Is there any definition of door "maneuvering clearance" in ADA

[Yikes]

I've seen some (old and new)discussions as to whether handrails or other projections are allowed to encroach into door maneuvering clearances, so I tried to find a definition that would address this issue.

However, when I look at ADAS or CBC 11B 404.2.4, I don't see any code-specific definition of "Maneuvering Clearance".

• 404.2.4.4. limits changes in the level of a floor within the maneuvering clearance, but it is silent about what happens above the floor
• 404.2.3 describes the clear width of the door opening itself, but is silent on maneuvering clearances outside the door opening.
• The word "Clear" is specifically defined in ADA (and CBC 202) as "unobstructed", but the word "Clearance" is not defined.
• Doors are part of an accessible route, which CBC 202 defines as "unobstructed". However, neither "Unobstructed" nor "obstructed" are specifically defined in the code, so we're left with dictionary definitions. Does "unobstructed" mean "clear to the sky", or does it mean "clear up to 80" high with a 4" projection", or does it mean "clear to 34" high", as was suggested in this recently revived thread?

It appears that we tend to infer what is allowed in maneuvering clearance mainly by extrapolating 403.5.1 "clearances" for walking surfaces, but that does not address anything other than general pathway widths.

Do you know if any language in 404 that specifically refers us to another code section that describes the features of a door maneuvering clearance?

 

[arwat23]

Nothing in CBC that I can find. Access Board has this. They treat the maneuvering clearances as a big box at the door. They state that the maneuvering clearance "must be free of protrusions the fill height" (I assume they mean full height of the door based on this diagram).


Take the following with a grain of salt since I'm going completely off memory, but I believe DSA, during one of their Code Discussion Groups, said that they consider grab bars in a toilet partition to be a protrusion into the door's maneuvering space. That would line with with what the Access Board says.

 

[mp25]

My interpretation is that there can be obstructions within this space such as grab bars, if the distance from the face of the grab bar to the face of the door leaf does not exceed 8". I would consider this a "recessed door" and follow 404.2.4.3.

See chapter-4-entrances-doors-and-gates of the ADA guide on access boards website for a paragraph about this issue.