How to Choose a Left-Handed or Right-Handed Door hardware

Correctly handing an opening or an item of hardware is one of the most important skills you need to acquire when you work in the door and hardware industry. Many items of hardware have to be handed correctly when ordered from the manufacturer. For example, some models of mortise locks, door closers and exit devices have to be handed correctly for them to be properly installed on an opening.

There are four possible directions of door swings to consider when determining the hand of an opening in American Standard: Right hand (RH), right hand reverse (RHR), left hand (LH) and left hand reverse (LHR).

 

Single-door openings:

RIGHT AND LEFT HAND OPENINGS

Picture yourself standing in a corridor facing an office door. A right hand (RH) door will swing into the office, away from you, and be hinged on the right. Likewise, a left hand (LH) door will swing into the office, away from you, and be hinged on the left.

 

RIGHT HAND REVERSE AND LEFT HAND REVERSE OPENINGS

Now picture yourself standing in a corridor facing the same office door. This time the door swings out of the office towards you, a right hand reverse (RHR) opening will be hinged on the right and a left hand reverse (LHR) opening will be hinged on the left.

 

 

Double-door openings:

Pairs of doors are handed in the same manner as single-door openings; however, one leaf is identified as the active leaf.

For example, a paired opening with a lock installed on the right hand leaf, swinging into the space, would be referred to as right hand active (RHA).

 

 

Conversely, if the leaf swung out of the space the opening would be referred to as a right hand reverse active (RHRA).

 

 

Double-egress openings:

A double-egress opening is a paired opening with the door leaves swinging in opposite directions. Double-egress openings are typically installed in corridors and are used to separate a building into compartments. Most double-egress openings are fire-rated and are frequently used as horizontal exits in large buildings or space.

With few exceptions, double-egress openings are handed as left hand reverse by left hand reverse (LHR/LHR); the reason for this is twofold:

First, people tend to walk on the right side of a corridor, a LHR/LHR double-egress opening allows traffic to approach the door leaves from the push side of the opening. A RHR/RHR double-egress opening would force traffic to cross to the left side of the corridor to push the door open.

The second reason for handing double-egress openings as reverse bevel openings has to do with the hardware that is typically used on them. Fire exit hardware is only available in right hand reverse (RHR) and left hand reverse (LHR) models.

  

 

 

 

 

Double-acting openings:

Double-acting openings are handed, too, despite the appearance of not needing to be handed. Once a lock is selected for the opening, you need to designate which side of the opening is the secure side. In this case, double-acting doors are referred to as right hand double-acting (RH-DA), right hand reverse double-acting (RHR-DA), left hand double-acting (LH-DA) or left hand reverse double-acting (LHR-DA).

 

                                                                                            left hand double-acting (LH-DA)                                  right hand double-acting (RH-DA)

 

                                                                                             left hand reverse double-acting (LHR-DA)                   right hand reverse double-acting (RHR-DA)

 

Here some tips to help you master this skill quickly:

It may help you to remember that right hand (RH) and left hand (RH) openings always push away from you when you are standing on the secure side (outside of the room or building) of the opening and that right hand reverse (RHR) and left hand reverse (LHR) always pull toward you when you are standing on the pull side of the opening.

 

Many items of hardware have to be ordered handed specifically to fit an opening. While some items of hardware are reversible, ordering them in the correct hand will save the installer time and effort during installation. Should you have any questions on any of our product, please feel free to contact with us for more product details.

 

The handed hardware are the main part of the door, its quality directly affects the service life of the door.The stainless steel door handle of D & D hardware is easy to care, fireproof, long service life, suitable for residential, hospital, education places, public places, etc. D & D hardware can also provide professional door configuration solutions.D & D can also provide a complete set of solutions for people circulation, bringing customers safe, convenient and reliable door configuration solutions.

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Contact: David Jian

Mob: 0086-139 2903 7292

Email: David@dndhardware.com, sales@dndhardware.com

 

Jobby Zhang

Mob: 0086-137 2599 9617

Email: jobby@dndhardware.com