Automatic Door Installation & Repair NYC

The operator is only part of a busy entrance. The manual doors beside and behind it run on closers, and the sensors on an automatic door decide when it is safe to move. This is the closer and sensor work that keeps those doors safe and latching.

Overhead, Concealed, and Floor Closers

• Surface overhead closers. The familiar box and arm at the top of the door. A regular arm mounts on the pull side. A parallel arm sits flat along the push side, common on outswinging exterior doors where a projecting arm gets broken; it reduces the closer’s power, so the closer is sized up.
• Concealed overhead closers. Hidden in the header above the door or inside the door’s top rail. They are standard on aluminum storefront doors. Servicing one usually means taking the door off its pivots.
• Floor closers. Set in a cement case under the floor, with the door riding on the closer’s spindle and held by a top pivot. You find them on glass doors, older heavy entrances, and double-acting doors that swing both ways. Mop water and road salt reach the case, so they rust and leak. A new closer often fits the existing case; if not, the case is reset.

Signs a Closer Needs Adjustment or Replacement

• The door slams and rattles the frame.
• It stops short and doesn’t latch, which leaves the door unlocked and, on a fire door, out of code.
• It swings fast, then crawls, or takes real effort to open.
• There is an oil streak on the closer body or on the floor.
• The arm is bent or loose, or the closer is pulling away from the door.
• A door on a floor closer drifts open or won’t stop at center.

Season matters too. Closer fluid thickens in the cold, so a New York door set up in August may not latch in January. We adjust for the season or fit a closer with fluid rated for a wide temperature range.

How We Adjust and Repair Closers

Most commercial closers have separate valves for sweep speed (the main part of the swing), latch speed (the last few inches), and backcheck, which cushions the door when someone throws it open so it doesn’t hit the wall or strain the frame. Some add delayed action, which holds the door partly open longer for carts, wheelchairs, and slower walkers. Spring power can be set to suit the door’s width and lobby air pressure.

We set these for the door, its traffic, and accessibility. ADA rules call for a door to take at least five seconds to close from 90 degrees to 12 degrees from the latch, and limit interior doors to five pounds of opening force, with fire doors excepted.

Adjustment fixes behavior, not damage. A valve backed out too far will leak, and once a closer leaks its seals have failed; it gets replaced, not refilled. If the mounting screws have stripped, we repair the reinforcement first, or the new closer will pull out the same way.

Sensors and Safety Checks on Automatic Doors

Automatic doors use two kinds of sensors. Activation sensors, usually microwave motion sensors above the door, see someone approaching and open it. Presence and safety sensors, typically active infrared on the header or door face plus threshold beams on sliding doors, stop the door from closing or swinging onto someone in its path.

Doors that open for nobody usually have an activation pattern that is too wide or aimed at sidewalk traffic, rain, or a sign moving in the wind. Doors that won’t close usually have a presence sensor seeing something: a dirty lens, the edge of a mat, a display, or a sensor knocked out of aim.

After any adjustment, we walk-test the door from both sides, stand in its path to confirm it stops or holds, and check signage and guide rails. The automatic door industry association (AAADM) recommends a daily safety check by the owner and an annual inspection by a certified inspector. If a door ever closes on someone or fails to stop, switch it off or to manual and keep it out of service until it is checked.

Closers on Fire Doors and Exits

Fire doors in stairwells and corridors must close and latch on their own. That means no wedges, no kickdown stops, and no mechanical hold-open arms, and the closer itself must be listed for fire door use. If a fire door needs to stay open during the day, the only acceptable way is a hold-open that releases when the fire alarm sounds, such as a magnetic holder or a closer with a built-in electromagnetic hold-open, so the door swings shut and latches in an alarm. Our fire-rated door service covers the rest of that opening.