A well maintained balanced door is a thing of beauty – operation is smooth and effortless. It compensates for building pressure and impresses those that pass through it, leaving a sense that you are entering a place of profound importance.
Balanced doors are very mechanically robust. This door design seldom breaks down unlike regular hinged or pivot doors. Instead their performance deteriorates slowly over long periods of time, which is perhaps why balanced doors are often overlooked from a planned maintenance perspective. As a result, they will operate with little or no maintenance for 10 years before anyone notices that there is an issue. Eventually the door just seems heavy and users simply accept that the door is heavy and hard to use because (it seems) as if the door has always been that way.
Nothing typifies the fore written statement like E1’s experience with a high-end hotel in Toronto. As one approaches the hotel, they see banks of gleaming bronze balanced doors installed over 30 years ago. Over the last three decades the doors have performed well; however, in early 2012 guests of the hotel were beginning to comment on the heaviness of the doors.
The main entrance balance doors were being maintained on an as needed basis. This kept the doors operating, but did not address the escalating performance issues. Seeking a solution to improve the overall performance of the doors, the property manager made various inquires around our industry and were referred to E1.
At the request of the management, E1 developed a program to refurbish each of the balanced doors in the facade. Each door would be dropped, dismantled and every bearing and worn part replaced (over 40 parts per door in total). Going forward, the doors would have simple, annual, planned maintenance by E1.
The program, executed in the spring of 2012, has proved to be a resounding success. The hotel reported a door repair budget surplus for the following year plus guest convenience and satisfaction has also increased.
Yearly planned maintenance performed by E1, protects their investment and the balance doors can be expected to be elegantly welcoming guests for years to come.
Categories: Door Service, Hardware, Planned Maintenance