QQ: Does NFPA 80 “trump” the ADA?
Today's Quick Question: Do the requirements of NFPA 80 "trump" the ADA requirements? Is fire protection more important than accessibility?
QQ: Cladding on a Fire Door Assembly
Today's Quick Question is a very common one...Can cladding materials be applied to the face of a fire door assembly?
QQ: Battery Back-up
Is it acceptable by code to provide battery back-up for an electromagnetic lock? What about other types of electrified hardware?
QQ: ISA on Actuators
Today's Quick Question: Are actuators for automatic operators required to have the International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA)?
QQ: Field Labeling of Fire Doors
Today's Quick Question: Can an existing fire door be labeled in the field for a higher rating than what it was originally listed for?
QQ: Sealant/Caulk Around Fire Door Frames
Today's Quick Question: Is sealant required around a fire door frame - where it meets the sheetrock?
QQ: Antimicrobial Coating
Today's Quick Question: Can door hardware with an antimicrobial coating prevent the spread of COVID-19 or other viruses?
QQ: Astragals, Rabbets, Bevels
Today's Quick Question: Is an astragal required for double-egress cross-corridor pairs in health care smoke barriers? The answer surprised me.
QQ: Manufacturing Tolerances on Fire Doors
If NFPA 80 requires 1/8-inch or 3/16-inch maximum perimeter clearance for fire door assemblies, is it acceptable to add the manufacturing tolerance to that dimension?
QQ: Electric Latch Retraction & UL 294
Is the UL 294 listing required by the model codes for panic hardware with the electric latch retraction / electric dogging feature (EL/QEL)?
QQ: Door Bolts on Classrooms
Today's Quick Question: Are door bolts - like the surface bolts made by commercial hardware manufacturers - allowed to secure classroom doors during a lockdown?
QQ: Auto Operator Timing
What are the required opening speed, closing speed, and hold-open time for a low-energy automatic operator? What about a vestibule situation with sequential operation?
QQ: Do all fire exits have fire exit hardware?
Do all fire exit doors have fire exit hardware? Even if you already know the answer to this question, today's blog post might help you explain it to someone who disagrees.
QQ: Existing Frame, No Fire Label
Regarding an existing fire door assembly - the door has a fire label but the frame does not. Is the frame required to have a label?
QQ: Fire Test Standard for Sliding Doors
An architect is interested in specifying a sliding fire door assembly for a project, but I see that the product is listed to UL 10B. I thought fire doors were required to be listed to UL 10C?
QQ: Closer Covers on Fire Doors
If a door closer on a fire door is missing the cover, is that a deficiency that should be noted on a fire door inspection report?
QQ: Coordinators on Fire Doors
When a pair of fire doors has manual flush bolts and no closer on the inactive leaf, is a coordinator required?
QQ: Vision Lights in Automatic Doors
Does the vision light height requirement apply to automatic doors as well as manually-operated doors?
QQ: Door Closers on Exterior Doors
Quick Question: Is it a code requirement for non-fire-rated exterior doors to have door closers? The answer may surprise you.
QQ: Painting/Refinishing Fire Doors
Does painting or refinishing a fire door in the field void the label? The answer to today's Quick Question seems obvious, but can you prove it?
QQ: Panic Hardware on Residential Occupancies
This question keeps coming up...Is panic hardware required for the residential floors of hotels and apartment buildings?
QQ/WWYD?: Old Fire Doors With 2 Hinges
Is an existing fire door assembly with 2 hinges acceptable, or should it be noted as a deficiency during a fire door inspection?
QQ: Hinges for Fire Door Assemblies
Quick Question: Are steel, ball-bearing, butt hinges for fire door assemblies required to be UL listed?
QQ: Extended Latch Guards
A follow-up to an earlier post...Can extended latch guards be installed to bring doors with surface vertical rods into compliance with the accessibility standards?
