Have you ever wondered why so many large chain stores have two sets of doors? No, it is not just to store shopping carts.
Where I live, any home that is around 100 years old (that hasn’t seen any renovations) will very likely have two front doors. Putting it simply, you open one door, step into a small space, and there will be another door in front of you.
(Image Sources: Image 1 | Image 2)
The space goes by many names, including: arctic entry, mud room, breeze room, vestibule, airlock, foyer, and more. For sake of simplicity, I am going to call them “entry vestibules.”
Entry vestibules create a buffer between the outside and the inside of the building, preventing drafts. This can help greatly with temperature regulation in both the winter cold and summer heat. I can’t find number details on energy saving, but the fact that large chains still build them may hint of their importance for money-saving.
In homes, this space also typically serves as the mud room ( a place for shoes and jackets).
In the name of “first impressions,” and open concept designs, vestibules are often the first thing to go during renovations, and I think that’s a real shame.
Nice cat airlock
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Fun fact: The german term I learned for his literally translates to the “windcatch”.
Edit: It’s “Windfang” in German
Totally tracks. I first experienced these in Chicago, ie “the Windy City”. Every business has either these vestibules or a rotating turnstile type door. I didn’t get why until I came to a place without one and every time the door opened freezing cold air blasted in.
Same in norway, a direct translation: “vindfang”
In at least parts of northern Japan, a lot are set at 90 degrees to each other so wind doesn’t blow straight in (along with the snow/dirt)
I’ve had two houses over a hundred years old. The first was a “shot gun shack”. As soon as you’d open the front door in the winter the thermostat would click. Had some front doors installed dividing the living room from what we called the foyer. It made a big difference. My house now has a mud room at the side door. I’ve kept the original door which I’m sure isn’t energy efficient so it cuts down on draft
If only the sq ft of living space was affordable enough to have a shoe and jacket room. Nevermind getting two people into a space like this.
Basically every dutch home has one. Both houses and apartments. We call it the gang. Or hallway? It’s usually where the coats are hung, toilet is and stairs are.
We know them as airlocks or windcatcher.
In the US it’s required by commercial building codes in certain situations
@Blair Older houses in my country also have them, and they’re called just like that: vestibules. And what’s interesting is that the buildings from the communist era also have them. I grew up with them being called simply “holul de la intrare” (literally just “the entry hallway”). Indeed, it’s a place where everyone leaves their jackets and shoes so that they do not bring all the dirt inside the house. In fact, my studio has an entry hallway as well, but I rarely close the door fwiw.
Newer buildings, if I recall correctly, tend to blur this demarcation, as they try to turn everything in an open space (so that it looks bigger) - as such, there’s usually no door that leads to that little hallway - probably because having an AC makes it less important to have another door after you get inside the house. But I saw that it’s still properly marked by walls, so you know in your mind where to leave your shoes, your jacket etc.
Door city over here
In India, we call these “Veranda”. It is quite common here and are bigger than these.
Quite common in Lake Tahoe (❄️🎿 California)!
I knew some folks who had this beautiful old Victorian house with a mud room. They covered the entire arched ceiling in wine corks and the floor in $153.82 in pennies.
Also, I can’t wait to see the Technology Connections video on this amazing energy saving technology.
As a bird owner I would love this feature. Like a second set of doors to prevent any accidental escapes
