Safety Reasons. Many believe that doors which open outwards are safer as it allows for easier escape access. Anyone caught up in an emergency or fire, rushing to get away, would naturally push a door rather than pull it.
Residential doors (doors on houses and apartments) do NOT open outwards. BUT business doors open 'out' for safe exit in case of fire or other emergencies. It's a safety rule from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) - doors must open in the direction of exit travel - which means OUT.
The reason your front door swings inward is very purposeful. Even simple door designs have hinges and hinge pins to allow the door to open and shut. These hinges are a bit of a security weak point, and are placed inside the home to make it harder for would-be intruders to gain access to your home.
One legend posits that a large group of people once died in a single fire, and thus it was decreed that doors should open outward to allow for easier escape. Another theory suggests that at one time lodgings in Scandinavia were very small, and thus space on the interior of the property was at a premium.
Norway has a lot of weather with wind, rain and snow, and it is easier to keep the water out of the house if the doors open outwards.
Safety Reasons
Many believe that doors which open outwards are safer as it allows for easier escape access. Anyone caught up in an emergency or fire, rushing to get away, would naturally push a door rather than pull it.
Security – inward-opening doors keep the door's hinges safely inside the house, which prevents any potential tampering, and can also be more easily fitted with extra security features such as latches and chains.
Florida has one of the most stringent building codes in the United States, as all exterior doors must open outward if you live in South Florida. Outward opening doors provide you with an added layer of protection, as an inward swinging door only has a latch and a deadbolt to prevent it from blowing into your home.
One of the reasons given for this is modesty, as it is easier to cover up before someone comes around an opening door. Another argument for inward-facing interior doors is safety. If your bedroom door opens onto a passageway with high traffic, you may knock someone over as they walk past.
The front door usually opens outward, which is opposite of in Western houses. This is because Japanese people do not wear shoes in the house, they take off and line up their shoes at the entrance. If the door opens inward, the shoes will be in the way and could cause you to be not able to open the door.
Inward opening French doors may be better suited to you if you have the opposite – more inside space vs outside space – making this configuration ideal for balconies.
Two doors indicated that the house probably had more than one room, which was a real symbol of prosperity for the American pioneer class. This reason makes sense when you consider that many midcentury homes (and even today's houses) make a show of the number of garage doors attached to the dwelling.
Irish culture has many known associations with the red front door. When Queen Victoria ordered them to paint their doors black, red doors were a sign of rebellion. There is also folklore symbolism with some choosing to believe a red front door warns off evil spirits and ghosts.
A red door provides protection.
In old Catholicism churches painted the doors of the church red to represent the blood of Christ. Passing through the door would mean that you were on holy ground. Some believe a red door protects the occupants from evil.
Outward-opening doors are also more secure than inward-opening doors because they're less likely to be forced open from the inside. Additionally, outward-opening doors can be secured with locks and latches that are located on both the outside and inside of the door, making it difficult for intruders to gain access.
Why do windows open outwards in the UK but inwards in Europe? Windows opening inwards take up more room and when space is at a premium this is important. Also in the UK the soft furnishings inside a house usually include curtains which can be drawn across the inside of outward opening windows to give privacy.
Because they are inexpensive. Interior doors are mostly intended for visual and physical privacy, not security. A solid core door can provide a better sound barrier, is more fire resistant, can be more secure, and has a feel of higher quality. But it's also much more expensive.
In the past, Korean doors opened inwards. Even nowadays, the doors open inwards in rural areas. But the apts in cities have the doors which open outwards. The reason might be that the owners want to make their small inner space as large as possible.
The minimum clear height of door openings shall be not less than 80 inches (2032 mm). Exceptions: In Group R-2 and R-3 dwelling and sleeping units that are not required to be an Accessible unit, the minimum and maximum width shall not apply to door openings that are not part of the required means of egress.
If more than 25% of the windows and/or doors in a pre-Florida Building Code home are being replaced and the windows/doors are NOT impact glass, the windows/doors are required to have opening protection (such as shutters).
Florida has a large aquifer system that spans around 100,000 square miles and provides water for many large cities. The groundwater's very close to the surface in most parts of Florida and Southern Georgia. Because of the high water table and proximity to the ocean, it is impossible to dig out for a basement.
Landing requirements for egress exterior doors
step down to the exterior, provided the door does not swing to the outside over this dropped landing. There is no requirement for which direction an exterior door on a house must swing, but the direction will affect the allowable landing heights.
Australian houses, especially Federation houses and those built before World War II, would often have door handles two-thirds of the way up the door. The exact reason why is still unclear. Some people argue that it was to ensure children couldn't enter rooms, while others say it was more a trend or fashion.
But why do bathroom stall doors swing in? The most common answer is that it comes down to space saving. Public restrooms are often cramped and crowded. People are trying to move from the stalls to the sinks and back out the door.
Ways to save space
If the door opens into the bathroom, it will take up nearly 1 square metre of space just for opening and closing. This space is freed up if the door is placed so that it opens outwards.