Keep hurricanes and burglars out of your home with a gorgeous modern pivot door
The importance of a home’s entrance door cannot be overstated. A good door secures your property and loved ones by creating an effective barrier between the interior of your home and the world outside. A better door also beautifies the exterior of your home. The best door provides security, adds aesthetic value and protects your home from extreme weather events.
An impact resistant pivot door has it all.
What Is a Pivot Door?
Unlike a traditional door, a pivot door doesn’t rely on hinges. Instead, it has a single pivot point or axis located at the top and bottom that allows it to swing inward, outward or both. The spindle can be placed at slightly different locations, giving each door a unique opening effect.
Without hinges, pivot doors appear to float, offering a more slick and trendy look for homeowners seeking to modernize their doors. The interior spindle and pivot box also distribute weight more evenly, allowing pivot doors to be wider, taller, heavier and more ornate. As a result, door designers can use heavy materials and large-scale hardware without the risk of distorting or bending the door.
The floating effect, design options and oversized nature of pivot doors create a grand entrance that allows lots of natural light into the home and makes a bold architectural statement.
Impact Resistant Pivot Doors
During a hurricane, a breached door can allow wind and debris to enter the home, which can damage floors, walls, furniture and other property and injure the occupants.
Beautiful and sophisticated pivot doors are an option for homeowners in hurricane-prone areas thanks to impact resistance technology.
A glass pivot door made with impact resistant glass will stay in one piece after impact and under drastic pressure changes, protecting the structural envelope of your house during an extreme weather event.
Impact Resistant vs. Standard Doors
Standard Doors
The average entry door is made of wood, aluminum and/or PVC and features two steel facings (skins) and an insulating filler. Door frames typically are made of wood or aluminum. Many entry doors also include a solid wood block where the handle and lock attach for added security. While this construction is sturdy enough for the average home, people who live in hurricane-prone areas need a higher level of protection against intense winds, flying debris and torrential rains.
Impact Doors
Impact doors are made of materials that have been tested and approved to withstand the most severe weather conditions, including hurricane-force winds and flying debris. Composed of thick, fiberglass skins with wood and composite reinforcements, impact doors have specialized polyurethane foam cores that maintain the integrity of the door upon impact.
To be labeled as impact resistant, a door’s design and construction must pass rigorous high velocity hurricane zone (HVHZ) tests and meet strict building code standards, such as Florida Product Approval and Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance (NOA).
Benefits of Impact Resistant Pivot Doors
In addition to protection against extreme weather events, impact pivot doors offer several other benefits.
Home Security
Impact resistant doors provide protection against intruders. One way burglars enter homes is by forcing open a front or back door or by breaking the glass on a door. Impact doors are designed to resist heavy blows and remain intact when objects are thrown at them. The glass on impact doors is impact resistant, so even if it cracks after a heavy blow, it remains in one piece.
Lifetime Savings
Installation of an impact resistant pivot door tends to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, saving homeowners the cost of replacing lower quality doors over the years. Some insurance companies offer discounts on premiums to homeowners who install impact resistant doors and windows.
Stability and Convenience
Pivot doors are supported and stabilized by pivots on the floor and on top of the door. Standard doors depend on hinges and frames for stability and support, which can fail under the weight of a heavy door and during extreme weather events. Pivot doors are convenient because they don’t require frames, need less clearance space (less room to open) and take a lot less hardware to install.
Selecting the Right Pivot Door
When choosing a pivot door for your home, you need to consider your architectural style as well as your need for impact resistance protection and increased security.
Air Master Windows and Doors offers beautiful impact pivot doors that meet Florida state building codes and Miami-Dade County NOA standards. Miami-Dade’s impact resistance standards are the strictest in the world and more than suitable for extreme weather events in Puerto Rico. For more information about our impact resistant products, please call (787) 999-0717.