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Staying Power: Enhancing Door Functionality and Safety

Small but mighty: the door limiting stay, also known as a door restrictor or door limiter, is a key component which enables functionality and safety in entrance design. Craig Fox, Sales Director for Strand Hardware, outlines how door industry professionals might apply these little problem solvers.


Designed spaces must not only be aesthetically pleasing but also functional, safe, and durable. Every element – however small - must contribute to these goals, including often-overlooked hardware such as door limiting stays. These small but mighty components – which can also be used for windows - play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and usability of doors within various architectural environments.


From warehouses to modern apartments, grand entrances to internal cupboard doors, a stay device can address a variety of needs, preventing damage and enhancing safety. Their primary purpose is to prevent doors which open out, swinging back too far and colliding with walls and furniture and causing damage. This is essential in high-traffic areas and commercial buildings such as schools, and hospitals, where installing door limiting stays enable doors to open at only at a limited angle. Safety is a paramount concern in any project - new build or refurbishment.


Doors that swing open too quickly or too far can pose a serious risk of injury, especially in working environments or buildings used by children, older people or those with disabilities. Door limiting stays mitigate these risks by controlling the range and speed of the door's movement.


Strand Hardware offers a comprehensive range of door limiting stays, all made in Britain. They include:


  • D6095 – Friction Mortice Restraining Stay: Morticed into the head of the door, suitable for

    timber, aluminium, and PVC-U doors, with an adjustable friction block to control door speed

    and restrict opening angles between 70–110 degrees.


  • D7095 – Friction Surface Mounted Restraining Stay: Face-fixed onto the door, quick and

    easy to fit, suitable for timber, aluminium, and steel doors, with an adjustable friction block

    to control door speed and restrict opening angles between 90–100 degrees.


  • D7096 – Friction Surface Mounted Restraining Stay: Similar to the D7095 but with finished

    extrusion and arm.


  • D7107 Heavy Duty Friction Stay: Surface mounted – ideal for external doors which require a

    restricted opening angle of 90 degrees.



Door limiting stays are invaluable in both commercial and residential settings. In apartments, they are perfect for bathroom and kitchen doors where space is limited or where underfloor heating elements might prevent the use of floor-mounted stops. In high-rise buildings, they are frequently used for dry riser cupboard doors within communal areas and in houses, they are ideal for French Doors that open outwards preventing wind sail damage.


Likewise, in commercial warehouses and back-of-house areas, stays limit the door opening angle and speed, ensuring the safety of individuals working within and protecting the building structure.


For more information on Strand Hardware visit:

email: info@strandhardware.co.uk or phone: 01922 639111

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