Door closers are specified under ANSI/BHMA A156.4 (Door Controls – Closers). A complete specification names the mounting type, grade, adjustable spring size, and required functions — backcheck, adjustable closing and latching speed, and delayed action — while meeting the ADA opening-force limit of 5 lbf on interior non-fire-rated accessible doors.
A door closer is a hydraulic control that governs how a door swings shut — its speed, its latching, and the resistance it puts up when opened. It is also the single most common source of accessibility complaints on a finished building: a closer adjusted too tight fails the ADA opening-force test, and one adjusted too loose fails to latch a fire door. Getting the closer specification right means matching mounting, grade, spring size, and function to each opening, and then confirming the force adjustment at closeout. This guide covers all four, plus the ADA and fire-rating constraints that bound them.
Mounting types
Where and how the closer mounts changes both its appearance and its performance. A156.4 covers surface and concealed closers; the common mountings are:
- Surface, regular arm. The closer body mounts on the pull side of the door with the arm reaching to the frame. It is the most efficient and highest-power mounting, but the arm projects visibly — common on utility and back-of-house openings.
- Surface, parallel arm. The closer mounts on the push side with the arm running parallel to the door face. It is the most common commercial mounting: cleaner appearance, less vulnerable to vandalism, and the standard for corridor and amenity openings.
- Surface, top-jamb. The closer mounts on the frame face above the door with the arm to the door. Used where door construction or mounting conditions rule out a face-mounted body.
- Concealed, in-frame (overhead concealed). The closer conceals into the frame head with the arm hidden in the door top, giving a clean look for higher-design openings.
- Concealed, floor (floor closer). The closer sets into the floor beneath the pivot, carrying and controlling heavy or full-glass doors from below. Common on entrance and lobby doors.
Mounting is a coordination decision with door, frame, and floor prep, so it must be fixed before those elements are ordered — a concealed closer cannot be added to a door and frame not prepped for it.
Grade, spring size, and the selection table
A156.4 grades closers by cycle testing and durability, again in Grade 1 / Grade 2 / Grade 3 tiers. Grade 1 is specified for commercial and high-traffic openings — building entries, corridors, stairwells, and amenity doors. Spring size (the closing power) is adjustable, typically across sizes 1 through 6, and is sized primarily to door width.
| Closer attribute | Options | Selection driver |
|---|---|---|
| Mounting | Regular / parallel / top-jamb / concealed / floor | Appearance, door type, prep |
| Grade | 1 (commercial/high-traffic), 2, 3 | Traffic and durability |
| Spring size | Adjustable, sizes 1–6 | Door width, weight, exposure |
| Backcheck | Cushions the opening swing near full-open | Protects wall/door on hard opening |
| Speed control | Adjustable sweep + latch speed | Comfortable, positive latching |
| Delayed action | Holds door open briefly before closing | Accessible openings, high-traffic passage |
Most commercial closers are field-adjustable across a spring-size range, so one model covers several openings — but it must still be set so the door both latches reliably and, on accessible doors, stays within the opening-force limit. When a specific rating for a given model is not verified, cite the standard family (A156.4) and grade rather than inventing a figure.
Hydraulic functions: backcheck, speed, delayed action
The value of a good closer is in its hydraulic adjustments:
- Backcheck cushions the door’s opening swing as it approaches full-open, preventing a hard-thrown door from slamming into an adjacent wall or over-stressing the arm and top rail. It is standard on Grade 1 commercial closers.
- Adjustable closing (sweep) and latching speed let the installer tune a comfortable, controlled close that still drives the latch home. ADA also constrains closing speed — a door must not close so fast that it strikes a slower-moving user; the standard closing-time provisions give a minimum time from a set angle to near-closed.
- Delayed action holds the door open for a few seconds before beginning to close, giving a person using a mobility device, a cart, or carrying items time to pass through. It is a common and valuable setting on accessible and high-traffic passage doors.
ADA opening force and fire rating — the two bounds
Two constraints bound every closer adjustment:
ADA opening force. Under the ADA Standards, interior hinged doors that are not fire-rated may require no more than 5 pounds of force (5 lbf) to open. This is the number closers most often fail. Meeting it means sizing the spring appropriately and, where a wide or exposed accessible door cannot be brought under 5 lbf by adjustment alone, specifying a low-force or power-assist/automatic operator. Fire-rated doors are held to a different rule — the minimum force needed for positive latching — and exterior door force is set by the AHJ.
Fire and positive latching. On a fire-rated opening the closer must close and positively latch the door on its own every cycle; a delayed-action or hold-open setting on a fire door is only permitted with an approved, alarm-released closer/holder. The closer’s job on a fire door is non-negotiable self-closing, which sometimes conflicts with the softest ADA-friendly settings and has to be resolved opening by opening.
What Innergy confirms and how we spec closers
On Innergy projects, closers are scheduled per opening with a confirmed mounting, grade, spring size, and function set — not defaulted to one model across the whole building. We fix the mounting choice before door, frame, and floor prep so a concealed or floor closer is never stranded by a door that was not prepped for it. We size the spring to door width and specify Grade 1 on entries, corridors, stairwells, and amenity openings.
We flag every accessible opening for the 5-lbf interior-force limit and reconcile it against any fire-rating requirement on the same door, calling out delayed-action and, where needed, low-force or power-assist operators so the opening passes both the accessibility and the fire-latching test. Backcheck and closing/latching speed are set at closeout, not left at factory default. This closer discipline is part of the full-schedule approach in our door hardware specification guide for multifamily construction.
Related door hardware specifications
The closer controls the door the hinges carry and the lock secures. See our door hinge specifications — a closer-equipped door should always be ball-bearing hinged — and our mortise and cylindrical lock specifications and lever, knob, and handleset specifications for the operable trim. On egress and fire openings, the closer must coordinate with the exit and panic device specifications.
Door hardware falls in our Division 8 openings, mirrors, and shower doors scope for multifamily and commercial projects. To have a coordinated closer and hardware schedule reviewed before procurement, contact us and we respond within one business day.