How to Choose Floor Spring Weight Capacity — B2B Specifier Guide
This guide is for architects, glass fabricators, project contractors, and hardware dealers who need to specify the correct floor spring for a commercial glass door project. Choosing the wrong weight capacity is the single most common floor spring specification error — it leads to premature mechanism failure, inconsistent closing behaviour, and costly mid-project replacement.
For technical consultation on your project, WhatsApp Tickr Overseas on +91-9855225874.
Who This Guide Is For
This is a decision guide for the trade — architects specifying glass door systems, project contractors procuring hardware for commercial fitouts, glass fabricators who supply and install floor spring systems, and hardware dealers advising end clients on product selection. If you are looking for retail-consumer guidance on home door closers, this is not the right resource — floor springs are a commercial-grade product sold exclusively to the trade.
The Floor Spring Weight Capacity Decision Framework
Floor spring selection starts with one calculation: the actual weight of the door. Everything else — model choice, cylinder type, finish — follows from correctly establishing this number and then applying the right safety margin.
Step 1: Calculate Door Weight
For glass doors — which represent the majority of floor spring applications in commercial buildings — use this formula:
Door weight (kg) = Glass thickness (mm) × Door height (metres) × Door width (metres) × 2.5
The 2.5 factor is the standard weight coefficient for float glass — approximately 2.5 kg per square metre per millimetre of thickness.
Example calculation:
A standard commercial office glass door — 12mm glass, 2.4 metres tall, 1.0 metre wide:
12 × 2.4 × 1.0 × 2.5 = 72 kg
For laminated glass (common in safety-specified applications), the calculation uses the total combined thickness of both glass panels. For 6+6 laminated glass, use 12mm in the formula.
For wooden doors, use actual door weight from manufacturer specifications — typically found on the door leaf specification sheet or estimated from door dimensions and material density.
Step 2: Add the Safety Factor
Never specify a floor spring whose rated capacity is close to the calculated door weight. The safety factor accounts for:
- Door weight calculation tolerances (glass varies slightly in density)
- Operating conditions — wind pressure on exterior doors creates additional load on the mechanism
- Usage intensity — high-traffic doors experience more stress per cycle than occasional-use doors
- Long-term wear — the mechanism should perform at rated load for its full cycle life, not just when new
Standard safety factor: add 10-15% to your calculated door weight before selecting the capacity tier.
Continuing the example: 72 kg calculated weight + 12% safety factor = 80.6 kg effective load
The next capacity tier above 80.6 kg in Tickr’s range is the TCH-8400 at 120 kg — giving a comfortable 49% capacity headroom above the effective load. This is the correct specification. The TCH-7400 at 90 kg provides only 12% headroom — too close for reliable long-term performance on a commercial door.
Step 3: Match to the Correct Capacity Tier
Always select the lowest capacity tier that is comfortably above your effective load (door weight + safety factor). Oversizing excessively — specifying a 200 kg mechanism for a 40 kg door — results in a mechanism that is too stiff, produces excessive closing force, and is unnecessarily expensive.
Tickr Floor Spring Range Matched to Capacity
TCH-7400 — 90 kg — Single Cylinder
Use when: Effective load is up to 75 kg. Applications: lighter commercial interior doors, office partitions, residential premium glass doors, retail interior doors. Single cylinder mechanism: one hold-open position (90°). Not recommended for exterior high-traffic applications.
TCH-8400 — 120 kg — Double Cylinder
Use when: Effective load is 75-100 kg. This is the most widely specified floor spring in Tickr’s range — it covers the bulk of standard commercial applications. Showroom entrances, restaurant fronts, office building lobby doors, mid-scale hotel entrance doors. Double cylinder provides two hold-open positions (90° and 120°) — the commercial standard for high-footfall environments.
