Have you ever seen an old fire door assembly with 2 hinges instead of 3? I’ve seen them – often on multi-family housing or old hotels, and here’s the question…
Is an existing fire door assembly with 2 hinges acceptable, or should it be noted as a deficiency during a fire door inspection?
According to NFPA 80, if a fire door is more than 60 inches tall it requires at least 3 hinges. But how long has this requirement been around? Are there fire doors that were installed 30, 40, or 50 years ago that allowed 2 hinges for a door over 6o inches?
I went back to the oldest edition of NFPA 80 that I have (1968) and this edition of the standard states: “Doors up to 60 inches in height shall be provided with 2 hinges and an additional hinge for each additional 30 inches of height or fraction thereof.”
I don’t know exactly when the 3-hinge requirement came to be (>50 years ago), but I’m guessing that if a fire door assembly is really REALLY old, an AHJ may allow 2 hinges to remain. If the assembly was installed since the 3-hinge requirement was adopted, the door/frame manufacturer should produce some documentation showing that 2 hinges are acceptable per their listings.
What’s your experience with this? WWYD?
I’m looking for a photo of a door with 2 hinges. Does anyone have one? You can send it to me at lori.greene@allegion.com.
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My in-laws lived in an older apartment building where the door to each individual apartment was a solid kalamein door with a pair of cat-killer hinges. If I were to inspect those openings, I would note in my report that they were non-compliant with the current code, and look to the local AHJ for a ruling on whether or not they were acceptable as is.
Same language in NFPA 80 1962 edition.