There are two main issues regarding easy accessibility for door openings, which can be addressed by making some changes. According to the ADA requirements standard, accessible doors ought to be opened with a small amount of opening force and should be closed slowly. These requirements can be achieved by simply adjusting the spring power and the valves of the door closer.

This article will explain the proper opening force and closing speed of a door. Continue reading to learn more:

1. Opening Force

According to the 2009 and 2017 editions of the ICC A117.1 – Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities (Section 404.2.8) and the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Standards (Section 504.2.9), the opening force requirements for doors are the same.

• The opening force for interior hinged doors is 5 pounds.
• The opening force for sliding and folding doors is also 5 pounds

However, the 5-pound limitation doesn’t apply to the force needed to retract latch bolts or disassemble other devices that keep the door closed. The local requirement for opening force limitation ranges from 15 pounds to 5 pounds for exterior doors.

The issue with exterior doors is that adjusting their opening force may result in an exterior door being unable to close correctly.

Factors like wind, air pressure, latch bolts, weatherstrip, and other conditions also make up the problem.

Moreover, fire doors are excluded from the 5-pound force limitation according to the accessibility standards. Instead, they’re subject to the minimum opening force endorsed by the appropriate administrative authority. The appropriate force required to open a fire door, according to the International Building Code (IBC), is a force of 30 pounds.

Closing Speed

The closing speed of an accessible door should be adjusted to close from an open position of 90 degrees because the time needed to move the door to a position of 12 degrees from the latch is 5 seconds.

This requirement can be met by adjusting the closer – this time by reducing fluid flow through the adjustment valves and limiting the closing speed.

When a door closer can’t be adjusted to meet the accessibility requirements for opening force and closing speed, the next option is to install an automatic operator. Although, according to the 2009 edition of ICC A117.1 and the 2010 ADA Standards, there’s no requirement to install automatic operators, some state codes require them, especially in certain circumstances.

Conclusion

To avoid any issues with building or life safety codes, you must adhere to the standard requirement for door opening force in your company. If you cannot adhere to the legal requirements for door openings, the following practical option is to provide automatic door openers so customers or workers with disabilities can access the doors.

To achieve this, you must work with a reliable contractor experienced with ADA compliance and requirements. At All Things Inspector, we can help to make the doors in your company easily accessible to everyone. We also help install the ADA door pressure gauge to measure the force (push/pull) of your doors.