Today's Quick Question is one that comes up frequently with Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs): When fail secure electrified hardware is installed on an exit door, how is egress accomplished during a power failure?
Today's Quick Question: Under what circumstances does an automatic sliding door require the break out / break away feature, allowing the sliding door to swing in the direction of egress during an emergency?
Today's Quick Question about stairwell reentry has come up several times in recent weeks: Is it acceptable by code to install fail safe electrified locks on interior stairway doors in a 5- or 6-story building?
On Tuesday I answered a Quick Question about panic hardware on an unequal leaf pair, which led to another question from several readers: Can the smaller leaf of an unequal leaf pair be equipped with flush bolts instead of panic hardware?
I received this Quick Question the other day, and it has been a while since I've written about this topic: Is it acceptable to install panic hardware on a 2-foot-wide door that is part of a 5-foot-wide unequal leaf pair?
Today's Quick Question: If an electrical room is required to have outswinging doors with panic hardware, does this requirement apply to all of the doors that are part of the means of egress between the electrical room and the public way?
Today's Quick Question has come up several times lately with regard to the code requirements for hospitals, nursing homes, and similar types of facilities: What is the difference between a "corridor door" and a "smoke barrier door" in a health care occupancy?
Several people have asked the same Quick Question this week: Is it permissible by code for stairwell doors in schools to be locked during a lockdown? The answer is in today's post.
This is a great Quick Question, and I got some help from the US Access Board with the answer: When there is a pair of doors or a bank of doors, do ALL leaves have to meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)?
I have written about this topic from various angles, but this Quick Question keeps coming up: Is it code-compliant to have an electrified lock that is normally locked on the egress side, if it unlocks automatically upon fire alarm activation?
Today's Quick Question came from an AHJ: When I am evaluating a door that is equipped with a special locking arrangement, do the model code requirements for normal locking arrangements also apply?
When there is a desire to lock a door in the direction of egress for security reasons, today's Quick Question is often raised: During a lockdown, is a room or area considered a place of detention and restraint?
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?
This Quick Question has come up a few times lately: In an existing fire door, can a vision panel be added or enlarged in the field, assuming that the correct glazing is installed? Have you had experience with this modification?
Today's Quick Question: Can a low energy automatic operator that is certified to BHMA A156.19 be installed on a door that is required to comply with BHMA A156.10? What do you think?
With all of the recent attention on fire door assemblies in residential occupancies, today's Quick Question has come up several times: How is the required fire rating for apartment entry doors determined?
There is a change coming in the 2024 IBC related to doors that are required to have panic hardware and are also equipped with electromagnetic locks. I have updated the past post on this topic to include the change.
Today's Quick Question: In our facility there is a mechanical room where we need a removable transom panel in a fire door assembly, to allow for the occasional replacement of equipment that won't fit through a 7-foot door. Is this possible?
Today's Quick Question: Is it code-compliant to install security grilles on multi-stall restroom entrances in schools, to prevent the use of the restrooms during times when they are not supervised?
Today's Quick Question: On a pair of non-fire-rated corridor doors in a health care facility, is one automatic flush bolt required for the inactive leaf, or are two bolts required (top and bottom)?
Quick Question: For delayed egress locks, the model codes require the activation of the 15-second timer to be an irreversible process. Is it acceptable for an authorized person with a key or credential to rearm the lock during the 15-second period?
I received a Quick Question last week that has come up before: What is the difference between a roller latch and a roller strike? Are both prohibited on fire door assemblies?
Last week I posted a photo that was submitted by Bruce Gill of North Central Supply as part of the 3,000-post celebration, and the photo raised a few Quick Questions about the mag-lock...
A quick question came up yesterday during a code update class, as I was talking about a change to NFPA 80: Can a rectangular or oblong hole be prepped in an existing fire door in the field?
Yesterday's post about protruding objects raised a related Quick Question: The IBC section addressing limitations on protruding objects references projections into "circulation paths." What is a circulation path?
