| Norton® Door
Controls General Information
MEETING A.D.A. REQUIREMENTS
Note: The following information
concerning the Americans With Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) has been extracted from ANSI A
117.1 and the Federal Register, Part III, published by the Department of Justice, Office
of the Attorney General, 28CFR, Part 36, and NFPA 101. The information provided here is an
interpretation of the requirements which must be met for door opening accessibility by the
handicapped or disabled. Please refer to ANSI A 117.1 and the Federal Register, Vol. 56,
No. 144, dated July 26, 1991, and NFPA 101 for specific details.
Door Opening Width Double-Leaf Doorways
If doorways have two independently operated door leaves, then at least one leaf
shall meet the minimum clear opening width criteria. That leaf shall be the active leaf.
Single-leaf Doorways Doorways shall
have a minimum clear opening of 32in. (815mm) with the door open 90 degrees, measured
between the face of the door and the opposite stop.
Door Opening Force
The maximum force for pushing or pulling open a door shall
be as follows: 1. Fire doors shall have the minimum opening force allowable by the
appropriate administrative authority. 2. Other doors, a. exterior hinged doors; (Reserved).
b. interior hinged doors: 5lbf (22.2N) c. sliding or folding doors: 5lbf (22.2N) These
forces do not apply to the force required to retract latch bolts or disengage other
devices that may hold the door in a closed position.
Fire Doors (NFPA 101)
The forces required to fully open any door manually in a
means of egress shall not exceed 15 lbf (67N) to release the latch, 30lbf (133N) to set
the door in motion, and 15 lbf (67N) to open the door to the minimum required width. These
forces shall be applied at the latch stile.
Note: The pound forces stated above should be
reduced where possible to comply with exterior hinged
door and interior hinged door requirements as indicated in 2.a. and 2.b. above. However,
door closing capability must not be compromised.
Door Closing Speed
If a door has a closer, then the sweep period of the closer
shall be adjusted to that from an open position of 70 degrees, the door will take at least
3 seconds to move to a point 3 in. (75mm) from the latch, measured to the leading edge of
the door.
Delayed Action
Although the optional delayed action feature is extremely
beneficial to the severely handicapped, it is not a requirement of A.D.A.
Door-Opening Force
Opening forces may be measured with a spring scale as
follows:
- Hinged doors. Apply force
perpendicular to the door at the actuating device (lockset/pull) or 30in. (760mm) from the
hinged side, whichever is farthest from the hinge.
- Application of the Force. Apply
force gradually so that the applied force does not exceed the resistance of the door.
Air-pressure differential, especially in high-rise buildings, can have an adverse effect
on door-opening force. Accessible openings located in these areas will sometimes require
the use of automatic or power-assisted doors to comply with allowable forces given.
Additional force to overcome the inertia of a door will exceed that required to maintain
movement of the door. In general, only a momentary auxiliary force should be permitted to
exceed the force indicated above.
Hinged Doors
The 32-inch opening is measured from the stop on the door
jamb on the latch side of the face of the door when standing open in the 90 degree
position. Push bars and panic type hardware may protrude into this space if they are
mounted high enough to allow the wide part of the wheelchair to pass below.
For more information contact your Norton Representative,
P.O. Box 25288, Charlotte, NC 28229-8010. Telephones: (800) 438-1951. In North Carolina:
(704) 283-2101. FAX: (704) 289-2875. Telex: 572356. In Canada. 3160 Orlando Drive,
Missiasauga, Ontario, Canada L4V 1 R5. Telephone: (416) 672-6220. FAX:(416) 672-9022.
WATS: (800) 461-3007. |
