A push-button door opener lets someone open a swing door with a tap of a button instead of pulling a heavy door by hand. For a customer in a wheelchair, a parent with a stroller or a delivery driver with a full dolly, it can be the difference between walking in and waiting for help.
We install and service push-button openers on storefronts, office entrances and vestibules across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas. This guide explains how they work, what the accessibility rules cover, where buttons usually go, and what to plan before you add one.
Please note: this post is general information, not legal advice. Accessibility requirements depend on your building, its use and the codes your city has adopted. Your building official, or a Registered Accessibility Specialist in Texas, can tell you what applies to your project.
What a push-button door opener is
A push-button opener is a motorized operator mounted on the header above a swing door. When someone presses the button, the operator swings the door open, holds it for a few seconds, and lets it close again. Most of the time, the door still works by hand like a normal door.
There are a few kinds of automatic door operators, and the difference matters.
Low-energy operators
Most push-button openers on businesses are low-energy operators. They move the door more slowly and with less force than a full automatic door, and they open only when someone does something on purpose, like pressing a button. These operators are covered by the industry standard ANSI/BHMA A156.19.
Because they move gently and only on request, low-energy operators are a common choice for existing storefronts, offices, clinics, churches and restaurants.
Full-power automatic doors
Full-power doors open on their own when a sensor detects someone walking toward them. Think of the sliding doors at a grocery store. These doors move faster and need more safety sensors, and they're covered by a different standard, ANSI/BHMA A156.10. You can read more about sliders and sensors on our automatic entry doors page.
Power-assist doors
Power-assist operators reduce the effort needed to push a door open, but they don't open the door on their own. They help, but they aren't the same as a push-button opener, and they don't count as one under some building codes.
Does the ADA require an automatic door?
In most cases, no. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design don't generally require businesses to have automatic doors. They set rules for doors that every accessible entrance has to meet, such as clear width, the floor space around the door, the hardware, the closing speed and, for interior doors, the opening force.
When a business does install an automatic or push-button door, the 2010 ADA Standards say it has to meet the ANSI/BHMA standard for that type of door, and the doorway still needs enough clear width when the power is on and when it's off.
A push-button opener is sometimes the simplest way to make a hard-to-use door easier for everyone. For example, a heavy exterior door that needs a lot of force to open, or an entrance without enough room beside the door for a wheelchair user to pull it open, may be good candidates. Businesses open to the public also have an ongoing duty under the ADA to remove barriers in existing buildings where it is readily achievable, and an opener can be one way to do that. Whether it's the right fix for your building is a question for your accessibility consultant or building official.
You can read the federal standards on the ADA.gov design standards page (opens in a new tab).
When building codes call for power-operated doors
Building codes can go further than the ADA. Starting with the 2021 edition, the International Building Code requires at least one power-operated door at each accessible public entrance in certain larger buildings. Whether it applies depends on the type of building and how many people it's designed to hold. For example, assembly spaces like restaurants and theaters reach the threshold at a smaller size than offices, stores and hotels.
Cities around DFW adopt different editions of the building code, often with local changes. Some are still on older editions that don't include this requirement. If you're building new, adding on or remodeling, ask your city's building department which edition applies to your project.
Texas rules: TAS and TDLR
In Texas, accessibility for many buildings is also governed by the Texas Architectural Barriers Act and the Texas Accessibility Standards, often called TAS. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, or TDLR, runs the program.
For many construction and renovation projects with an estimated cost of $50,000 or more, the project has to be registered with TDLR. The plans are reviewed and the finished work is inspected by a Registered Accessibility Specialist. Projects under that amount still have to meet the standards that apply to them, even when registration isn't required.
If your door work is part of a larger remodel, your architect or contractor is usually handling this. If you're adding an opener on its own, it's still worth asking an accessibility specialist whether your project needs anything filed. You can find more on the TDLR Architectural Barriers page (opens in a new tab).
Where the push buttons go
Button placement makes or breaks a push-button door. A button in the wrong spot can be hard to reach, or it can put the person pressing it right in the path of the swinging door.
Here's what we look at when we plan button locations:
- Reach height. Accessibility standards set reach ranges for controls. Under the 2010 ADA Standards, a control reached from the front with no obstruction has to sit between 15 and 48 inches above the floor.
- Room to approach. A wheelchair user needs clear, level floor space in front of the button. The standards call for a clear floor space of at least 30 by 48 inches at accessible controls.
- Easy to press. Controls must work with one hand, without tight grasping, pinching or twisting, and with no more than 5 pounds of force. Large flat buttons are common for this reason.
- Out of the door's swing. Most installers place buttons where a person can press them without standing where the door will swing.
- Time to get through. The button should be close enough that someone can press it and get through the door before it starts to close.
- Both sides. Most doors need a button on the outside and the inside so people can come and go.
- Clear marking. Buttons usually carry the International Symbol of Accessibility so people know what they're for.