Last week I wrote about fire doors vs. fire exits, and I mentioned that I would try to change/clarify the Merriam-Webster definition for "fire-exit bolt." I received this Quick Question: What IS a fire-exit bolt?
Last week I posted some photos sent to me by a retired fire marshal, and one of them reminded me of a Quick Question that I've received several times lately: Do impact doors have to comply with the accessibility standards?
Today's Quick Question is a good one...When a specific requirement stated in a referenced standard is in conflict with what is allowed by the code that is referencing the standard, which requirement applies?
I've been asked today's quick question three times in the last two weeks, so I have updated the post with the references from the current codes. Is it acceptable by code to install a louver (fusible link or other type) in a fire door?
Today's Quick Question: Can on-call rooms in a hospital have occupancy indicator deadbolts that are separate from the latchsets, or do these doors have to unlatch with one releasing motion?
I often wonder how in the world exits can be blocked, or have hardware that has been modified and will not allow egress - sometimes for YEARS - without anyone noticing. I think the answer may have something to do with today's Quick Question.
Today's Quick Question...A school district wants to use chains and padlocks to secure the school buildings at night and on weekends. Do the model codes allow this when the building is not occupied?
Today's Quick Question: How can a fire be 1000 times more likely to occur in a school than an active shooter event? I read about school shootings all the time, and I never hear about fires in schools.
I have one last photo from my time in New Orleans, that relates to today's Quick Question: When are tactile warnings required for the hardware on rooms housing hazardous equipment, like electrical rooms?
Today's Quick Question: What is considered a "special purpose" door? Which sliding doors have to comply with the requirements detailed in this section of the code?
I have a 3-hour pair of hollow metal doors that requires an overlapping astragal in order to comply with the manufacturer's listings. Both leafs have vertical rod fire exit hardware. How do I avoid an egress conflict?
As I continue on my training adventure, staying in multiple hotels along the way, I'm reminded of a "Quick Question" that recently hit my inbox: Are swing bar door guards prohibited by NFPA 80 for fire door assemblies on hotel rooms?
Today's Quick Question arises often, when existing hardware on a fire door assembly is replaced with new hardware: If existing holes in a fire door assembly are covered by the new hardware, is this compliant with the codes and standards?
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.
Today's Quick Question may seem ultra-specific, but the answer highlights a couple of important resources: Are there limitations in the accessibility standards regarding the location of a card reader in relation to the door it is controlling?
Sometimes a floor plan will show a corridor that ends with a wall or a locked door, creating a dead end. Today's Quick Question: What is the maximum length of a dead end corridor that is allowed by the model codes?
When the ADA standards are more restrictive than an accessibility standard adopted by a state or local jurisdiction, do the more stringent requirements of the ADA standards apply?
Today's Quick Question: Does the 2021 IBC section addressing the locking of exterior spaces allow panic hardware to be omitted on doors serving exterior assembly spaces with an occupant load of 50 people or more?
Today's Quick Question is one that I had thought about before but this time I finally access the US Access Board: Is a surface-mounted automatic door bottom compliant with the accessibility standards?
Today's Quick Question keeps coming up: On which types of access-control doors do the model codes require the installation of an auxiliary push button to release the electrified lock?
Last week's Fixed-it Friday post prompted a Quick Question from one of iDigHardware's newer readers: "What is a swing-clear hinge and how would I know when to choose this type of hinge over other hinge types?"
Today's Quick Question: Can a threshold be used to address oversized clearance at the bottom of a fire door? What do you think?
Following up on last week's post about the new requirement for auto operators in certain locations, today's quick question: What types of buildings fall into the use groups where automatic operators are required for public entrances?
Today's Quick Question: If an area requires two or more exit access doors because of the calculated occupant load, how far apart do those egress doors need to be?
Today's Quick Question: Are doors serving toilet stalls required to be self-closing? Do you know where to find this information in the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and ICC A117.1?
