Outer porch door, inwards or outwards opening?

tallac

The existing house door is going to be ripped out and I'll have a brick porch built around it. So I have a somewhat of a blank slate.
I never really thought much about which way the doors would open and I assumed that the outer porch door would open outwards and the inner porch door would open inwards. This would avoid both doors clashing and hitting each other. A family member has this setup.

Anyway, but looking into it more, I realise that most porches that have composite doors on the outer door, have the doors opening inwards. The few porches that I see with the outer doors opening outwards seem like the cheap UPVC patio type door. The door opening outwards means the hinges are exposed and this could be a potential security risk (although a potential intruder would only get into the porch and would then have to get passed the inner door which would be inwards opening).

So, is the way to avoid the door clash to make sure you have enough depth in the porch so there is no clash? Also, any pros or cons whether the hinges on both doors should be on the same side or on opposite sides?

WaywardDriver

Similar situation. Went for outward opening door to free up internal space. But need extra security on door hinges. Another con is when opening door from outside will probably have to go down a step. 

Jeepers_Creepers

The doors clash? Shhooorley avoidable?

Even if both the inner and outer doors opened in to the porch space, they still avoid eachother - the two doors would just meet 'flat' against eachother in t'middle? And in most cases, you'd shut the inner door first before then opening the outer to prevent draughts? So I can't see that being an issue. If it is, then have both doors opening inwards (and both doors hinged on the same side for ergonomics.)

Reasons for inward-opening external doors; doors not caught in gusts (a major factor), operator stands inside porch at all times without having to lean out, coming up to door with hands full of shopping means you can push the handle down and then just push the door open inwards, if standing outside door you don't have to side-step it when it opens, and it looks a lot better when both open and closed.

Reasons for outward-opening ext doors:, um, uh, er, well I guess it seals a little better against a surrounding frame, so might make some sense if it's facing strong prevailing weather? But in that case the door will be blown off its hinges in the first gust anyway.

Basically, there's no good reason for outward opening. :-)

theoretica

Also, would the door be glass or not?  Usually doors open inwards as said for protection from weather but also so you don't hit someone outside - or the parcel the delivery person left propped against it.  See also eg https://www.windowmaintenance.co.uk/do-you-want-your-external-doors-to-open-inward-or-outward/

tallac

Jeepers_Creepers said:

The doors clash? Shhooorley avoidable?

Even if both the inner and outer doors opened in to the porch space, they still avoid eachother - the two doors would just meet 'flat' against eachother in t'middle? And in most cases, you'd shut the inner door first before then opening the outer to prevent draughts? So I can't see that being an issue. If it is, then have both doors opening inwards (and both doors hinged on the same side for ergonomics.)

Yes, this is true. Thinking about it, it wouldn't be a door clash. Is it possible the outer door, if it opens inwards then it hits the back wall of the porch? A typical ext door would be around 85 to 90cm I think, therefore the porch depth would need to be more than that. What's the typical internal depth of a porch? (assuming it falls within the max exterior footprint of 3 sqm m).

theoretica said:

Also, would the door be glass or not?  Usually doors open inwards as said for protection from weather but also so you don't hit someone outside - or the parcel the delivery person left propped against it.  See also eg https://www.windowmaintenance.co.uk/do-you-want-your-external-doors-to-open-inward-or-outward/

Thinking both outer and inner porch doors will be composite doors with some small glass panels for light.

Bigphil1474

My lad has a porch set up. Outer door opens into porch, inner door opens into house. Having the outer door opening outwards would give you more usable space inside the porch - as you don't need to leave room for the door to open, but I would prefer it to open inwards if it was me, mainly for security. 

FreeBear

An outward opening door is very handy for those cold callers that like to stand too close. A bloodied nose quickly teaches them the error of their ways

The downside is having deliveries and the driver stacks the boxes right in front of the door.. <grrr>

As for exposed hinges and security - Thieves go looking for easy targets. Taking a door off by removing the hinges is going to take time. They would be much more likely to try that at the rear where they won't be seen.

WaywardDriver

Another consideration is whether the new door is to be the main entrance to the house. In our case it's not so outward opening works for us, otherwise would prob go for inward opening.

Rosa_Damascena

FreeBear said:

An outward opening door is very handy for those cold callers that like to stand too close. A bloodied nose quickly teaches them the error of their ways

The downside is having deliveries and the driver stacks the boxes right in front of the door.. <grrr>

As for exposed hinges and security - Thieves go looking for easy targets. Taking a door off by removing the hinges is going to take time. They would be much more likely to try that at the rear where they won't be seen.

I was thinking the opposite: I have better control over the opening and closing of the door if it opens inwards.

Personal preference I guess.

Ajmason42

Personally inward if you have out ward and raining means the inside of the door will be wet when closed. 

Slinky

I would think twice about buying a house with an outward opening door, whether it was a porch or the main front door. My friend has a main door that opens outwards, and it's just odd IMO, especially as there appears to be enough room for it to open inwards.  We're putting a porch on, and both doors will open inwards.