It is much better to have interior doors open. Which way should the front door open? Rules for determining where a steel door should open

Where should it open? interior door? No matter how strange this question and the obvious answer may seem to you, there are entire standards according to which interior doors must open in a strictly defined direction.

Moreover, it can open not only outside and inside the room, but also to the left and right. That is, there are as many as 4 ways to place an interior door.

According to the rules fire safety and SNIP, which all construction organizations without exception must comply with, in small rooms (bathtub, toilet, kitchen) doors must open outward. This arrangement is determined by the fact that in case of an emergency it will be easier for a person to leave the room by opening it to the outside. In addition, if a person becomes ill and is in an unconscious state in small room, then he will not be able to block a door that opens outward. This means that precious minutes will be saved, and help will come much faster.

So how should doors open correctly? The basic rule for installing interior doors is: they should open in the direction where there is more space. Most often when standard layout

This rule implies that interior doors should open towards the room. But on the staircase the situation is the opposite. That is, it should go out, not in. This requirement is dictated by security considerations. Outsiders will not be able to break into it with simple physical effort, that is, such a door cannot be knocked down. However, if when you open your front door it takes up a significant amount of space in the stairwell and makes it difficult to move through, it may make more sense to have it open in the opposite direction.

SNiP standards

  • According to the building codes and regulations (SNiP) “Fire safety of buildings and structures” dated January 21, 1997, doors at emergency exits and on evacuation routes must open towards the exit from the building. In all other cases, the direction for opening is not regulated, since there are no standards. Below is a list of them:
  • apartment buildings;
  • premises in which no more than 15 people can be present at the same time;
  • storage rooms with an area of ​​no more than 200 m²;
  • bathrooms;
  • external walls of buildings located on the northern side of the climate zone.

Also, the SNiP document dated January 21, 1997 states that at the design stage of a building it is necessary to position the doors in such a way that when they open simultaneously, they should not block each other. That is why there are situations when in the same room the doors, although they open in one direction, but with different hands. Today, there are “right” and “left” doors. In Russia, these standards differ significantly from European canons. For example, if you open a door using right hand she is generally considered to be “right”. And if to open you need to use left hand, then such a door is considered “left”. Experts advise to be extremely careful when purchasing them and not to neglect the advice of consultants. If you need a “left-handed” door, be sure to describe it to the seller as one in which the hinges are located on the left side when opening toward you.

Design solutions to save space

Modern housing layouts sometimes present homeowners with a difficult choice: follow fire safety rules and install doors strictly according to the rules, or carry out installation following the intended design, which, although it looks beautiful, does not always have a functional component.

We all know the fact that a full swing door can take sufficient quantity places at the time of opening and closing. Therefore, when you install it, try to find a “golden mean” in which the location will not only be beautiful, but also convenient and safe.

If your priority is saving every centimeter in the room, then open up Entrance door should go out.

And if the corridor space is occupied by shelving or a wardrobe, then for greater convenience it will have to be mounted in such a way that it opens into the room.

In some cases, designers recommend sacrificing the front door and designing the opening differently. For example, this is what they do when connecting the kitchen and living room decorative arch. Thanks to this technique, you can not only visually increase the space, but also make it easier to pass between rooms.

When installing an interior or entrance door, remember that for best operation it must not only be installed correctly, but also positioned in such a way that it opens in accordance with fire safety rules and regulations. Otherwise, you risk receiving a court order for forced alteration.

According to fire safety rules, interior doors in an apartment must open outward. For country houses this requirement does not apply: the choice of plowing direction depends on the wishes of the owners. Another permitted option is a sliding structure.

There are several types of interior doors.

Swing option considered classic. Mounted on hinges on a stand, when closed it fits into a special groove. It can open inward or outward. The door can be made from different types material, equipped with a lock or latch.

Sliding ones ride on special rollers. May have 1 or 2 doors. Used in small spaces. Their main advantage is safety.

Folding ones fold into an accordion. Often used in public institutions to create interiors.

Construction norms and rules SNIP

According to the norms, the front door opens outward. This makes it more difficult to hack. It is important to agree with the neighbors in the staircase about the directions of opening, so that in the event of a fire you do not prevent other people from leaving the burning building.

Doors that open inward are installed in the nursery. This is necessary to avoid a situation in which a minor is banned from the room. It is more convenient to break out the structure that opens into the room.








The structure for exiting the bathroom should swing open into the corridor. This is due to the fact that in the event of a fire, it will be easier for a person to open the passage by pushing the door. In addition, such a measure will prevent a situation in which a person who has lost consciousness will prop the door from the inside: the bathroom can be easily opened, and help will arrive faster.

