Direction of door opening

[Guest S.Milligan]

Good afternoon all,

in a small office building I wish to change the layout slightly and add another fire door. My question is, with the existing door near to the corner and this opening up against the wall where I want to install my new door, is there a minimum distance they need to be apart, so as to function correctly and so that people leaving through the doors don’t bump into each other. Does it make a difference what way the doors open. I realise the new door would have to be at least clear of the existing opening door leaf but does it need to be further.If there is, where is the measurement taken from/to. Hope that makes sense.Many thanks.

[Tom Sutton]

The simply rule is they should not create an obstruction and the direction of opening will depend on the numbers that may have to pass through the door. There is no required distance they need to be apart.

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

Doors often fail to self-close correctly because of a rise in air pressure caused by having two doors with seals close to each other.