Last month I spent some time in Colombia (the country, not the university)…I’ll be sharing some door photos from my trip soon.  But I saw this condition in the lobby of an apartment building in Santa Marta. and I thought it would be a good way to discuss a section of the accessibility standards that I don’t think I’ve written about before.

Section 302 of both the ADA standards and ICC A117.1 addresses floor and ground surfaces.  Along with requirements for carpet and changes in level, it covers the limitations on openings or holes in the floor.  From the ADA standards:

302.3 Openings. Openings in floor or ground surfaces shall not allow passage of a sphere more than ½
inch (13 mm) diameter except as allowed in 407.4.3, 409.4.3, 410.4, 810.5.3 and 810.10. Elongated
openings shall be placed so that the long dimension is perpendicular to the dominant direction of travel.

Although the photos in this post are not related to door hardware, there are some hardware products that require an opening in the floor – typically a hole in a strike plate.  I have seen some code officials enforcing the 1/2-inch diameter hole limitation in this situation.  The exceptions in paragraph 302.3 do not exempt these products.*

One positive with regard to the photos is that in most cases, the long direction is perpendicular to the dominant direction of travel (the lines are running across the path instead of along the path).  BUT, it’s clear that the gaps are much larger than 1/2-inch (feet for scale).

I can’t imagine that this design would fly in the US, especially with the “dunk tank” at the end of the pathway.  But I’m curious…

What are you seeing in the field regarding floor strikes with a hole larger than 1/2-inch?  Please share your insight in the comments.

*407.4.3 and 409.4.3 – elevator car platform to hoistway landing, 410.4 – platform lift sill to runway landing, 810.5.3 – transportation station platform to vehicle, 810.10 – rail station track crossings.

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