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Stairwell Re-entry signs

Kat Gilland

Registered User
Joined
Feb 22, 2018
Messages
8
Location
Memphis TN
For stairwells that have a key/badge re-entry to levels are the signs required to be Tactile/Braille or are visual signs acceptable?
 
Why would they not be tactile? If you were vision impaired and using the stairs to exit the building, wouldn’t you want to know what level you were on?
 
1013.4 Raised character and braille exit signs. A sign stating
EXIT in visual characters, raised characters and braille
and complying with ICC A117.1 shall be provided adjacent to
each door
to an area of refuge, an exterior area for assisted
rescue, an exit stairway or ramp, an exit passageway and the
exit discharge.
 
These would be for the reentry side of stairwell doors, where the door is locked to reentry on to the floor without a key or badge...
NFPA 101 - 7.2.1.5.7.2 just says signs but no specification as to if they are visual (like the landing ID required by IFC) or tactile (like the ADA landing ID)
I provide separate signs for the IFC and ADA requirements to make sure I fulfill their specific needs. But this is the first locked to reentry I have encountered on the project. They seem to fall into the category of directional rather than space ID... I'm not sure if that matters.
I wondered if anyone knew, off hand, the code/section that would tell me for sure what is required.
 
If you are connecting more than three stories. Remember a basement is a story

1023.9 Stairway identification signs.
A sign shall be provided at each floor landing in an interior exit stairway and ramp connecting more than three stories designating the floor level, the terminus of the top and bottom of the interior exit stairway and ramp and the identification of the stairway or ramp. The signage shall state the story of and direction to the exit discharge, and the availability of roof access from the interior exit stairway and ramp for the fire department. The sign shall be located 5 feet (1524 mm) above the floor landing in a position that is readily visible when the doors are in the open and closed positions. In addition to the stairway identification sign, a floor-level sign in visual characters, raised characters and braille complying with ICC A117.1 shall be located at each floor-level landing adjacent to the door leading from the interior exit stairway and ramp into the corridor to identify the floor level.

1023.9.1 Signage requirements.
Stairway identification signs shall comply with all of the following requirements:

1. The signs shall be a minimum size of 18 inches (457 mm) by 12 inches (305 mm).

2. The letters designating the identification of the interior exit stairway and ramp shall be not less than 11/2 inches (38 mm) in height.

3. The number designating the floor level shall be not less than 5 inches (127 mm) in height and located in the center of the sign.

4. Other lettering and numbers shall be not less than 1 inch (25 mm) in height.

5. Characters and their background shall have a nonglare finish. Characters shall contrast with their background, with either light characters on a dark background or dark characters on a light background.

6. Where signs required by Section 1023.9 are installed in the interior exit stairways and ramps of buildings subject to Section 1025, the signs shall be made of the same materials as required by Section 1025.4.
 
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