subject: The History Of Doors [print this page] The history of doors is an easy study because in this case all phases of that history are still with us. From the very first rudimentary coverings on an entrance-way to a crude hut made from grass and mud all the way up to the latest technology that goes into electronic and pneumatic operated models. You can still find them all in use around the planet today. The very first doors that were made and used were definitely no-frills models.
Perhaps a stiff woven mat that works to cover the opening of a small hut in Africa, or maybe perhaps something like what you can still find being used on Mongolian yurts. Teepees of sorts made from animal hides that have covered doorways made out of leather flaps.
It's the level of technology and materials that are available to work with that have always determined what would be used for any hatchway and how sophisticated the operating mechanisms would be.
So based on that it only stands to reason that it has to be about the time that the technology for forging and working metals is when the first hinges were developed.
Hinges that then allowed for heavier materials like wood to be used for making doors and of course because they were made out of wood, knobs and automatic catches could also be developed and installed.
So is there any way in this study of the history of doors that more specific numbers can be used in the chronological descriptions?
The answer here is yes, and this takes us back to the 1300s in Europe when the black plague hit. A terrible event which ended up killing off half the population of the known world back then which in turn led to the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy. You see, the half of the people who were left alive inherited the other half's wealth.
Its the black plague when a bunch of people got a lot richer that in turn led to the Renaissance when people were able to pay craftsman and artisans to produce a lot more and better stuff. Clothing, art, food, architecture, and yes doors and all of them went through drastic improvements during this time period in Europe.
The next great leap forward in the history of doors was to come with the beginning of the industrial age. New ways to work metal and materials on a large commercial scale was the impetus for the development of new devices like castors.
Castors and products like improve petroleum based lubricants in turn led to the development of new types of doors made from metal.
So with castor designers exploring new ways for operating them this in turn led to sliding versions that open sideways. In fact you can go and check for yourself to see that any sliding door in your home sits on castors and that includes automatic garage doors that have them on either side riding in tracks.
No one needs to be told electric doors had to wait for electricity which brings us up to a about a century and a half back when the first electrical wires was strung around cities.
Affordable and convenient electricity was used in factories where it allowed for entrances to be opened from a remote location. Using electricity to open doors also meant that they could be built substantially larger and heavier.
Ironically though, engineers have to go all the way back to the first technological advancement that was put to use by cave dwelling Stone Age people. Basic primitive technology that's being used today in this modern age to open the heaviest doors ever built.
It's fire in the form of explosives that are used to literally blow multi-ton heavy gauge steel coverings off of the top of missile silos that were designed to withstand a direct nuclear attack.
