As I am visiting a hospital today, I thought I'd share a bit of the door hardware on the patient room door.
Protecting the door - so that it stands up to the day to day abuse is the goal of protecting any door. This Hospital Patient Room I'm visiting today has the following material on the entry door to the patient's room. This is a 4/0 x 7/0 x 1-3/4 inch thick Wood Door, Plastic Laminate veneer in a Hollow Metal Frame. The weight of the door is approximately 150 lbs.
This Patient room door specification would read:
- 1 Concealed Stainless Steel Continuous Hinge, Hager 790-911 x 83-1/8" US32D
- 1 Hospital Push/Pull Latch, Sargent 8215 ALP US26D
- 1 Mortised Door Edging, Rockwood 301 US32D x 83 1/8"
- 1 Armor Plate, 34" hi x 46" wi .050 US32D
This may look like a very simple example, but here is the why these materials were used:
This continuous hinge - it is Stainless Steel Pin & Barrel, mounted full height of the door opening, it is also a swing clear model, this means that when the door is opened to 95%, the door will be out of the door opening, giving the maximum door opening clearance to move the beds, equipment or wheel chairs in or out of the room. Also notice this also has the lip to protect the edge of the door from damage. This type hinge is the best for this application. The weight of the door is distributed the the full height of the opening, so later the door will not sag or come out of alignment.
Here are a few more pictures (Click any image to enlarge):
This door is also using a mortised door edging. This way, the door edging will not add to the width of the door, causing rubbing on the hinge or lock stile with the frame. Since it is mounted on the lock stile of the door, it is a beveled door edging.
The Sargent Push/Pull Mortise latch is another wise choice for the opening. If the door is closed, a gentle bump with arm, hand or equipment on wheels will retract the latchbolt and push the door open.
Another thought about this opening is the cost. This Continuous Hinge, Push Pull Latch, Mortise Door Edging, plus the Armor Plate would sell for about $1,000 dollars normally. This does not include the door or the frame. Total opening cost is approximately $1,800 to $2,000 depending on the size of the job, and other variables. But, properly installed this will last a long time. The life of the door could be 15-20 years.
