Floor spring vs overhead closer for glass and aluminium doors

Both control a door’s closing. The choice is about the door type, the traffic and what the floor build-up allows.

Overhead closer

Mounts on the leaf or the frame head. Easy to fit, easy to service or replace, and works on almost any hinged timber or aluminium door. It is visible, and it only does single action (closes one way). The default for internal and most external hinged doors.

Floor spring

Sits in a cast-iron box recessed into the floor, with the door pivoting on a spindle above it. Invisible, very robust, and it does double action — the door swings both ways and self-centres. It is the standard for frameless glass entrance doors and for heavy, high-traffic aluminium doors in showrooms and offices.

The catches:

• The floor box needs roughly 60–75 mm depth in the screed, set before tiling. Retrofitting into a finished floor means breaking out.
• It has to be sized to the door weight and width, like a closer — a 12 mm glass door up to about 90 kg runs on a mid-range double-action spring.
• Servicing means lifting the door.

Hold-open

Floor springs are available with a hold-open detent (commonly at 90°). Do not specify hold-open on a fire door — it must self-close.

For a glass door specifically

You need the floor spring, a top pivot (patch or centre), and top and bottom patch fittings or a full-height rail, all cut into the glass to a toughening drawing. Order them together so the cut-outs match.

Tell us the door material, leaf size and weight, traffic level and the floor build-up, and we will steer you to the closer or the spring.