Assembly Bill AB 44
Much of the testimony given at a recent hearing clearly outlines the reasons that barricade devices are not the optimal method of securing classroom doors.
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Decoded: Calculating the Egress Width of Door Openings
A common question when replacing doors and hardware during a renovation is whether one leaf of a pair can be “fixed” in place, or whether an opening can be eliminated completely. It’s very risky to make this decision without consulting the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), but it is helpful to understand some of the factors that could affect the location, size, and quantity of required exits before preparing your request for the AHJ...
QQ: Spring Hinges on Fire Doors
Today's Quick Question has come up dozens of times: Can spring hinges be installed on a fire door that is larger than 3'-0" x 7'-0"? NFPA 80's table shows that as the maximum size, but is that the final answer?
Decoded: Smoke Door Requirements of the 2009 International Building Code (February 2012)
UPDATE: A new version of this article, based on the 2015 IBC, is located here.
BS EN Classification of Door Hardware
When I was at the DHI conNextions Conference in Boston, I met Sushil Kumar, who has written some of the recent iDigHardware posts for our international audience. Today's post - the first in a series - addresses the BS EN classifications for hinges.
Gasketing on Stair Doors
If you read this paragraph in a vacuum, it seems like all fire doors have to limit the air infiltration to this level (in most cases this would require gasketing), but this paragraph falls under section 716.5.3 - Door assemblies in corridors and smoke barriers. There are two sections following 716.5.3 that apply to other types of fire doors...
Fractured Fairy Tales: Electrified Hardware and LEED®
Every so often I love to have a guest blogger write a post for me, so I can have the night off to do something fun and exciting like attend a PTO meeting (sad, right?). My colleague, Steve Ostapower, was recently involved in a situation where the power usage of a Von Duprin EL (electric latch retraction) device was questioned, and I asked him to share his findings with you (Thanks Steve!). Enjoy!
Decoded: Smoke Door Requirements of the International Building Code
By request, I have updated this article on smoke doors to include the requirements of the 2021 IBC. When you have a question about a smoke door, just decide which of the 5 types it is and refer to the section for that type.
SDI: Smoke Gasketing Requirements for Opening Protectives
Questions on smoke gasketing continue to come up, so the Steel Door Institute asked me to write about it for their quarterly newsletter. You can subscribe to their newsletter here...
Decoded: Door Swing and Encroachment
This post was printed in the January 2013 issue of Doors & Hardware
Decoded: Thresholds and Gasketing for Fire Doors and Smoke Doors
Thresholds and gasketing are simple in comparison to other types of hardware, but the code requirements can make them difficult to properly specify and supply.
Fire Doors – Everything you always wanted to know (but were afraid to ask)
This article was published in the October 2013 issue of Construction Specifier and won CSI's Construction Specifier Article of the Year Award!!
Construction Specifier: Smoke Doors vs. Fire Doors – What’s the Difference?
I receive so many questions about fire doors vs. smoke doors; my article from the June issue of Construction Specifier answers many of them.
Code Update: Terminated Stops on Fire Door Assemblies
I have had quite a few questions about terminated stops on fire door assemblies, so this change to the 2021 IBC should help to clarify what is allowed by code.
Follow-Up: Closing Speed for Spring Hinges
Last week's Quick Question was about spring hinges on fire doors larger than 3'-0" x 7'-0", and the post raised a couple of other questions. One was related to the maximum closing speed for doors on an accessible route.
QQ: Gasketing Requirements of NFPA 101
Last week, I updated the Decoded article on smoke door requirements of the IBC, and I was asked to update this NFPA 101 post as well. There were not many changes in the 2021 edition of the Life Safety Code, but here is the revised post.
QQ: Gasketing Requirements of NFPA 101
Which door openings are required to have gasketing, according to NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code?
Code Update: Signage on Fire Doors
The 2022 edition of NFPA 80 includes some important changes related to the size and attachment methods for signage on fire doors. Can you spot what's new in the updated standard?
Understanding New Accessibility Requirements for Doors
The 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design went into effect in March 2012, but there are several requirements that continue to surprise architects and specifiers...
Apply It: Swimming Pool – Answers
Last week I posted an exercise to help you apply some of your code knowledge by answering questions about swimming pool egress. Cheers to the few brave readers who gave it a shot!
Hand Sanitizer Follow-Up – Schools
In the 2018 edition of NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code, requirements for alcohol-based hand-rub dispensers for new and existing schools are found in Sections 14.4.4 and 15.4.4.
Construction Specifier: Fire door safety: How can specifiers help?
Specifiers are involved during the construction process—not throughout the life of the building, but there are many ways the choices made during the specification process can affect the durability and function of fire door assemblies for years to come.
Smoke – Smokeproof Enclosure
According to the International Building Code (IBC), every required exit stairway that extends more than 75 feet ABOVE the lowest level of fire department vehicle access (high rise buildings), and every required exit stairway that serves floor levels more than 30 feet BELOW the level of exit discharge must comply with the referenced sections on smokeproof exit enclosures. (IBC 2009 - 403.5.4 & 405.7.2, IBC 2003 & 2006 - 403.13 & 405.8.2)
Door Opening Force
Door opening force is the measurement of how many pounds of force are required to open a door. The requirements for door opening force are found in the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), ICC/ANSI A117.1 Standard on Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, and the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board requirements (521 CMR).
Residential Fire Doors
According to the International Residential Code, the door between a private garage and a single family home must provide protection from fire. The picture to the right is from a fire department website describing how the door between the garage and the home protected the rest of the residence and its occupants. The door must be a solid wood or solid/honeycomb core steel door, at least 1 3/8" thick, or a door with a 20-minute label.
Panic Hardware on Electrical Rooms
Beginning with the 2002 edition, the National Electric Code (NFPA 70) requires that certain types of electric rooms have doors that open in the direction of egress and are "equipped with panic bars, pressure plates, or other devices that are normally latched but open under simple pressure." According to an engineer I spoke with at the National Fire Protection Association, the releasing device could be a hospital latch or paddle-type release, but the fact that the words "panic bar" are used in the Code has prompted many code officials to require panic hardware.
What’s that? Ball Bearing Hinges
When Mark Kuhn and I visited a school with the members of Allegion's Early Careers Program, I noticed some heavy weight hinges on a pair of doors. And then things got a little weird.
Glass Challenge
A couple of weeks ago, one of our specwriters called to ask me this question and I knew the answer immediately. Then...hmmm...I thought about it, and talked to myself for a while as he sat on the other end of the phone waiting for both of my selves to come to an agreement.
Schlage L909x
I don't know about you, but once a product number takes root in my head I have a tough time getting used to a new one. I've still got numbers in there from the 80's! But it's time to do a memory upgrade because the Schlage L9080-EL and L9080-EU locksets have been replaced with a series of new and improved electrified mortise locks...
Fire and Egress Doors in the News
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