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DOORCLOSERS & HINGES • 61
Fire protection & accessibility – building regs pitfalls
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DOUGLAS MASTERSON, TECHNICAL manager at the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers( GAI), provides guidance on door closing devices and accessibility requirements …
WHICH TAKES PRECEDENCE – FIRE PROTECTION OR ACCESS REQUIREMENTS?
The requirements for fire protection and accessibility have equal importance and both must be met to satisfy current UK building regulations and other legislation.
A common misconception is that the various guidance documents to the building regulations have no real status. This mistake leads people to think that these documents can be ignored if the guidance is difficult to achieve or problematic.
While it may be possible to meet the requirements of the building regulations in a different way, you cannot avoid or do less than the requirement. For example, it is a requirement for doors to be easy to open. This could be met by a suitable door closer, able to offer not more than 30 N opening resistance over the first 30 º of door opening and 22.5 N thereafter, as suggested in the guidance documents. Alternatively, it might be met by an electro-magnetic hold open / swing free door closer; a low energy door operator; or a fully automated doorset.
Similarly, some think that BS 8300 can be side-lined, because it has‘ Code of Practice’ in the title. This is not correct. There are several types of British Standard. Some are‘ specifications’ such as the individual door hardware standards which set out test methods and performance requirements.
Those standards which are‘ Codes of Practice’ are generally less prescriptive but still important nationally agreed documents. The British Standards Institution( BSI) defines them as:
“ Codes of practice recommend sound good practice as currently undertaken by competent and conscientious practitioners.
They are drafted to incorporate a degree of flexibility in application, whilst offering reliable indicative benchmarks. They are commonly used in the construction and civil engineering industries.”
There is flexibility in application but you need to recognise the benchmarks of acceptable practice, and you cannot do it to a lesser standard and expect to have complied.
MUST DOOR CLOSING DEVICES BE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT( DDA) OR EQUALITY ACT COMPLIANT?
Door closers( or any other hardware product) cannot be DDA / Equality Act compliant. However, some types of door hardware might assist a premises owner / manager in achieving Equality Act compliance with regard to the operation of their building.
The DDA worked to protect people with disabilities – including blind and partially sighted people – from discrimination. The DDA now only applies in Northern Ireland. England, Scotland and Wales are now covered by the Equality Act 2010. Access into and through buildings is a prime requirement of the Equality Act and regional building regulations in UK.
The recommendation for not more than 30 N opening resistance( 0 º- 30 º) and not more than 22.5 N( 30 º- 180 º) occurs in:
• Approved Document M( Both England and Wales)
• Technical Handbook: Non-domestic: Safety( Scotland)
• Technical Booklet R( Northern Ireland)
• BS 8300-2 2018
Therefore, the maximum 30 N / 22.5 N opening resistance applies to virtually all doors on new build and refurbishment in the UK with the exception of plant rooms, maintenance and service inspection areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Equality Act is concerned with civil rights and does not mention door hardware at all. Some types of door hardware might assist a premises owner / manager in achieving Equality Act compliance with regard to the operation of their building. This is why values for door opening forces have been put into building regulation guidance documents and BS 8300-2.
In turn, if products are supplied which assist in achieving these values, the finished building will enable its owner / manager to meet the Equality Act’ s requirements for equality of access.
WHAT DOES THE GAI RECOMMEND?
• Where possible, ensure other hardware supplied is low friction – e. g. hinges; seals; latches.
• Specify a closer with very high efficiency for refurbishment of existing narrow doors.
• Consider electro-magnetic holdopen / free-swing or automatic operator solutions.
• Ensure the products specified and supplied at least meet requirements in laboratory conditions.
Companies should be aware of the consequences of providing non-compliant fire safety and accessibility products simply to fit in with a contractor’ s cost programme. It is the company’ s responsibility to offer solutions which meet regional building regulations, not to put people at risk by ignoring them.
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