Door: Definition, History, and Types of Doors

What is a door?

A door is, by definition, a movable component used to close an opening in a wall. In rare cases, the opening is not located in a wall but in a floor or ceiling. The element that closes this type of opening is called a trapdoor. A distinction is generally made between exterior doors and interior doors. An exterior door leads directly from a building to the outside, while an interior door separates rooms within a building from one another. An intermediate form is the apartment door in multi-family houses. Although it is an interior door, it is often constructed differently—more robust and with a more secure lock—than a simple room door inside an apartment.

A lockable exterior door serves to keep unwanted persons as well as cold and heat outside and to exclude a specific area from public access. An apartment door separates individual apartments within a stairwell, while an interior door serves to separate individual rooms from one another.

The history of the door

To protect and warm the entrances of their dwellings, humans used woven barriers made from plants or animal hides before becoming sedentary. Stable doors only emerged once humans settled down and began building permanent homes. These were made of stone or wood, more rarely bronze, and with the rise of the first cities, impressive large city gates were developed, which are essentially also doors—the doors to a city.

Over the course of human history, doors gradually became lockable, and the possibilities for securing them increased. Today, doors can be very simple, such as folding doors that serve only as visual barriers, or very robust and heavy, such as fire doors or security doors. The possibilities for lock. However, many specialized doors are usually—though not always—found inside buildings.

Special doors

Special doors are designed for specific purposes and must meet certain requirements. One example is the fire door. It must be constructed in a way that allows it to resist fire for a certain period of time. There are also smoke protection doors, which—unlike fire doors—are completely sealed. In addition, there are special doors that protect against both fire and smoke. Fire and smoke protection doors are found in many apartment buildings, especially newer ones, as there are now strict legal regulations regarding this topic.

Radiation protection doors, on the other hand, are only used where there is a need to protect people from radiation, for example in hospitals or nuclear facilities. These doors contain lead layers that block radioactive radiation.

Security doors are particularly robust and can withstand physical force, such as gunfire. From the outside, security doors often look like ordinary doors. They can be installed in private homes, but are especially common in high-security areas such as psychiatric institutions and prisons.

Special door forms

A special form of interior door is the horizontally installed trapdoor that leads to a basement or attic. It has no handle, but instead a lever, and is not opened with a key but usually with a hook attached to a rod.

Another common special form of interior door is the folding door. It has no handle and no lock; instead, it opens and folds. It provides visual separation, but otherwise offers neither privacy, security, nor sound insulation. Folding doors are often installed between rooms that could generally function without a separating door, such as a kitchen and dining room.

There are many other special door types, such as revolving doors and sliding doors.

Burglary protection for your doors: Schlüsseldienst München – Mario Pichelmaier is happy to help!

If you want to properly secure your door against break-ins, we are the right contact for you. We, Locksmith Munich – Mario Pichelmaier, are a specialist company for burglary protection and door opening services, and we know exactly what matters when securing a door. However, we also know that the main entrance door is often not the real issue—the weak points are usually elsewhere, for example less stable secondary entrance doors leading to basements or garages, or windows, which are always vulnerable due to their fragile glass panes.

If desired, we can create a complete burglary protection concept for your home or commercial property, including all entrance and secondary doors as well as windows. If you approve of the concept, we will also install the corresponding technical security devices directly, using only high-quality products from reputable manufacturers that we fully trust.

24/7 on duty: We open your locked or shut doors damage-free and at a fair fixed price!

Non-destructive door opening is our second major area of business alongside burglary protection. We are an emergency locksmith service available 24/7 and ready to deploy at any time. If you are helplessly standing in front of your closed or locked door, simply call us and we will immediately head out to assist you.

Using our modern special tools, we can open almost all doors completely without damage, usually within just a few minutes. Our locksmiths are skilled and careful professionals with a strong work ethic. Their goal is always to help you as quickly and effectively as possible.

We work with fixed prices, which we clearly and transparently state over the phone before you place a binding order. The price quoted by our locksmith will be exactly the same as the one on your invoice. You have our word for it—this is our fixed price guarantee.

For all matters concerning locks and doors, Schlüsseldienst München – Mario Pichelmaier is the right address. We are happy to help you!