LGreene
Registered User
I promise this is not going to be one of my typical questions about obscure door-related minutia! 
The attached plan was sent to me today, and the question was whether Door A needs panic hardware. Well, it's a retail store, so the short answer is that it doesn't need panic hardware because it's not an educational or assembly occupancy.The follow-up question was whether Door A should be inswinging because of the corridor width, so I calculated the occupant load of the space - 2775 sf / 30 sf per person since this is a mercantile occupancy on grade. If I did that right, it's 92.5 occupants. That seems like a lot of people for a store like this, and I will confirm whether the entire space is used for retail or whether part is storage but for now let's assume it's all retail.I read section 1008.1.2 and the commentary, and it seems like Doors A & B would both need to be outswinging. 2009 IBC Commentary: "A side-hinged door must swing in the direction of egress travel where the required occupant capacity of the room is 50 or more. As such, a room with two doors and an occupant load of 99 would require both doors to swing in the direction of egress travel, even though each door has a calculated occupant usage of less than 50. At this level of occupant load, the possibility exists that, in an emergency situation, a compact line of people could form at a closed door that swings in a direction opposite the egress flow. This could delay or eliminate the first person’s ability to open the door inward with the rest of the queue behind the person."Then there's the encroachment issue of Door A...I don't know the required egress width or the corridor width so I don't know if that's a problem but it sure looks like it could be (with Door B too). If it is a problem and the doors are set back into alcoves, then they need to watch for maneuvering clearance.This is outside of my comfort zone - I'm much more comfortable with door-minutia, so please...educate me!
View attachment 1437
View attachment 1437
/monthly_2010_11/572953dea1d59_RetailPlan.jpg.3c4653f428947905bf8942a027471dad.jpg
The attached plan was sent to me today, and the question was whether Door A needs panic hardware. Well, it's a retail store, so the short answer is that it doesn't need panic hardware because it's not an educational or assembly occupancy.The follow-up question was whether Door A should be inswinging because of the corridor width, so I calculated the occupant load of the space - 2775 sf / 30 sf per person since this is a mercantile occupancy on grade. If I did that right, it's 92.5 occupants. That seems like a lot of people for a store like this, and I will confirm whether the entire space is used for retail or whether part is storage but for now let's assume it's all retail.I read section 1008.1.2 and the commentary, and it seems like Doors A & B would both need to be outswinging. 2009 IBC Commentary: "A side-hinged door must swing in the direction of egress travel where the required occupant capacity of the room is 50 or more. As such, a room with two doors and an occupant load of 99 would require both doors to swing in the direction of egress travel, even though each door has a calculated occupant usage of less than 50. At this level of occupant load, the possibility exists that, in an emergency situation, a compact line of people could form at a closed door that swings in a direction opposite the egress flow. This could delay or eliminate the first person’s ability to open the door inward with the rest of the queue behind the person."Then there's the encroachment issue of Door A...I don't know the required egress width or the corridor width so I don't know if that's a problem but it sure looks like it could be (with Door B too). If it is a problem and the doors are set back into alcoves, then they need to watch for maneuvering clearance.This is outside of my comfort zone - I'm much more comfortable with door-minutia, so please...educate me!View attachment 1437
View attachment 1437
/monthly_2010_11/572953dea1d59_RetailPlan.jpg.3c4653f428947905bf8942a027471dad.jpg