Getting ADA door hardware compliance right isn’t just about meeting legal requirements. It’s about rethinking our attitudes toward the built world. It’s about making all your customers and visitors feel welcome.
Did you know that people with disabilities are the fastest growing minority group in the United States? The CDC estimates that 1 in 4 people have some form of disability. That means that if you do not have a disability yourself, you likely know someone who does — they’re our friends and family, people we want to go out to eat and attend events with. Disabilities affect most of us.
And so they will affect many of the people who come through your doors. If you maintain ADA door compliance in a thoughtful way, it sends a strong message about how you will treat the people you work with every day.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about ADA compliant door handles, locks, openings, swing clearance, and so on.
Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a federal civil rights law that outlines protections and rights for individuals with disabilities. Among these rights are those concerning accessibility in the design of government buildings and “places of public accommodation.” If your business or organization serves the general public, then you are considered a place of public accommodation.
ADA door hardware compliance is required for all buildings constructed after January 1992. Older buildings need to make a good-faith effort at “readily achievable barrier removal.” This is an intentionally vague term meant to consider the difficulty and cost of retro-fitting a building for ADA door and access specifications.
The Importance of ADA Compliance in Door Design
There are many reasons to meet ADA door requirements beyond avoiding legal penalties. The most salient include:
- Safety: ADA compliant doors are easy to open and thus make everyone safer should they need to exit a room or building quickly.
- Accessibility: A key term in ADA compliance, accessibility allows more people to navigate your buildings independently.
- Brand reputation: Attention to ADA requirements tells customers and visitors — especially those who have disabilities or know someone who does — that your business or organization wants to make everyone as comfortable as possible.
- Social responsibility: By creating welcoming, accessible buildings and rooms, you show that you value the dignity and independence of people with disabilities.
A Comprehensive Guide to ADA Door Requirements
The rest of this article will get down to the brass tacks of
Overview of Door Hardware and Accessibility Features
When we’re talking about ADA compliance with doors and door hardware, we have to look at doors holistically. This includes several features:
- Handles: How the door is opened
- Latches: How the door shuts securely
- Locks: How the door is locked shut
- Hinges: How the door swings open and shut
- Closers: What controls the speed and force of a closing door
- Thresholds: What is on the floor of the doorway
- Surfaces: What someone may encounter when in contact with the door
- Openings: How wide the doorway is
- Maneuvering space: How much room someone has to use the door
Your choices for each of these may affect your ADA compliance.
Clear Width and Maneuvering Space
Clear Width
An accessible doorway must have a clear width of at least 32 inches. The clear width is not the same as the opening of the door frame. It is defined as the distance between the face of the open door at 90 degrees and the opposite stop, which is usually the door jamb or catch.
In other words, the clear width is how much room a person actually has to enter the doorway. If you’ve ever had to move a couch or recliner, you can appreciate the importance of the clear width.
If your doorway is slightly too narrow, you can use wide-throw or swing-clear hinges, which swing the door clear of the frame altogether. This can give you an additional 2 inches of clear width.
Maneuvering Space
Maneuvering space is a related concept that has to do with how much room someone has to approach and open a door, pass through, and close the door. Wheelchairs and scooters, for instance, require a clear path to the door and room to back up away from the swing of the door as it opens.
Door Hardware: Handles, Pulls, Latches, & Locks
Requirements for Operable Parts
- Reach range: Handles, latches, and locks must be placed between 34 and 48 inches above the finished floor. This makes it easier for a person in a wheelchair, for example, to operate.
- Force: It should require no more than 5 lbs. of force to open an interior door. Exterior doors should require no more than 8 1/2 lbs. This can be measured with a door pressure gauge.
- Handles: Handles must be easy to grab and operate without much strength or dexterity. Doorknobs are not ADA compliant because they require too much grip strength and twisting to use.
Best Practices for Installation
- Clearance: There should be sufficient room around handles and latches to accommodate different sized hands and angles of approach.
