of the door, then the hinge pins can be removed and the door will remain in place (until a large pry-bar is used).

Remember that locks only keep out most honest people.

Bruce

BLeagues;

Our experience in using residential doors we have found that the out swing doors have a poor weatherstripping seal and a fixed bumper threshold.
There is also a misconception that somehow outswing is better for high wind, but I do not find that to be true.

Arkie6;

the outswing door hinge pins on commercial doors are not removable and on residential doors , while they are removable, there is an interlocking lug in between the hinge that prevents removing the door from the opening

still in all my preferance is for inswing residential doors for better weatherstripping and adjustable thresholds

Bruce;

a brick trumps any hinge or lock

Actually you can get a swing-out door with a adjustable sill and most tests show that swing-out doors do seal better in high wind areas (which in alot of hurricane prone areas are required for just that reason). Also all Swing-out doors should come with non-removable pin hinges which will prevent someone from removing the hinges from the door.

MBURR;

as I prefaced my previous post as there is a misconception out there that you have obviously bought into as well.
Having lived and built in a hurricane area for the last 26 years ,I do know that
outswing is NOT a requirement.

Please explian how an outswing door would seal better in a hurricane under negative pressure?

during a hurricane a outswing door will be pushed up against the door jamb and will tighten the seal keeping more air out. Inswing doors will be getting pushed into the home allowing more air into the home which is why most homes are blown away because the air rushes in and causes the roof and walls to bow outward until they fail causing catastrophic failure of the structure. While i was wrong in saying they are required. Out swing doors are highly recommended in areas of high wind. Just like a Casement window has a better seal than other windows outswing door do as well.

MBURR;
during a hurricane all claddings, doors and windows are exposed to both positive and negative pressures, and while you explained how the outswing door performs during positive pressures, you did not answer the question about how it performs during negative pressures.

with your reasoning, siding would also stay on the house because the wind is pushing against it and holding it there?

Instead when the wind is blowing parallel to the door or from the opposite side of the house in causes "negative pressure" (sucking away from the framing ) at which point you would loose the seal from the outswing door and increase it on an inswing door.
It is not uncommon in a hurricane to have 1200 lbs. of negative pressure (outward) on a 3/0 x 6/8 door.
The newest inswing or outswing doors are designed to withstand these forces and neither an inswing or outswing will perform any better in a hurricane.

door failure is not the reason causing catastrophic failure, but rather in both hurricane Andrew and Charley it has been attributed to the roof sheathing failure either thru negative pressure on sheathing or thru postive pressure entering thru the vented soffits.
Another good reason to build with unvented roofs. The newer codes have increased the nailing patterns to help prevent the plywood from getting ripped off.

The reason a casemnet window seals better is because of the camlock holding it tightly to the weatherstrip.

Sooooooooooooooo getting back the original question about which doors are better for efficiency, we have found during blower door tests the inswings perform better.

And during a hurricane.......... efficiency is the least of your worries?

MBURR;


would like to get a link for that adjustable outswing threshold if you have it?

Our door Supplier uses Afco Industries door thresholds Their website is www.afco-ind.com

Efficiency wise, there are many factors I would be looking at on a door before I worried about inswing/outswing. The best doors I have seen have multiple locking points that suck the door into the frame when you twist the know backwards. On my next house, I will probably use outswing doors, solely because my double stud walls will be thick, and holding them to the outside for looks purposes, I wouldn't be able to open an inswing door past 90 degrees. The easiest way to increase efficiency when opening and closing is to add an automatic closer, to prevent "user failure". Also, auto closers are recommended for outswing doors to keep the wind from grabbing them and throwing them against the wall.

aardvarcus;

Thanks for reminding me about the wind, we just finished a 3 story home with 9 pairs of double french outswing doors, insulated low"e" and IMPACT glass , $$$, my biggest fear during construction was the wind catching a door and either breaking the glass or springing the hinges and splitting the jamb, for that reason we secured most of the doors with a double cylinder deadbolts to prevent unwanted use by subs.
I have not yet seen an attractive outswing door closer
Another thing about out swing doors........ they are very likely to leak at the head jamb in a driving rain, the top of the door is exposed all the way back to the weatherstrip, once  it gets blown back that far it will run down the inside of the door.

Thanks all for the replies. It is great to hear and see how different people have different opinions on the same subject. I currently have one outswing door and one inswing door at my house. This was done to accomodate a washer/dryer closet immediately inside the outswing door. I am planning on building a new house later this year and in doing some research had seen where one was more efficient than the other. I cannot find that link though no more. I wish I could find it though! Lol

cmkavala,

It's your option on rather you want to use double cylinder deadbolts on your home but in our area they are against code. The reason for that is if a fire starts in your home and you have to use the door to get out you must have your key on you to unlock the door. And especially if you have "Impact" glass you don't have the option to breaking the glass to get out. With that in mind a "sub" wouldn't be able to break the glass to get in anyway since the plastic vinyl inner layer will prevent them from breaking through with some major effort (they would probably quit before getting through).

Dead bolts are temporay locks only.

My subs are smart enough to either walk out the door they came thru or open a window instead of breaking it first to get out..............LOL

If you re-read the post I was worried about wind breakage not, someone breaking in?

An in-swing door AND an out-swing. Use an in-swing door and a good storm door.