Let’s Talk about Fire Ratings.
Steelcraft fire-rated doors and frames play a critical role in keeping people safe and minimizing property damage.
Doors play a very important role in the fire resistance of a building; they allow people to evacuate safely from a building along with limiting the spread of fire and smoke to other areas. Fire doors must meet the requirements of the International Building Code and International Fire Code, as well as NFPA 80 Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives. Fire ratings range from 20 minutes to 3 hours.
Hollow metal, such as we can provide, is the only door material widely available with a 3 hour fire rating.
What makes a Door Accessible?
Like door openers, the ADA requirements for doors are something we pay close attention to to ensure our customers have the proper openings for their residential or business facilities.
A door must have a clear width of 32 inches.
Doorways must also provide an 80 inch clear height.
Door closers not allowed to reduce the clear height to less than 78 inches.
the 32 inch minimum width must be provided by a single door leaf when the doorway consists of a pair of leaves.
Special considerations are given for power-operated doors: If a double door is power operated, the 32 inch clear width may be provided by both doors.
Accessible Doors have to of course be equipped with accessible hardware. Above are examples of the types of opening mechanisms that are considered ADA standard. Anything that can be pulled or pushed without gripping, twisting, or pinching. Some examples of incorrect handles would be a pull plate that is too thin to get your whole hand behind, or a handle with a top thumb latch.
Push button or touch-less actuator buttons are also a great solution for ADA compliance on your doors. On our Door Control Page, you can find a range of great ADA compliant openers and actuator buttons. Touch-less solutions are also great for germ prevention.
Doors and door Hardware are an essential part of every building, big or small, residential or business.
At Federal Security, we don’t only manage the locks, and security systems, we also have door hardware and doors in our wheelhouse.
Steelcraft, from Allegion, is one of the products we have experience with. Offering includes flush, stile and rail, severe weather, acoustical, stainless steel and blast resistant doors as well as the Grain-Tech Series of stainable steel doors that provide the beauty of wood with the benefits and features of steel. Steelcraft has set the standard for performance, reliability and style.
These steel doors and frames are one of the industry standards. We strive to do the same with our service and support. FST is committed to delivering best-in-class customer care – making everything from ordering to installation as smooth and easy as possible.
The video to your left is mainly about a residential scenario - but can be applied to any facility, business or even school. With the proper NFPA 80 Standard for Fire Doors checked and maintained regularly, having that door as a barrier can make a huge difference, as you can see in this video.
Below is the GT 710 Medium-Duty, Low Energy ADA, Fire Door/Access System (pictured beelow) operates in both automatic and manual modes. Which you can also find out more about on the Door Control page!
Now that we’ve talked about the door - let’s talk hardware.
There are different variables available for each door; Mortise or Cylinder? Classroom or Storeroom lever sets? Deadbolts? What do these all mean? Let’s dive in.
The common difference between all doors is whether they have a Mortise lock or a Cylindrical lock.
Electric strikes are an industry standard.
Mortise on the left, cylindrical above
There is another function of door hardware - decoration. Door functionality is the main purpose, however, the visual representation of any building, restaurant, or home is also important.
At Federal Security, we also work on many different styles of doors, repairing hardware, putting on decorative hardware, maintaining the historical significance of doors.