The top answer is security. The simplest door designs have exposed hinges, a security weak point. By positioning these hinges on the inside of a front door, it makes it harder for burglars to gain entry. It's also easier to open inward-facing doors just a crack to check who is outside.
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.
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.
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.
The rule of thumb is to install interior doors to open into the room. This approach prevents doors from becoming an obstruction in tight areas like hallways.
While there are areas of the country that may vary, there is no universal building code that forbids the use of residential exterior doors that open outward.
The hinges will only be visible from the inside of the home or building. Therefore, burglars and other nefarious individuals won't be able to easily remove them. They won't be able to see the hinges, so they won't be able to pop out the pins holding the leafs together.
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.
In older style doors, having the door open outwards would mean that the hinges would be on the outside. This would mean that the door could easily be unattached and opened by a burglar with the right tools. Whilst there are hinges that can be hidden in the door, it's become the norm to have them inward opening.
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).
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.
Well, to put it simply, despite not appearing in any building regulations, all bathroom doors should swing inwards. And there are a number of very good reasons for this, which we'll get on to shortly. As you go about your daily life, you shouldn't ever encounter outward-swinging toilet doors.
Inward opening doors are generally regarded as safer because the hinges are on the inside, so no one can tamper with them. Exposed hinges are a security weak point and makes it harder for burglars to gain entry. If the hinges are easy to move, the room becomes less secure making you feel more vulnerable at night.
For safety in case of fire. It would be much easier to leave house or apartment.
The International Building Code states school doors (and most public doors) should open out. Anyone can quickly exit a room by pushing through the doors. Outward-opening doors provide easy exit access without the trouble of knobs or locks. In the case of locks, classroom doors must have outside locks.
Simply, the cabin pressure seals them shut. You need to think of the door like a giant bath plug, explains Wright – taking advantage of this plug hole effect is why almost all aircraft exits open inward.
No One Uses Their Front Door (But Everyone Has One)
“Front door” is a misnomer. They're just decorations to confuse out-of-state guests. No one uses them. You might be bewildered to see planters, barrels and all manner of seasonal landscaping placed squarely in the way of front doors.
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.
It's obvious, but two doors might have been in place to provide separate entrances to the home, opening to different spaces. While one door may have led to a formal area, the other could have been used for day-to-day business.
Red doors have been a meaningful symbol since ancient times. In early Chinese and Japanese society, red paint was used on shrines because it was an auspicious color that protected against evil spirits. Early building codes also allowed the use of red doors on the homes of high-ranking government officials.
They will always provide a means to secure your things, like a coin locker or storage room where you can leave your belongings safe while exploring the city. If you wonder why pods cannot be locked, it is because capsule hotels are technically not considered actual hotels in Japan, thus not requiring a locking system.
Outswing doors are more protective of the home's interior in heavy climates. Wind and water have more trouble infiltrating them due to the threshold design, plus basic physics. Inswing doors, on the flip side, are more susceptible to wind and water because of their design.
By limiting a fire's ability to spread, closing your bedroom door at night also gives you more time to react when the smoke alarm goes off. And these days, every second counts. Because of the plastics in most modern furniture, house fires are more toxic and spread faster than ever before.
Cold Winter Temperatures and Moisture
A common door problem during winter is that the frame can absorb water. This can affect the way your door opens and closes. It can also put stress on your door jambs and cause permanent damage.
The maximum width of a swinging door leaf shall be 48 inches (1219 mm) nominal. The minimum clear height of door openings shall be not less than 80 inches (2032 mm).