The kitchen is the most fire-hazardous part of the house. The interior door leading from it must open outward so that in the event of a fire a person can easily leave the room. You can install and sliding option. When opening the sash, there will be no additional difficulties with exit.

All rooms with small area, having a doorway opening onto the corridor, the apartment opens to the outside. This layout allows the people in them to quickly exit. In addition, an inward-opening door can easily become blocked if the person inside becomes unconscious.

For a dressing room or pantry, it is better to choose folding or sliding doors. Since it is rarely possible to install an inward-opening option due to the small space of the room, people often choose structures that open into the corridor. In the event of a fire, they can become an unnecessary obstacle and delay people leaving the burning space.

How to plan a tear-off system

The location of interior doors must comply with fire safety requirements. You should consult with a specialist before installation so as not to encounter difficulties in case of danger.


The door to the room should open so as not to impede exit from other rooms. If doors collide, there is a risk that people will prevent each other from leaving the room during a fire.

There are right and left opening doors. To make the layout as safe and convenient as possible, it is recommended to use various combinations and alternations: you can arrange them so that when the doors are opened at the same time, they do not touch and people do not get locked out.

Some people prefer a feng shui layout: Eastern philosophy says that the door should open inward to keep happiness in the house. But this is dangerous: such a system can create an obstacle in the event of a fire. In addition, internal opening doors are easier to break into. Install an additional door for better sound insulation and it will not be possible to preserve heat with this option.

Sliding structures will become good option for rooms into which all family members can freely enter. They swing open easily, take up little space, and will not harm people if opened and closed abruptly. In addition, such options have a pleasant appearance, can become an element of the interior.

How should doors open in a house? This question worries everyone who plans to install new door designs. To answer it correctly, it is necessary to take into account ease of use and the rules of rational organization of space and, in addition, satisfy fire safety requirements.

Where should the interior door open from a convenience point of view?

Usually interior door blocks installed so that they open into the room. This is due to the fact that opening towards the corridor creates inconvenience when bringing in furniture or large items. household appliances. And the door leaf to the nursery must necessarily open into the room so that it can be broken down if the baby accidentally closes it.

small room. Should open to the outside and kitchen doors, since the kitchen is one of the most dangerous rooms in the apartment.

– double-leaf or single-leaf – when open, they should not block the room. Therefore, when choosing which direction the doors should open, it is better to set the opening of the door towards the nearest wall.
It is necessary to decide where the interior door should open at the stage of ordering door blocks. In the online store of the Porta Prima factory you can order both left and right door units, with opening outwards or inwards.

How should doors open from a fire safety point of view?


In accordance with building codes, doors to apartments multi-storey buildings must be installed with opening outwards in the direction of travel. This is the most correct option from a fire safety point of view, if it is necessary to quickly evacuate residents or carry out a wounded person on a stretcher. But when choosing how doors should open according to fire safety, one must take into account that the open door should not block the exits from neighboring apartments and not impede free evacuation. Therefore, when discussing the issue of opening with the manufacturing company, you need to make sure that the open door leaf will not block the neighbors’ exit from the apartment.


Fire safety rules do not impose strict restrictions on opening interior doors. However, when thinking about where the doors should open, it is necessary, first of all, to ensure that they do not interfere with each other and do not create inconvenience if they open at the same time.

Interior organization according to Feng Shui - how should doors in the house open?


By following the advice of Feng Shui, you can attract positive energy into your apartment or house. To do this, you should correctly arrange all the interior elements and take into account how doors should open according to Feng Shui.

From a Feng Shui point of view, interior doors play a central role in the distribution of vital energy. And the teaching clearly defines where the door to the bedroom, living room or kitchen should open: they should open strictly into the room and to the left of the person entering. Another Feng Shui rule states that when opened, interior doors should allow you to see most of the room. And under no circumstances should you lean against a wall, closet or other pieces of furniture. In addition, they should not open or close spontaneously, so as not to disrupt the circulation of vital energy flows.

When installing swing door There are four options for installing it on the opening side. How to choose the right one from four options so that it is convenient to open and close doors, turn on and off the lights, go in and out of a room? What regulations and safety requirements are there regarding this?


Before you buy interior doors, you need to know not only the exact dimensions doorways, but also where these doors will open. And if you are making repairs, then the direction of opening the doors must be determined at the design project stage, since the location of the furniture and switch in the room will largely depend on which direction the doors will open.

