You don’t see a whole lot of arched doors on new construction these days, but I think we probably have more than our fair share of beautiful old arched doors in the Northeast.  Over the years I’ve had quite a few calls about how to retrofit new hardware onto existing arched doors, and the trickiest part is the closer.  A floor closer would work well, but it’s often difficult or impossible to install a floor closer on an existing door because of the required floor preparation.

This is where LCN’s engineering department comes in.  One of the 3,000+ special templates available is for the mounting bracket (and drop plate if required) for an LCN 4111 closer on an arched door.  I’ve been on the lookout for a photo of one, and Nolan Thrope of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies of Metro NYC came through with not one, but TWO photos – one with a drop plate and one without.  I will admit, the photo with the drop plate isn’t the most beautiful application I’ve ever seen, but sometimes you have to make a small sacrifice in aesthetics for function and durability, right?*

In this arched door photo, sent in by Todd Borsch of LCN, someone decided to take matters into their own hands:

UPDATE: Liz Lenox of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies of Metro NY was holding out on me:

For reference, here is the LCN special template (ST-2480) for the 4111-Cush closer on an arched door, and here are the dimensions required for fabrication.  It’s always best to check with LCN’s engineering department to make sure you have the most current template available.  You can reach them at 877-671-7011.

Check out some more closers on arched doors.

*As I was writing this I thought of an architect that I’ve worked with on several high-profile projects.  He’s very particular, as he should be on this type of work.  Once, when I explained that the doors would not look the way he had drawn them on his interior elevations because of hardware required by code, he told me that I was ruining his whole design and then he called me the “Anti Fairy Godmother.”  Today he accidentally copied me on an email that had nothing to do with hardware, and then apologized, saying “I included the wrong Lori.”  I jokingly said, “WHAT??  You have another Lori?!” and he replied, “She is referred to as ‘The Other Lori.’  You remain Lori.”  Phew!  I thought I had been replaced!  That cracked me up.  🙂

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