Here’s a question we sometimes hear from homeowners who are newer to Florida: “Can I get an inswing door? Why do so many doors down here swing outwards?” Some people don’t even realize that residential doors can be outswing until they come down to Florida, where that style is much more common. But, which is better when you compare outswing vs inswing doors?
Let’s explain the difference between the two and why outswings have gained in popularity here in Florida:
The Difference between Outswing vs Inswing Doors
The primary difference between outswing and inswing doors is the direction that they swing.
Outswing doors are designed to swing towards the exterior of the home. Meanwhile, inswing doors swing into the home. That’s the key operational difference.
However, there are consequences to a door swinging outward or inward that affect its suitability for use in Florida.
Pros of Inswing Doors
For a long, long time, inswing doors have been standard for residential homes. There are a few reasons for this.
One of the biggest reasons for using an inswing door is that it protects the door’s hardware, specifically its hinges, from tampering.
With an inswing door, the knuckles and barrel of the door hinge are located on the inside of the home. This protects them from tampering.
Additionally, with an inswing door, you can mount a separate storm door. This allows you a bit more control in whether you want more privacy or a clear view out your front door. And with sliding panels, you can even enjoy a breeze on nicer days.
If you have a lot of patio furniture or your patio/porch space is just cramped in general, then having an inswing door can be a great option for letting you make the most of your patio area.
Pros of Outswing Doors
If inswing doors are so common and popular, what are the benefits of outswing doors?
The big one, and the one that is the reason why they’re becoming increasingly popular in Florida, is hurricane impact resistance.
With an outswing door, pushing on the door merely presses it into the frame stop. This is an enormous advantage for preventing door blow-ins and even leaks from driving wind and rain during a storm.
With an inswing door, extreme wind pressure can push the door out of place, compromising the seal. This can allow water to leak into the home. Especially if the door isn’t fully secured in place.
If you have a lot of interior furnishings or the entry hall/space is narrow, an outswing door can be a great way to avoid indoor obstacles from blocking the door’s operation.
For example, say, for some reason, your home is designed with a closet right next to your front door. The closet has a sliding accordion design that causes the panels to extend outward when open. This puts your open closet door in the path of your door if it’s an inswing. So, if someone in the house opens that closet door and forgets to shut it, your front door becomes blocked and unopenable.
With an outswing door, this isn’t an issue. However, items stacked outside the door may then become a blockage.
As a general rule of thumb, Karoly recommends installing outswing doors unless the porch space has at least five feet of overhang to prevent moisture intrusion from driving wind and rain.
How Do Outswing Doors Prevent Hinge Tampering?
With an outswing door, the knuckle of the hinge (the part with the loops that the door pin slots through) is exposed to the outside. How do outswing doors keep would-be break-in artists from simply pulling the pins out and taking the door off its hinges?
There are a couple of ways that outswing doors counter such casual tampering.
First, outswing doors use non-removable pins (NRPs). Despite the name, a non-removable pin is not a permanent fixture. Rather, the pin has a ‘set screw’ on the side of the hinge barrel. When the door is in the closed position, this set screw is hidden within the knuckle, rendering it inaccessible.
To pull the pins, the set screw first needs to be removed. Since the pins aren’t accessible when the door is closed, NRPs can only be removed when the door is open. This allows the door to be taken down for maintenance or replacement if needed while preventing their removal when closed.
Compare this to a standard door hinge for an inswing door:
Here, there is no set screw. To remove the pin, you just need to remove the pin by either pulling it from the top or tapping it out from the bottom with a hammer and thin object (like a screwdriver).
The other thing modern outswing doors do to enhance security is that they often have hook mechanisms in the door frame to prevent the door from simply being pulled out of the frame even if the hinges are physically cut. If someone cuts off the hinges while the door is shut and locked, the hooks in the frame keep the door from being slid forward or back out of the frame.
Which Is Better in Florida: Outswing vs Inswing Doors
In Florida, which is the better door operation? Swinging outward or swinging inward?
That may depend on your personal preferences at least a little, but in our estimation, outswing doors are the best to have. Their inherently better resistance to hurricanes and forced entry makes them ideal for homeowners who are concerned about hurricanes or home security.
However, that’s not to say that inswing doors are inherently bad. Many homeowners prefer them for their convenience when paired with a storm door.
But for homes in Florida, the added security of an outswing door is simply superior. It’s more practical for emergency situations, which is why we typically recommend them over inswing doors. Especially in wind borne debris regions.
Get Your Exterior Doors Expertly Installed
Whether you prefer inswing or outswing doors, be sure to get them expertly installed! Karoly Windows & Doors has decades of experience with installing all kinds of exterior doors for maximum resistance to the worst weather conditions Florida has to offer.
We not only install top-class impact doors, we pair that with expert installation, premium installation tools, and a consistent dedication to doing the job the right way, every time. That way, you get to enjoy the protection of your impact door for decades to come.
Need new exterior entry doors? Reach out to the experts at Karoly Windows & Doors!