- Tactile features: Some door hardware can be equipped with tactile features that aid people with visual impairments in operating the door.
- Accessible design: Handles should have smooth surfaces and rounded edges to reduce the risk of injury
Closing Mechanisms: Force & Speed
For your door to satisfy ADA requirements, it must close slowly enough for someone to pass through it safely.
- Door closers should take at least 5 seconds to change from a 90-degree angle to a 12-degree angle.
- Spring hinges should take at least 1 1/2 seconds to close from a 70 degree angle.
- As with opening, interior doors should require no more than 5 lbs. of force to keep open, and exterior doors should require no more than 8 1/2 lbs. of force.
Thresholds & Surfaces: Maximizing Accessibility
Many interior doors will not have thresholds, but exterior doors and sliding doors typically will. Thresholds should be no more than 1/2 inch high. Sliding doors can have thresholds up to 3/4 inches high. Any threshold higher than 1/4 inch must be beveled for easier wheelchair access.
The surface of the push side of a swinging door must be smooth within 10 inches of the finish floor or ground. This is to prevent catching on mobility devices or wheelchairs.
Additional Accessibility Considerations
Vision Lights
Glass panes that allow one to see through a door. The bottom of a vision light cannot be more than 43 inches off the ground so someone in a wheelchair can still use it. The exception is if the bottom of the vision light is 66 inches or more from the floor. These are designed for light to pass through the door rather than visibility.
Side Lights
Vertical windows installed on one or both sides of a door to allow more light to enter a room. If these are designed for viewing, they should comply with vision light standards. You might also consider whether they might create too much glare or reflection for someone with a visual impairment.
Restrooms
Restrooms should have enough space for people in wheelchairs to maneuver.
Signage
You must place adequate signage to direct people to restrooms and to exits. Signs should be clear and intuitive. Restroom signs should have raised letters and the international accessibility symbol.
Floor Surfaces
Keep floors around doors clear and smooth. The immediate area of a doorway should be level and have a non-slip surface. Changes in elevation should be gradual and clearly marked.
Floor Mats
Any floor mats should be secure and not slip around. They should have tapered edges to prevent tripping or catching.
Life Safety Codes
As you ensure your doors and door hardware is ADA compliant, you must also be sure you are following the National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code. These do not conflict but work hand in hand to ensure everyone’s safety and security.
Maintaining Accessibility & ADA Door Compliance
Have a qualified person inspect your doors regularly. They should ensure that all the appropriate specifications are still met by each door.
Similarly, maintain your door handles and closers so that they always operate smoothly and under the required force and speed. Pay particular attention to any furniture, plants, or other obstructions that may have been placed nearby and that inhibit maneuverability.
Updating Existing Doors and Hardware to Achieve ADA Compliance
You must attempt “readily achievable barrier removal” even if you own an old building. This requirement is meant to have some flexibility — not all buildings will be able to become ADA compliant without major renovations.
Instead, the goal is to take a serious look at what barriers your building presents and what reasonable and relatively easy, low-cost steps you can take to remove them.
This may involve replacing handles, adding kickplates, or installing swing clear hinges. It may include placing signage or building a ramp. In some cases, the best solution will be to replace a door altogether. You can find more on updating and retrofitting under the ADA in this checklist.
Businesses can take advantage of a tax credit and tax deduction to help offset the costs of making improvements to accessibility.
Final Thoughts: The Impact of Compliance on Inclusivity in Public Spaces
For those of us at Anderson Lock, ADA compliance is not just about doors and hardware. It’s about redesigning the built world so as many of us can enjoy it and participate in it as possible.
When people have access to public spaces, they can find more employment opportunities, take advantage of more resources, and socialize more easily with friends. We all benefit when more of our neighbors benefit.
Anderson Lock was a leader in ADA compliant door hardware from the beginning, and we intend to continue to offer the finest expertise in accessibility.
To learn how our consultants can help you upgrade your doors and locks while staying ADA compliant, contact us today.