Sliding doors: All about their norms

Sliding doors are divided into different standards. Standardized doors make construction easier, as mass and weight are clearly divided according to classification. Pre-determined test criteria are used to uniformly test the respective safety regulations and therefore allow more precise information on the closing properties and service life of the different sliding doors. Griffwerk doors meet the highest quality standards, but are not standardized.

Sliding doors are subdivided into specific standards. This subdivision serves as a generally valid subdivision of all sliding and folding doors in the building industry. The European standard DIN EN 1527:1998 specifies the basic criteria of building hardware and test methods and classes of the respective types of sliding doors - its exact designation is: "Locks and building hardware - Hardware for sliding doors and folding doors - Requirements and test methods".

Sliding doors fall under Class 1 of this DIN standard - this includes all types of sliding doors, regardless of whether they have a hanging or standing construction principle. Sliding doors running in front of the wall and in the wall, with or without box system, equally fall into the classes. The same applies to electrically or manually closing sliding door systems. Special designs for sliding door dimensions that deviate from the standard are of course still possible. However, the production and installation requires more planning and they are usually more cost-intensive than standardised ones.

Based on the standard, sliding doors are tested for fire resistance and provide information on their suitability as fire and fire protection doors.

Standardised sliding doors are divided into different weight classes. There are four weight classes for sliding doors:

1. Less than 50 kilograms,
2. 51 to 100 kilograms,
3. 101 to 330 kilograms and
4. more than 330 kilograms.

The aforementioned mass classes are tested for opening and closing properties. The standard differentiates between three classes that indicate how much force is required to move the sliding doors.

How long a sliding door will function properly is divided into six classes. For each range, cycles between 2500 and closing cycles 100,000 are specified. This makes it clear at what point repair work must be expected on average.

Conventional single-action doors are DIN left or DIN right. Depending on which side the hinges are on. Hinges left - DIN left. Hinges right - DIN right. 

Most sliding doors can be opened to the right and left. Some manufacturers have therefore not always specified a DIN standard. To determine the DIN left or right standard of a sliding door, stand on the side where the running box or track is mounted. If the sliding door is supposed to open to the right, it is a DIN-right door. And vice versa: if the sliding door rolls to the left when it opens, it is a DIN left door.

The running direction of the sliding door is determined by the DIN standard.

Another help: The DIN direction is on the opposite side of the door handle.