Door closers, without cutting a fire door

Closers are asked to do two opposite things: pull a door shut, and not slam it on a child’s fingers. On a fire-rated HDB or condo entrance the closer is part of the door’s tested set, together with the leaf and the frame. Taking it off so the door “feels lighter” can leave you with a door that no longer matches its rating. The digital-lock guide says the same about holes. This page will not price a closer by borrowing the hinge band. Hinge alignment is S$60 to S$120 only when the fault is the hinge. A closer is quote on inspection after a photo of the existing body, the arm, and the head of the frame.

The photo on this page is a Ryobi Doorman closer, credited as a Wikimedia example of the object. It is not a statement that we supply that model at a hidden price. Send the nameplate on the closer you have. Adjusting a sound closer and replacing a leaked one are different. A leaked closer leaves oil on the frame. Wiping the oil is not the repair. If the door also drops at the latch, say so. That may be the hinge row on the door repair page, done in the same visit but invoiced as that row, not as a closer.

Finger-pinch guards on classroom doors are already priced, S$85 to S$150 a door, on the preschool page. That is a guard, not a closer. A home with a small child may want both. We will not pretend the guard price includes a closer. Condo common corridors and stair doors are often the MCST’s doors, not yours. We will not replace a stair closer because a resident is annoyed. That is a managing-agent work order.

Installation on a bedroom door that has never had a closer needs a solid head and screws that bite timber or the frame, not a hollow core edge. Drilling the frame is noisy enough to book on a weekday in an HDB flat. It is not a fire-door bore. If you want a closer because the bedroom door slams in the wind from a corridor, a closer may be right. If the door slams because the hinge is loose, fix the hinge first at the published band and see if the closer is still needed.

Surface-mounted drop seals are the other hardware people confuse with closers. They are priced at S$180 to S$450 on the door repair page, and SCDF expectations mean the leaf is not cut to hide the seal. A closer and a seal can be discussed together. They are not one product. Quote the closer. Use the published seal row only if you actually want the seal.

Homey Furnishing Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 202018148K), 27 Mandai Estate, #06-10 Innovation Place, Singapore 729931, invoices the permit-exempt visit. V On Construction Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 201611708H), on the HDB Directory of Renovation Contractors, invoices hacking, a new layout, windows that are not exempt, and the household shelter. Homey Furnishing is not a MOM-licensed employment agency and does not place helpers, nannies or caregivers.

The priced door catalogue stays on door repair: alignment and hinges, HDB PD pivots, pocket rollers, balcony bogies, veneer patches and surface-mounted drop seals. This page does not replace that list. It only covers the narrower job in the heading.

Photograph the closer you have before you buy a replacement.

1. Photo the closer body, the arm, and whether the door is the main entrance.
2. Do not remove a fire-door closer as a test.
3. If the door sags, include the hinge in the photo so the hinge row can be used if it matches.
4. Keep stair and lobby doors with the MCST.
5. Expect quote on inspection for the closer itself.

Permission changes with the building. The published band does not.

How you're charged

These four lines are the published handyman charges. A job that already has its own band uses that band. The hour is not added on top of a band unless the written scope says so. There is no fuel surcharge.

Small, medium, and large visits

Times are planning estimates for the work itself. They are not a promise of when someone arrives.

What a handyman can't do

Permit-exempt fittings stay on the Homey Furnishing invoice. These do not:

• A new cable, a new circuit, or a consumer unit. That is an EMA licensed electrician. A socket on an existing circuit is the S$55 row. A dedicated appliance circuit stays S$220 to S$450.
• A new or relocated water point, or a hacked chase. That is a PUB licensed plumber. Tap labour on the existing outlet is S$55.
• Piped gas. That is a Licensed Gas Service Worker.
• Hacking, a new layout, or the household shelter. That is an HDB renovation permit through V On Construction Pte. Ltd. UEN 201611708H.
• A hole in a fire-rated door that the fire detail does not allow.
• Common-corridor lights, stacks, and letterbox banks. Those follow the town council on the S&CC bill, or the MCST in a condo.

Handyman vs licensed contractor

Ways to keep the bill smaller

• Put several tasks on one visit. The S$55 call-out is one task. Extra permit-exempt time is S$45 an hour, not a second trip.
• Buy the part when the row is labour only. Tap labour is S$55. Toilet-bowl labour is S$168. Instant-heater labour is S$108 to S$260. Exposed storage-heater labour is S$188 to S$380.
• Send the photos first, so the reply can use a published band instead of a vague hour.

WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630.

The door repair page owns the priced rows. This page does not invent a second rate.

Anything not in that table is quote on inspection. A second trade, when the law requires one, is named. It is not folded into a handyman hour.

WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630. The reply uses a band already printed on HomeySG, or it says quote on inspection. It does not invent a third number in the chat.

• Door repair catalogue
• Hinges, if the door sags
• Fire-door rules
• Finger guards in classrooms

A home closer stays quote on inspection. A stair, a shop and a factory exit already have rows.

• Commercial door closers