Inswing vs Outswing Entry Door

Have you ever noticed how you don’t really notice some things until you’ve bought them, or in the process of buying them? Chances are that doors make that list. You’ve probably never thought about the difference between inswing vs outswing entry doors. Or considered door inswing vs outswing at all.

That’s perfectly normal. Unless you’re in the door and window industry, it’s not really something that comes up very often. However, now that you are thinking about it, let’s look at some information about whether you need an inswing vs outswing exterior door.

What Does Inswing and Outswing Mean?

You might be wondering what inswing and outswing even mean. Again, it’s not something most people think about.

The simplest explanation is that inswing doors swing into the room, and you push them from the outside. Outswing doors swing outwards, and you pull them.

Door Swing Configurations

Most doors are made for right-handed people. Which means if you have an inswing door, it will be hung on hinges on the right-hand side, and it will swing into the room and to the right when you open it from outside the room. In this case, you would push the door into the room.

An outswing door would have the hinges on the left, and you would pull the door towards you, which would make the door swing towards you and to the left.

If the door is hung for left-handed people, and is an inswing door, it would swing the opposite way (to the left), but you would still push it into the room, and if it’s an outswing door, you would pull it and it would swing towards the right.

Left and right can complicate matters, so just try to remember that if it swings inwards and you have to push, it’s an inswing, and vice versa for outswing.

Inswing vs Outswing Entry Door

You might be wondering if it makes any difference whether you choose inswing or outswing doors. It does. There are several cases where you might want to choose an inswing vs outswing door, and vice versa, such as:

The doors to your home. It’s usually better to choose an inswing vs outswing entry door, because you don’t know what might be on the other side if you have to push it open.
This is also the case in places where there is a lot of snow – which is not a problem in Texas!
We do get hurricanes though, and the wind can catch outswing doors much easier. But on the other hand, outswing doors make it harder for rain and wind to get into your home.
Inswing exterior doors are also a little more secure, because if you open them and need to close them again, you can use your bodyweight to help! But at the same time, they are easier to kick or batter inwards.
Inswing doors are usually better for bedrooms and similar, which open to narrow hallways. An outswing door might block the hallway, and limit access to other people.

Conclusion

While there are some more common choices when you select doors, including the decision whether to make your exterior door inswing or outswing, there’s no absolute hard and fast rules in most cases.

Most of the reasons we choose inswing or outswing doors are due to practical considerations. We select doors that will work best in the space. That will offer the best security and protection from the elements. That will work with our style and décor. There really are a lot of things to consider.

So, is it okay to have an outswing exterior door? Yes. If that’s what works best for your home and your design, you can definitely do it. Just make sure you think of all the pros and cons before you decide, and always make sure there’s enough room for the door to swing freely!