Doors in multi-unit residential and commercial buildings get heavy use. Tenants, visitors, delivery personnel, and maintenance staff open and close them hundreds of times per day. Without a regular maintenance schedule, door components wear out, break down, and create safety, security, and compliance problems.
This checklist covers the door maintenance tasks that property managers should schedule to keep every door in their building functioning correctly.
Monthly Tasks
Check door closers on all common area and fire-rated doors. Verify that each door closes and latches on its own without manual assistance. Doors that fail to close and latch need closer adjustment or replacement.
Inspect panic hardware on exit doors. Push the bar and verify the latch retracts fully and resets when the bar is released. Check the latch for proper alignment with the strike.
Test automatic doors for proper sensor operation, opening speed, closing speed, and safety reverse. Automatic doors that fail to reverse when obstructed are a liability.
Lubricate hinges on high-traffic doors. Use a dry lubricant or a light machine oil on the hinge pins. Wipe away excess.
Monthly Tasks for Garage & Parking Doors
Test the garage door opener safety reverse. Place an object in the door’s path and verify the door reverses before making contact. If it does not, the sensors need adjustment.
Inspect the garage door weather seal for tears, compression, and separation. Replace as needed.
Listen for unusual noises during garage door operation. Grinding, squealing, or clicking sounds indicate worn rollers, loose hardware, or track alignment issues.
Quarterly Tasks
Inspect weatherstripping on all exterior doors. Look for compression, cracking, tearing, and gaps. Replace weatherstripping that no longer makes even contact when the door is closed.
Check thresholds for damage, movement, and wear. Adjust the height on adjustable thresholds. Replace thresholds that are cracked, dented, or corroded.
Inspect and tighten all hinge screws on common area doors. Check for hinge pin wear by lifting the door slightly. If there is noticeable play, the hinges need replacement.
Examine lock and latch operation on unit entry doors, common area doors, and exterior doors. Verify that each lock engages fully and the latch catches the strike plate without resistance.
Quarterly Tasks for Fire Rated Doors
Inspect all fire rated doors for the following: labels are intact and legible, door closes and latches without assistance, gaps between the door and frame do not exceed code allowances, gaskets and seals are present and intact, no modifications have been made to the door or frame.
Document any deficiencies and schedule corrective action.
Semi-Annual Tasks
Inspect door frames for damage, rot, shifting, and separation from the wall. Address frame issues before they affect door operation.
Check exterior caulking around all door frames. Re-caulk where joints have cracked or separated.
Test electronic access control hardware on building entry and restricted-access doors. Verify that card readers, keypads, electric strikes, and magnetic locks operate correctly.
Lubricate all lock cylinders with graphite lubricant. Do not use oil-based lubricants in lock cylinders as they attract dust and cause buildup.
Annual Tasks
Schedule a full fire door inspection by a qualified technician. NFPA 80 requires annual inspection of fire rated door assemblies. Document results and complete all corrective actions.
Review the condition of all unit entry doors and schedule repairs or replacements for doors that are beyond maintenance.
Assess the condition of the building’s main entry doors, vestibule doors, and parking access doors. These doors handle the highest traffic volume and may need closer replacement, hardware upgrade, or full door replacement on an annual cycle.
Evaluate the cost and scope of any deferred maintenance items and budget for the upcoming year.
Keeping Records
Maintain a log for every door in the building. Record inspection dates, deficiencies found, repairs completed, parts used, and the name of the technician who performed the work. This documentation supports code compliance, insurance claims, and tenant dispute resolution.
A well-maintained door log also helps identify patterns. If the same closer fails on the same door every six months, the closer is undersized for the application and should be upgraded.