When it comes to any sort of hardware, the ability to stand up against particular elements is vital, especially when you’re talking about exterior access. That’s why hurricane and fire-rated doors are so important in our industry. Both types are judged on certain aspects as they’re put through various tests that allow them to earn the name of fire-rated or hurricane-rated doors.

Hurricane-Rated Doors

If you live in a hurricane-prone area, you’re no doubt familiar with hurricane-rated doors, especially if you’re a facility owner.  In light of the damage that Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina inflicted in Florida and Louisiana, code officials really cracked down on the specifics for buildings located in high wind areas.

The Florida Building Commission was actually created by the Florida Legislature, and they gave the Commission the task of drafting a statewide building code that would develop regulations for the entire state of Florida when it came to preventing the damage hurricanes and strong winds could cause.

Wind speeds of at least 74mph have to be sustained over a solid period of time in order to be considered a hurricane, but winds with less speed than that have been known to cause extensive damage.

Hurricane door ratings are based on exactly how much wind-force a door, the frame, and all of its hardware can withstand, and this is measured by pounds of pressure per inch, or “PI.” If a facility is located further inland, it may need a door with a PI of 60 while one closer to the coast would require a door with a much higher PI. This is based on the average wind-force of the area.

However, it’s important to remember that not only do these doors have to hold up against hurricane-force winds, but also against the debris that may be thrown around because of the winds.

Fire-Rated Doors

A fire-rated door’s purpose is pretty simple – to keep fire and smoke from spreading throughout your facility. However, it’s important to note that there are a few factors that come into play to guarantee that a fire-rated door doesn’t lose its fire rating.

There are several requirements for a door to pass as a fire-rated door.  For example, there can’t be any gaps or holes in or around the door – even if they have been patched. It seems fairly obvious since one of the main purposes of a fire-rated door is to prevent any smoke from getting through and into the facility.

Fire-rated doors also must be self-latching. Over time, a latch can wear down causing it to slide in and out easier than intended. Your fire-rated door must be completely self-latching in order to pass inspection and qualify as a fire-rated door. If you have to replace the latching device, just make sure it’s fire-labeled.

That’s another thing – labels. All hardware on the door has to be fire-labeled in order to qualify as a fire-rated door. This also means those labels can’t ever be painted over, or else you risk losing the fire-rating on your door. There can’t be any missing or broken parts, and no field modifications that would void the door’s fire label are permitted.

Fire-rated doors also need to close on their own without any help from outside material or sources. It’s important to remember to keep the area around the door free of clutter and obstructions, and never prop the door open with anything other than the attached hardware.

There are quite a few articles available on LockBytes focusing on both fire-rated and hurricane-rated doors and those can be found here. If you have more specific questions, feel free to contact us here at LockNet and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.