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?
Today's Quick Question: Do the requirements of NFPA 80 "trump" the ADA requirements? Is fire protection more important than accessibility?
Today's Quick Question is a very common one...Can cladding materials be applied to the face of a fire door assembly?
Is it acceptable by code to provide battery back-up for an electromagnetic lock? What about other types of electrified hardware?
Today's Quick Question: Are actuators for automatic operators required to have the International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA)?
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?
Today's Quick Question: Is sealant required around a fire door frame - where it meets the sheetrock?
Today's Quick Question: Can door hardware with an antimicrobial coating prevent the spread of COVID-19 or other viruses?
Today's Quick Question: Is an astragal required for double-egress cross-corridor pairs in health care smoke barriers? The answer surprised me.
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?
Is the UL 294 listing required by the model codes for panic hardware with the electric latch retraction / electric dogging feature (EL/QEL)?
Today's Quick Question: Are door bolts - like the surface bolts made by commercial hardware manufacturers - allowed to secure classroom doors during a lockdown?
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?
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.
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?
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?
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?
When a pair of fire doors has manual flush bolts and no closer on the inactive leaf, is a coordinator required?
Does the vision light height requirement apply to automatic doors as well as manually-operated doors?
Quick Question: Is it a code requirement for non-fire-rated exterior doors to have door closers? The answer may surprise you.
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?
This question keeps coming up...Is panic hardware required for the residential floors of hotels and apartment buildings?
Is an existing fire door assembly with 2 hinges acceptable, or should it be noted as a deficiency during a fire door inspection?
Quick Question: Are steel, ball-bearing, butt hinges for fire door assemblies required to be UL listed?
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?
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?
Can panic hardware be painted in the field without voiding the label?
Follow-Up #1: For which types of hardware does NFPA 80 allow job-site preparations to be made in fire door assemblies?
When applying NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code, how do you determine whether to reference the chapters for "new" or "existing" occupancies?
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!
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...
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?
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?
During a fire door assembly inspection, should a flashlight be used to verify whether the gasketing is continuous?
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?
Can elevator lobby doors be locked, and only allow egress through the tenant space when there is a fire alarm?
How wide should a protection plate be?
Can a delayed action closer be installed on a fire door?
The 2018 edition of the IBC includes an important clarification regarding doors with panic hardware and electromagnetic locks.
Is it acceptable to lock the roof access door on the roof side, to prevent access from the roof into the building?
Does NFPA 80 allow small signs on fire door frames? Are there limitations on the size, material, and method of attachment?
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.
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.
If I have a pair of doors leading to a stairwell, do both leaves have to allow reentry?
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?
The codes and standards limit the opening force for interior, non-fire-rated, manually-operated doors to 5 pounds, hence the question...
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?"
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."
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...
What is "selected reentry" and when can it be used?
Do load-bearing walls within a dwelling unit require fire doors?