Questions We Get Asked

Look for a label on the hinge stile of the leaf and in the rabbet of the frame. If both are absent it is probably not a rated opening — though what the wall requires is a separate question, and that one belongs to your drawings and the authority having jurisdiction rather than to us.

Among other things, that labelled fire door assemblies are inspected annually and that the results are documented and kept. In practice the most common finding is not a broken door. It is that no record exists and that the doors have been wedged open.

Paint over a label does not remove the rating, but an illegible label is a practical problem — an inspector cannot verify what they cannot read. It can sometimes be carefully cleaned back. A label that has been removed, ground off or covered by a new skin is harder, and may mean the assembly can no longer be evidenced.

Only if the assembly was listed with one, or a listed kit exists that permits it for that specific assembly. Cutting a hole in a labelled leaf in the field is not a modification you can make and keep the rating. Where visibility is needed, the better route is ordering a leaf with a listed light.

The ADA 2010 Standards section 404 sets a maximum opening force for interior hinged doors. Exterior doors are treated differently, and conflating the two is the most common error in self-assessments. It is measured with a gauge, not estimated by feel, and it is usually a closer adjustment when it fails.

Section 404 sets the minimum clear opening width, measured with the door open at ninety degrees between the face of the door and the stop — not the nominal leaf size. A 36 inch leaf does not automatically produce a compliant clear width once the leaf thickness and stop are accounted for, which surprises a lot of people running their own audit.

It is driven by occupancy type and occupant load under NFPA 101 and the adopted building code, not by whether a door happens to be an exit. A back door people leave through is not automatically an opening that requires a panic device, and a door that looks unimportant sometimes is.

If that opening is in a means of egress, almost certainly not. Egress doors generally have to unlatch in a single motion, and a separate deadbolt breaks that. It is one of the most frequently written-up findings and one of the easiest to fix properly.

Almost always a listed hold-open device tied to the fire alarm system, so the doors stand open in normal use and release on alarm. It removes the daily friction that made people wedge them in the first place, and it involves the fire alarm contractor as well as us.

That is a legal question rather than a door question, and the honest answer is that it depends on the building, its use, and what work has been done since. Existing buildings, alterations and new construction are treated differently. We can tell you how your openings measure against the standard. The obligation half belongs to a professional who can advise on your specific situation.