How can door hardware, door position switches, and other access control apparatus be installed onto fire-rated doors?
The answer is very carefully. Doors that are fire rated are designed and built to provide a barrier against the spread of a fire from one room/area to the next. Any modification to a fire-rated door, such as drilling, channeling, or installing a magnet for a door position switch, will likely violate that door’s fire rating in the eyes of the AHJ. Specialized hardware, such as door hinges with built-in position switches, can be used successfully on fire-rated doors. The key is to know what doors are fire rated in a particular installation, and to approach the application of access devices for those doors so that the door remains intact and is not modified in any way.
Related Questions
- You have some neat aluminum sliding doors and sliding door hardware in Section 4 of The Complete Häfele catalog, but what do I need to cut them to size with ordinary cabinet shop tools?
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