Q: Hi there- I am considering the Dorbin 185 for a different kind of installation- for a a pair of sliding doors, also called bi-parting barn doors. In this case, the doors ride on the same track and plungers would face one another in the center of the opening. Each door is 60in wide, the application is a exterior garage door opening in Southern California where there is no snow, but there is infrequent rain. Questions- 1. can the plunger be offset to the side- it looks that way in your videos. This would enable the plungers to not hit one another when closing the doors. 2. Would the heavy duty be better or worse in this kind of installation? Perhaps the higher spring force would be an issue for the HD version? 3. If all of the above sounds crazy, perhaps I am better off with a brush seal- another alternative I am considering. Thanks, Pete
A: Hello to you as well and no - wanting to properly and elegantly seal a door is not only not crazy but to be applauded, at least in my opinion.
First - we need to abandon the Dorbin 185 and frankly all standard automatic door bottoms. The reason is this:
Swinging doors and the automatic door bottoms used on them drop down in a scissors type arrangement where part of the door bottom is already making contact prior to the door being fully closed. Because the door is swinging, there is actually very very little premature contact between the dropping automatic door bottom and the floor, making wear and tear a non-issue. The Pemko Catalog here on page 152 depicts this condition:
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Sliding doors require a door bottom to behave such that when the plunger is compressed, the mechanism causes the
insert seal to activate and drop evenly along the door bottom. This provision prevents all but 100% of premature contact from occurring prior to the door being full closed. The Zero Catalog here on page 84 depicts this condition:
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The Zero 7350A 60" Aluminum Automatic Door Bottom can be reviewed here:
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The obvious different is the Dorbin item you mention is surface mounted where as the Zero item is mortised into the bottom of the door (sliding doors - think pockets doors too) because these door types and the design of a typical wall section would not permit surface mounting.
I will say that I expect the sliding doors will creep open however with the drop plungers facing each other, unless you have a way to mechanical bolt the doors into the closed position, or bolt them together from the inside and outside independently. I like your idea - but flushing it out a bit more, to ensure proper operation is our next step.
Is there a follow up question that we can perhaps attempt to answer? We take deep pride in our technical expertise, as we know it separates us from our competition, so don't hesitate to ask.
Please reply to this email or contact our sales department here:
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if we can assist you by answering further questions or with entering this order and please let us know if there is anything else we can help with.
Q: Hi, I found your company through some great YouTube videos by Richard Howard explaining how automatic door bottoms work. I am making a custom metal and wood door, and want to incorporate the automatic seal mechanism on both the bottom and top edges of the door leaf. Would the automatic door bottom work correctly if installed upside down, into the top edge of the door (and seal to the top jamb)? thanks in advance, Jordan Phoenix, AZ
A: This application is not as uncommon as you may think. Please see the manufacturer's cut sheet as seen here:
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and you'll take note that the item can literally be configured for a “top of door” application when using the suffix -TD.
The balance of the manufacturer's product catalog can be reviewed here if you would like to view other options:
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Q: How is the Dorbin 185 door bottom activated? How does the sweep retract? Is it the action of the handle? Or is it the motion of the door? How quickly does the sweep retract (either how much elapsed time or how far does the door have to travel)? Thanks!
A: Most of your questions are addressed in my video as seen here:
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Whatever lingering questions there are, please feel free to reach back out to me.