Mounting options
Buttons can go on the wall beside the door, on the door frame, on a nearby column, or on a freestanding post or bollard when there's no good wall. On the project shown at the top of this post, the buttons are mounted on stone columns on each side of the entrance so they sit within reach and clear of the door.
Wired or wireless buttons
Buttons can be wired to the operator or send a wireless signal. Wired buttons don't need batteries. Wireless buttons make sense where running wire would mean cutting into stone, brick or concrete. Either way, the buttons need to be tested regularly.
Vestibules and pairs of doors
Many entrances have two sets of doors with a small vestibule between them. In that case, both doors in the path usually need to open by button. We can set the doors up to work together, so pressing the outside button opens the outer door and then the inner door, or place a button inside the vestibule for the second door.
The vestibule has to leave enough room between the doors for a wheelchair user to clear one door before the next one swings. If your vestibule is tight, we'll talk through which doors to automate and where the buttons should go.
Locks, power and fire doors
A push-button opener has to work with the rest of the door.
Power
The operator needs a 120-volt power supply near the header, usually from a nearby outlet or a new circuit. Many businesses have an electrician run a dedicated circuit before we install.
Locks and latches
If the door is locked, the operator shouldn't try to push it open against the lock. That strains the operator and the door. Common setups include:
- Turning the operator off with the lock, so the button only works during business hours
- An electric strike or electrified latch that releases when the button is pressed
- A key switch or timer that controls when the buttons are active
Remember that exit doors must always open freely from inside. Any lock setup has to keep the door usable as an exit.
Fire-rated doors
Fire-rated doors can have operators, but the operator and hardware must be made for fire door use, and the door still has to close and latch when the fire alarm sounds. Check with your fire marshal before adding an operator to a fire door.
Choosing which door to automate
If you can only automate one door, start with the one people with disabilities are most likely to use.
- The main public entrance, or the entrance closest to your accessible parking
- The entrance on your accessible route from the parking lot and the sidewalk
- Doors with heavy traffic from carts, strollers or deliveries
- Doors that are hard to open, whether from weight, wind or air pressure inside the building
The door itself also has to be in good shape. A door that sags, drags or has a worn closer needs to be fixed first, since an operator can't make up for a door that binds. Our guide on commercial door closer repair explains what to look for.
Tax incentives you may qualify for
Federal tax law offers two incentives that can help with the cost of accessibility improvements in existing buildings.
- The Disabled Access Credit is for eligible small businesses. Generally, a business with $1 million or less in gross receipts or 30 or fewer full-time employees in the prior year may qualify for a credit on part of its eligible accessibility spending. It's claimed on IRS Form 8826.
- The barrier removal deduction lets businesses deduct certain costs of removing barriers in existing facilities, up to an annual limit.
These incentives have rules about what qualifies, and they don't cover new construction. Talk to your tax professional before counting on either one. ADA.gov has a plain summary on its tax incentives page (opens in a new tab).
What affects the cost
Every entrance is different, so we don't quote prices without seeing the door. These are the main things that affect the cost:
- The door: single or pair, aluminum, glass or steel, and its weight
- The condition of the hinges, closer and frame
- Power: whether there's an outlet near the header or a circuit has to be run
- Locking hardware: whether an electric strike or electrified latch is needed
- Buttons: how many, wired or wireless, and whether posts or bollards are needed
- Vestibules: whether two doors need to work together
- Fire rating: whether the door is fire rated
- Permits and reviews your city or project requires
What a project with us looks like
- Site visit. We look at the door, the frame, the hardware, the power and the approach from both sides.
- Plan. We talk through operator type, button locations, lock setup and anything needed from an electrician.
- Install. We mount the operator, set up the buttons and connect the locking hardware.
- Adjust and test. We set the opening speed, hold-open time and closing speed, then test the door by button and by hand.
- Walk through. We show your staff how the door works, how to turn it off and on, and what to check each day.
We're glad to schedule installs early in the day or around your business hours.
Keeping your opener working
Push-button doors are only helpful when they work. Ask your staff to press each button at opening time and watch the door open, hold and close smoothly. If a button doesn't work, a door moves roughly, or the door doesn't close and latch, call for service and keep the door usable by hand in the meantime.
Our automatic entry doors page includes a daily walk test your staff can follow, and our commercial storefront doors and commercial entry doors pages cover the doors these operators mount on.
Call us about a push-button opener
Pro Doors and Gates is a family-owned company with our main location at 1940 Everheart Rd in Bells. We install and service push-button openers and automatic doors for businesses across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas, including Dallas, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Sherman and Forney. You can see more of our entrance work in our project gallery.
Call (903) 294-1846, Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM, or send a request with photos of the door from inside and out.
Please note: This article is general information for homeowners and business owners. It is not professional, legal or building code advice. Codes, permit rules and HOA requirements vary by city and county, so check with your local building department or HOA before you start work, and have a trained technician look at your specific door or gate. Never try to adjust or replace garage door springs or cables yourself.
