Monthly Archives: December 2011

How to: Determining door hand in ArchiCAD

Door handing can be confusing, but in ArchiCAD it is relatively easy as it does the job for you.

Forget everything that your lecturers, colleagues, carpenter, builder, contractor or Uncle ever told you about door handing.

The “standard” method for determining a door hand is to always look at what side of the door is outside, and what side is the inside. The door handing is done from the OUTSIDE of the door. Whatever side the hinges are on, when viewed from the outside is the same as the door hand. If the hinges are on the right, it’s a right hand door. Then depending if it is swinging toward or away it is determined to be a LEFT HAND, LEFT HAND REVERSE, RIGHT HAND, RIGHT HAND REVERSE. Forget about this. 

ArchiCAD does not have “Artificial Intelligence” to decide which side of a door is outside, and what side is the inside. When dealing with exterior doors it is relatively easily to apply this rule but when dealing with internal doors it gets more tricky. For example a door connecting two rooms (which is inside and which is outside?).

The method that GRAPHISOFT applied for ArchiCAD is doors are either LEFT or RIGHT hand. This is determined by the “observer” standing looking at the door ON THE HINGE SIDE. Therefore if the hinge is visible on the right it is a RIGHT hand door, if it is visible on the left it is a LEFT hand door.