The direction of door opening should be convenient and safe. The safety of opening doors in Russia is regulated by the building code and regulations (SNiP) “Fire Safety of Buildings and Structures” dated January 21, 1997, the main thesis of which reads: “Doors at emergency exits and on evacuation routes must open towards the exit from the building.” This is necessary to make it easier to get out of the room: faster to open the doors, easier to break into.

This is especially true for non-residential public premises. Office doors must all open outward, especially, according to SNiP standards, for rooms in which there will be more than 15 people.

10 problems encountered when installing interior doors >>>

Rule 1: Doors should open from a smaller room to a larger one.

For example, opening a bathroom or dressing room outward rather than inward will not take up additional space in an already small room. In addition, opening bathroom doors from the outside makes the bathroom safer in case someone falls ill and falls on the floor, blocking the doors.

It is more correct to open the doors to the children's room inwards. If a child locks himself in a room and at this time a situation arises in which you need to urgently provide assistance to the child, then it will be much easier to break open the doors if they open into the children's room.

Rule 2: The door should swing open to most of the room.

When we enter a room, we should immediately see everything that is in it at the entrance. This is possible in cases where the entrance is located in one of the corners of the room, and not in the middle of the wall. In this case, the door opens towards the nearest wall.

If the entrance to the room is in the middle of one of the walls, then the opening should be towards the switch. This means that when we come in or out, we open the doors with one hand and turn the lights off or on with the other. If the switch has yet to be installed, then it is more correct to open it towards the window so that when entering the room, the first thing we see is the window, the light from which would fall into the corridor.

Rule 3: Adjacent doors should not touch each other when opened simultaneously.

If the doors are very close and touch each other even when installed to the far edges of the opening, then you will have to install one of the doors with the opening to another room, or move the doorway. Doors touching each other when opening can not only damage themselves, but can also hit someone leaving the room. But the most important thing is to prevent one door from blocking another.

Perhaps not many people have asked the question, in which direction should the door in the apartment open? The answer seems obvious - outward. But is everything so simple or are there still situations in which it is considered more convenient to open the front door inward? We will help you understand this topic, taking into account SNiPs and everyday practicality.

Which way does the door open according to SNiP?

There are technical regulations and SNiPs that are approved Federal law and determine the location and option of opening the doors. However, they apply exclusively to industrial and public purposes. In such buildings, the entrance door to the apartment is swung open in the direction of movement towards the exit to the street. In addition, this only applies to those places located on the evacuation route.

Concerning apartment buildings, in the current fire safety standards and any others there is no clear answer to the question of how the door to the apartment should open. Accordingly, everyone installs the design to their own taste. Of course, most people order doors that open outward, that is, onto the landing.

Location of doors in the apartment and other factors

To choose the optimal opening of the entrance door to the apartment, you need to take into account whole line factors so as not to regret it later the decision taken. Architects, planners and interior designers recommend adhering to the following rules and recommendations:

  • Comfort and convenience. These factors should be decisive when choosing the door opening side.
  • Location and options for opening adjacent doors. A wrong choice in this case can lead to a situation where two entrance doors simply will not open at the same time, colliding with each other. This state of affairs can lead to conflict situations.
  • The opening side of the second door in the opening. Often, apartment owners install a second line of protection against cold, extraneous sounds and intruders. In this case, two doors should open in different sides: one inward, and the other outward.

Guided by these simple rules, the conclusion suggests itself: the convenient direction for opening doors is outward.

Why is it better to open the door outward?

The outward swing type has its advantages. They are the ones who most often push people to choose the option of opening the doors in the apartment outwards, that is, onto the landing. Let's figure out what exactly this is connected with:

  • When leaving the apartment, you do not have to step back 1-2 steps to open the door.
  • If the main door opens outwards, you will be able to install inside another opening opening inward.
  • Saving space is perhaps the main advantage. When the front door opens into the hallway, you will not place either a bedside table or a closet near it at a distance of almost 1 meter.

How should doors in apartments swing open for safety? For burglary resistance and ease of evacuation in case of fire, it is better to order an installation with an outward opening.

When are inward opening doors installed?

Despite all the advantages, many have been in apartments in which the front door opens inward. For example, door leaves open inwards in apartments located in houses old building. Previously, during construction, this particular layout was used so that residents of neighboring apartments did not block each other’s access and did not create mutual discomfort.

Opening the door inward is required in cases where there is an additional door that opens outward. It can not be in any other way. Another common situation is the presence of a narrow vestibule. Under such conditions, you simply will not be able to open the door outward normally, but there are exceptions.