Pivot doors: specifying a 400 kg leaf
A pivot door is a single leaf that turns on a bearing set into the floor and the head, rather than on a side hinge — which is why it can be far heavier and wider than a hinged door, and why the structural work sits in the floor, not the jamb. The PV-75 line carries leaves to 400 kg; the specification that works names the bearing, the floor build-up, the swing clearance and the lock, because a leaf that heavy moves slowly and stops hard.
The bearing is the door
A pivot leaf hangs on two bearings — one in the floor, one in the head — and they carry the whole mass and the wind load between them. That is the difference from a hinge: a hinged door loads its jamb, a pivot door loads the floor and the head, which is why the structural question moves down into the slab. The floor bearing takes the weight; the head bearing takes the lateral load. Both are machined, and the 6061 alloy is the standard material at the load point. Both are set into the build-up before the floor is finished.
What the floor has to carry
A 400 kg leaf plus its hardware lands on a small bearing footprint, and the reaction has to reach the structure, not the screed. The drawing states the door position, the leaf mass and the bearing detail, so the builder forms the support under the pivot before the screed goes down. On slab-on-grade this is a cast-in detail; on a suspended floor it is a steel insert. Getting this wrong is the failure a pivot door is known for — a heavy leaf walking out of alignment because the floor under it moved.
Swing, clearance and the slow close
A pivot leaf turns about a point that is usually offset toward one stile, so the leaf sweeps a wide arc and the clearances differ from a hinged door: more room on the swing side, less on the pivot side. That is the entrance statement — a slow, heavy, deliberate move — and the specification sets it: the pivot offset, the swing direction, the floor closer that replaces the overhead closer, and the hold-open the schedule wants. The lock is a multi-point or a single deadbolt set into the pivot stile, and the hardware schedule matches the leaf mass.
What to put on the schedule
- The leaf mass and size (PV-75 carries to 400 kg), so the bearing schedule and the floor detail follow.
- The bearing detail and the floor build-up, as a structural item, not a site decision.
- The pivot offset and swing direction, because they set the clearance on both sides.
- The lock and closer per the entrance detail, on the heavy-door hardware schedule.
Questions
A pivot carries a much heavier and wider leaf than a hinge can, and it turns in place rather than swinging on a jamb — which is why it is used for the entrance statement and the very large single leaf. The trade is the floor detail and the slower move.