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:

1. 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.
2. 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.