QQ: Monitored or Recorded Egress
Quick Question: Is it code-compliant for a card reader on the egress side of the door to be used to monitor who uses the door?
QQ: Field Painted Panic Hardware
Can panic hardware be painted in the field without voiding the label?
QQ: Job-Site Preps for Fire Doors
Follow-Up #1: For which types of hardware does NFPA 80 allow job-site preparations to be made in fire door assemblies?
QQ: What’s new? And what’s existing?
When applying NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code, how do you determine whether to reference the chapters for "new" or "existing" occupancies?
QQ: Field Preps for Auxiliary Fire Pins
Can less-bottom-rod (LBR) fire exit hardware with an auxiliary fire pin be installed on an existing fire door? If you have anything to add, please weigh in!
QQ: Turn-Buttons vs. Push-Buttons
Are turn-buttons on cylindrical locks compliant with the accessibility standards? The answer to this question is really up to the AHJ, but here are a few things to consider...
QQ: Break-Glass Switches
I've received this question many times over the years...Can a break-glass switch be used to unlock a door in the means of egress?
QQ/WWYD? Door Bottom Clearance
When inspecting a fire door assembly, how do you measure the clearance at the bottom of the door when the clearance varies between the push side and the pull side?
QQ: Gasketing Continuity
During a fire door assembly inspection, should a flashlight be used to verify whether the gasketing is continuous?
QQ: Mag-Locks on Fire Doors
1) Are electromagnetic locks allowed to be used on fire door assemblies? 2) Do electromagnetic locks installed on fire door assemblies have to be labeled?
QQ: Elevator Lobby Egress
Can elevator lobby doors be locked, and only allow egress through the tenant space when there is a fire alarm?
QQ: Protection Plate Size
How wide should a protection plate be?
QQ: Delayed-Action Closers on Fire Doors
Can a delayed action closer be installed on a fire door?
QQ: Panic Hardware and Mag-Locks
The 2018 edition of the IBC includes an important clarification regarding doors with panic hardware and electromagnetic locks.
QQ: Roof Doors
Is it acceptable to lock the roof access door on the roof side, to prevent access from the roof into the building?
QQ: Signage on Fire Door Frames
Does NFPA 80 allow small signs on fire door frames? Are there limitations on the size, material, and method of attachment?
QQ: Empty Tab Slots
The increased enforcement of the inspection requirements for fire door assemblies has brought some pretty intense scrutiny upon the various components. In some cases we're finding that NFPA 80 and the model codes don't currently address the fine details of how these assemblies are tested and constructed.
QQ: Airport Jet Bridge Doors
Yesterday someone asked me about hardware requirements for doors serving the jet bridge - the walkway leading from the airport terminal to the door of the plane.
QQ: Stairwell Reentry – 1 leaf or 2?
If I have a pair of doors leading to a stairwell, do both leaves have to allow reentry?
QQ: Are doorknobs acceptable in a hospital?
For most types of buildings, lever-handle locksets are standard equipment, but some existing buildings may be equipped with knobs. Are knobs acceptable by code in existing health care facilities?
QQ: Opening force for automatic doors
The codes and standards limit the opening force for interior, non-fire-rated, manually-operated doors to 5 pounds, hence the question...
QQ: Door Pull Clearance
I answered this question a couple of years ago as part of a longer post, but people continue to ask so here goes... "How much clearance do the accessibility standards require behind a door pull?"
QQ: Push ‘N Go For Automatic Operators
In yesterday's post, I wrote about power-assist operators to clarify that these are not the same as low-energy automatic operators. This 2-part question arose from a misconception that "power-assist" is the same thing as "Push 'N Go."
QQ: What is a power-assist operator?
This is Part 1 of a 2-part question, so check tomorrow's post for Part 2. First, I'd like to clarify what defines a power-assist operator...
QQ: Selected Reentry
What is "selected reentry" and when can it be used?
QQ: Fire Doors in Load-Bearing Walls
Do load-bearing walls within a dwelling unit require fire doors?