Exterior Door Fire Rating Requirements

A solid wood door not less than 1 3 8 inches thick a solid or honeycomb core steel doors not less than 1 3 8 inches thick or a 20 minute fire rated door with a self closing device.

Exterior door fire rating requirements.

Fire ratings measure the amount of time that a door is able to contain the spread of fire as tested according to nfpa guidelines. A door with this rating may also be located in the exterior wall of a building subject to moderate fire exposure from the outside of the building. Glass included in the door must also meet the temperature rise requirements. This represents the expected surface temperature on the unexposed side of the door after 30 minutes of fire exposure.

A 1 1 see annex k for general information about fire doors. To meet fire separation requirements the door must be one of three types of doors. 1 1 1 with the exception of fabric fire safety curtain assemblies this standard addresses assemblies that have. We have an electrical equipment room which has to be 1 hr.

Doors may also have a temperature rise rating in number of degrees. This means a door with a two hour rating for example can be expected to resist combustion for two hours in the event of a fire. 2 6 1 3 hour 20 minute doors. The nfpa emergency exit door requirements code states there is a maximum travel distance allowed to find an exit.

Today fire rated door units have become a code requirement across numerous municipalities. Rated and its only door opens to the exterior. Fortunately mmi door offers a complete fire rated door unit solution across numerous ratings as well as door hardware and. That means the doors are tested to withstand a minimum of 20 minutes of fire exposure at temperatures that reach more than 1400 degrees fahrenheit.

This standard regulates the installation and maintenance of assemblies and devices used to protect openings in walls floors and ceilings against the spread of fire and smoke within into or out of buildings. Also a fire door will typically have three quarters of the rating of the surrounding wall. This access to exit requirements seeks to minimize occupants exposure to these and other hazards. A hour rated door 3 4 is required in walls of corridors and room partitions.

If the exterior walls of a building are not required to be rated do any of the exterior doors have to be rated. One third hour or 20 minute doors are used in one hour walls. And they don t split crack or rot. You will see this marked as 250 450 or 650.

This chapter provides guidelines on door height and width based on the function of the structure. Most of our solid panel fiberglass wood edge doors can be ordered as a 20 minute fire rated product. I ve just never seen a requirement for an exterior door to be rated.