A Quick Question came up the other day and I’m wondering what you would all do in this situation…

For a roof door that allows access to mechanical equipment on the roof, what are your preferred locking methods or functions – both electrical and mechanical?

If a door is serving an occupied roof, such as a roof-top restaurant or roof terrace, the International Building Code (IBC) includes specific requirements for the locking hardware.  The applicable section was added in the 2021 edition of the code, and permits doors serving exterior spaces to be locked when the space is not occupied, preventing unauthorized access to the building.  To read more about this application, visit this Decoded article.

Many roofs are not considered occupied/occupiable, for example, a roof with mechanical equipment that is only accessed by technicians.  The model codes address these doors differently from the previously mentioned exterior spaces.  From the IBC: Doors serving roofs not intended to be occupied shall be permitted to be locked preventing entry to the building from the roof.  NFPA 101, Life Safety Code states that if a stair enclosure allows access to the roof of a building, the door to the roof must either be kept locked or shall allow reentry from the roof.

If the door leading from the stair to the roof is locked on the stair side (this is recommended for most buildings), the door can also be locked on the roof side, preventing unauthorized access.  So what is the best way to lock these doors, if locking on both sides is desired?

I’ve seen a passage set along with a separate double-cylinder deadbolt…this would permit the technician to access the roof and then exit freely when the work was complete, but could also result in the door being accidentally left unlocked.  Hardware that requires a key or a credential on both sides would be the most secure, but could leave the technician locked outside if their key or credential is misplaced while they’re working on the roof.

What’s the best way to handle this application?  WWYD?

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