There's a great resource for code information on the Reed Construction Data site. It includes information for all 50 states, major cities, and some counties, and lists contact information for many of the AHJs in each jurisdiction.
I didn't want to scare anyone by adding more information to my previous post about stairwell re-entry, but I do get questions about how to accomplish this. The stairwell re-entry requirements state that the stair side lever must unlock on fire alarm or on a signal from the fire command station depending on the code (there is always free egress from the non-stair side). I have seen stair doors that had been retrofitted with card readers and electric strikes. If these doors are required by code to meet the stairwell re-entry requirements, an electric strike is not an acceptable way to do this.
I saw this hold open device on a fire rated door to a computer lab recently.
Personally, I think architects like pocket doors way too much but that's the cool thing about a blog...I get to tell everyone what I think. ;-) If you decide to use a pocket door on an opening that is required to be accessible, here's what you need to know:
The 2007 edition of NFPA 80 contains an important change regarding the clearance at the bottom of a fire rated door. In previous editions of this standard, there was a somewhat confusing table (Table 1-11.4) listing different allowable clearance dimensions depending on the flooring material. The 2007 edition simplifies this requirement, allowing 3/4" clearance under the bottom of the door regardless of the flooring. The only exception is when the bottom of the door is more than 38" above the floor, ie. dutch doors and counter shutters.
The locking requirements for roof doors are a bit of a gray area, due to the varied preferences of local code officials. In most cases, the roof door can be locked on the interior side, preventing access to the roof. It is very rare (except in movies) that the egress plan for the building includes going to the roof for helicopter access. If the roof was part of the egress path, the roof would have to be maintained as an egress route, snow removed, etc.
When my daughter was in preschool, she told her class that when she grew up she wanted to be a "hard work insultant", just like her mom. After 20+ years of explaining to people what I do, I can't blame her for being a little confused. In case you've been wondering why anyone would need a hardware consultant, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions:
The hot topic of last week was how to handle locks on dormitory entrance doors, since the students have figured out how to reach under the door with a coat hanger and pull down the lever to unlock the door. There's a minute+ of bad video below to illustrate the procedure, as reenacted by a couple of college boys. The video has already been viewed 1,419 times by students who need help with their coat hanger technique, so the problem is bound to get bigger.
A few years ago, an architect that I've worked with for over 20 years called me and indignantly asked, "Do you know the maximum height for a kick plate on a fire door?!" I answered that it was 16" above the bottom of the door. The architect said, "Well! We tried to write our own hardware spec for a 15-door job. There were 11 hardware sets and there has been a problem with every set except one, and now there's a problem with THAT set...the kick plate is too high!" As far as I know, they never tried to write their own hardware spec again.
I'm currently working on several projects that have glass doors in walls that are acting as 1-hour fire barriers with closely-spaced sprinkler heads above the glass. The problem with this application from a hardware standpoint is that the Blumcraft, CR Laurence, and Dorma Glas panic hardware that is typically used on glass doors does not have active trim (like a lever handle) to retract the latch from the secure side. To unlock these doors, you would typically use the dogging feature of the panic device to leave the doors in a push/pull condition, but because they require positive latching, dogging is not an option. I have searched the world over for a solution to this problem, but the only possibility I've found so far is using fail secure electric strikes to release the latches. Unfortunately, this application is extremely noisy, as illustrated by the video below. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear from you.