TCH-9400 — 150 kg — Double Cylinder
Use when: Effective load is 100-125 kg. Applications: large-format commercial glass panels, heavy hotel lobby doors, shopping mall entrances, airport-grade glass door systems, pharmaceutical and clean-room facility entrances with heavy door construction.
TCH-10400 — 200 kg — Double Cylinder
Use when: Effective load is 125 kg or above. Applications: the largest glass panels used in architectural statement installations, heavy-duty industrial glass door systems, oversized glass entrance doors for large commercial buildings. Maximum capacity in the Tickr range.
TCH-100 Hydraulic — up to 150 kg — Premium
Use when: The quality of the closing action matters as much as the capacity specification. Luxury hotel entrances, high-end corporate headquarters lobbies, premium retail. The TCH-100’s hydraulic damping provides a slower, silent, precisely-controlled close. Not a replacement for the TCH-9400 on standard commercial applications — it is an upgrade specification for projects where door behaviour is part of the architectural experience.
Technical Considerations Beyond Door Weight
Door Opening Frequency (Cycle Load)
A door in a busy public-facing location — shopping mall entrance, hospital corridor, hotel lobby — opens and closes many times per day. For a door operating 400 cycles per day, it accumulates 1,46,000 cycles per year. Tickr’s floor springs are tested to 5,00,000 cycles — providing approximately 3.4 years of rated cycle life at this intensity at the rated load. Specify one capacity tier up for high-cycle applications to extend effective mechanism life.
Exterior vs Interior Applications
Exterior doors face wind pressure — particularly relevant for ground-floor commercial buildings in coastal cities or high-wind-load locations. Wind pressure creates additional lateral force on the door mechanism. For exterior applications in exposed locations, apply a higher safety factor — 20% above calculated door weight rather than the standard 10-15%.
Temperature and Environmental Factors
Floor spring mechanisms contain hydraulic fluid whose viscosity changes with temperature. In hot climates — which covers most of India’s commercial construction zones — hydraulic floor springs may close slightly faster in peak summer heat as fluid viscosity drops. The adjustment screw on the floor box allows site-based tuning of closing speed after installation. This is a standard installation step and should be built into the project commissioning checklist.
Glass Thickness and Structural Considerations
Beyond weight calculation, glass thickness affects the structural drilling of the floor spring spindle pocket. Floor spring systems require a drilled pocket in the bottom edge of the glass or door leaf. Standard drilled pocket depth and diameter specifications are provided in Tickr’s installation documentation. Ensure the glass fabricator is briefed on the floor spring model before glass cutting — retrofitting a drilled pocket in already-cut glass is possible but adds cost and risk.
Common Specifier Mistakes to Avoid
Matching capacity exactly to door weight — specifying a 90 kg floor spring for a calculated 85 kg door provides only 6% headroom. The mechanism will wear prematurely and likely fail within warranty period. Always use the safety factor and round up to the next tier.
Ignoring door height in weight calculation — taller glass doors weigh proportionally more. A 2.8m tall door is 17% heavier than a 2.4m door of the same width and thickness. Recheck the calculation for any non-standard door height.
Specifying the same model across all doors in a project without individual calculation — lobby entrance doors, corridor doors, and internal office doors in the same building often have significantly different glass weights. Calculate each door individually.
Forgetting to account for frame weight on wooden doors — wooden doors with heavy frames (particularly fire-rated doors with intumescent seals) weigh substantially more than the door leaf alone. Confirm total door weight including all hardware with the door manufacturer before specifying the floor spring.
How to Get Technical Consultation
Tickr Overseas has supplied floor springs to commercial projects across India since 2012. Our team can advise on capacity selection, model specification, and installation requirements for your project.
WhatsApp +91-9855225874 — instant technical response
Email sales@tickrindia.com — for formal project specifications
Dealers interested in stocking Tickr’s floor spring range can apply through our Dealer Zone. Direct manufacturer pricing, 7-year guarantee, TUV-SUD certification, pan-India delivery 5-7 days.