Two years ago I bought an apartment in an elite building under construction. The house has been handed over, it's time to do some renovations. I decided to start by replacing the front door, but was faced with certain requirements. The head of the house told me that this door needs to be installed in such a way that it does not contradict fire safety standards. Where should the front door to the apartment open? I decided to answer this question and many others in this small but very useful article.
Opening side standards
The installation of an entrance door structure in an apartment in a city high-rise building or a private cottage is accompanied by various mandatory factors. They are aimed at preserving the functionality of the structure and the comfort of its subsequent operation.
To ensure that the door to your living space is installed correctly, you should entrust this process to professionals.
At the same time, you should also know what rules and regulations exist in this area. This will allow you to control the installation process.
There is no single scheme or standardization for the door installation process. There are some features that are expressed in the careful regulation of individual points. They relate to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and SNiP requirements. These guidelines state that the door to a living space must open outward. There are also certain additional rules for installing door structures.
Door installation rules
Similar rules are spelled out in a special technical document “Fire Safety of Modern Structures”. The principles and options for evacuation are indirectly stated here.
Exits in such a room must open strictly in accordance with the developed design of the urban structure. Other equally important rules include:
- If the landing in the house is relatively small, and the door turns inward, a replacement will need to be carried out in accordance with the established technical requirements.
- Opening outwards can only be permitted if there are no obstacles for other occupants during a quick emergency evacuation.
- If a door is installed in violation of accepted rules, the apartment owner may face legal proceedings and fines.
- To avoid problems during the installation of doors, it is worth coordinating this process with the management of the house. In some cases, permitting documentation may be required.
- In modern buildings, it is recommended to install doors so that they open inward. In an emergency, such doors are much easier to knock down.
The presented rules require strict implementation. They can only be circumvented by reworking the project and conducting a special examination. Owners of ordinary city apartments are unlikely to go this route. The listed additions require certain costs. However, you should be aware that the fine for violating the installation will be much higher.
Requirements
To protect these openings, openings, preserving, if possible, functions, thus damaged, weakened, barriers; invented, many engineering solutions are used.
Technological openings and airlocks are protected by deluge curtains, fire sprinkler systems, and sealed with non-flammable materials to the full thickness of the wall, partition, and ceiling; curtains, windows and hatches are also installed for access to the main/technical floor, attic, basement, production, storage, technical premises; for inspection of utilities.
If new construction projects are filled with wooden and metal products of suitable sizes that meet the standards, codes of practice, and regulations; for which there are industrial safety certificates, taken into account in the specifications of the project documentation; in operating public buildings, at existing industrial enterprises, specialists from engineering services, workshop or production management will have to “rack their brains” about this, solving the problem on their own.
Employees of specialized enterprises that have the right to install, maintain and repair fillings that provide protection from fire and smoke, on the basis of an appropriate license from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, can help them with this.
Since most often the connection between rooms is carried out through openings for the passage of people, fire doors are of immediate interest, the characteristics of which satisfy the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 123-FZ “Technical Regulations on Fire Safety Requirements”, namely:
- Art. 35, classifies building structures according to their fire resistance limit, which is determined based on test methods. Directly on their basis, as well as with the help of calculations, the time to reach the limits of the permissible state is established, where the loss of: load-bearing capacity is denoted by the letter R, integrity - E, ability not to transmit heat - I.
- The fire resistance limit (FR) of any filling in barriers occurs at critical values of the main parameters - E and I, as well as W - maximum thermal impact, S - smoke and gas impermeability.
- Art. 88 defines the conditions for localizing a fire, as well as the software of barriers and their corresponding filling, which are given in table No. 23. According to its data, doors of the 1st type are installed in walls of type 1; in the walls of the 2nd, partitions of the 1st - 2 types.
- Table 24 indicates the filling software, including for blind areas, as well as glazed areas of less than 25% of the area. For type 1 – EI 60, type 2 – EI. For glazing of more than 25%, type 1 should be EIW 60, and type 2 – EIW 30.
Mandatory requirement: PD must ensure the normative value of software for enclosing structures.
SNiP 21-01-97* “Safety Safety Regulations for Buildings and Structures” regulates safety, in particular: the clear height of exits is not less than 1.9 m; width: not less than 1.2 m when evacuating more than 15 people from fire hazardous premises of class F1.1, more than 50 people from other classes; 0.8 m – in other cases.
Exception to the rules: on technical floors, the permissible height of an emergency exit is not less than 1.8 m.
SP 4.13130.2013 is directly related to them; for design, testing: for resistance to fire - GOST R 53307-2009, smoke and gas tightness - GOST R 53303-2009.
From July 1, 2022, GOST R 57327-2016 will come into force, regulating the requirements and test methods for metal PDs.
For products/models with glazing of more than 25% of the area, as well as those made of a metal frame filled with heat-resistant protective glass or translucent materials with the same properties, GOST R 53308-2009 is applicable.
Who checks installation standards?
If the house has just been built, a special commission checks the correct orientation of the doors. During the verification process, official acceptance documents are issued.
In addition, compliance with fire safety standards is checked. A similar check is carried out by an inspector from the Ministry of Emergency Situations. He checks not only entrance, but also interior door structures. The latter should open according to the principle - from a small to a large room.
Fines
It is impossible to impose sanctions without a preliminary trial.
An exception is the use of the premises for commercial purposes, for example, if the apartment is rented out as an office. If the inspector discovers a violation of the rules for installing doors, he issues an official order and a fine.
In the case of private housing in multi-storey buildings, the court will render a verdict in favor of the inspection organization that filed the claim.
If the owner refuses to comply with the court decision, the bailiffs will simply cut down the door.
If there is no updated design documentation and permission for redevelopment, the homeowner will have no chance of winning in court.
How to choose the right opening direction?
Experts in the field of installation of door structures advise when installing to ensure compliance with the following factors:
- Doors located nearby must move freely when opened at the same time. They shouldn't touch each other. For standard city high-rise buildings, this is a fairly common problem.
- If a neighbor installed a door that opens outward, you should install a door that opens inward. This will protect apartment residents and preserve the integrity and appearance of the structure.
- The door opening angle must be correlated with established GOST standards. Full opening is the best option.
- When arranging corner apartments, the above rule is not feasible. Different standards apply here.
Construction process standards require doorways to be placed at a sufficiently large distance from each other. This rule is based on common sense and ease of use.
In private houses, all entrance doors are led outside. According to modern legislation, after the construction of such structures, they are required to be handed over to fire inspectors.
In public places
In public buildings, according to fire regulations, entrance doors must always open to the street.
Sliding automatic doors in shops and institutions must be equipped with an unlocking device in case of fire.
Hospital floor plans typically include long corridors with ward and office doors leading into them. When opening towards the corridor, the standards require that the width of the opening between two doors on opposite sides be at least 1 meter.
The door is installed incorrectly - what to do?
In order not to face fines and to think about your own safety in case of an unforeseen situation, it is worth checking that the door is installed correctly. Documents, technical passports and other papers should be checked. If the check shows that the door is installed incorrectly, the structure will need to be reinstalled.
Reinstalling the door
To properly carry out such an operation, you will need to turn to professionals. Our specialists have the necessary experience and professional tools. During the reinstallation process, the following actions are carried out:
- The direction that allows the door to be opened in the required manner is determined. This will allow you to understand whether or not you need to change the canvas;
- Reinstallation involves removing the door from its hinges on one side and installing it on the opposite side;
- The lock is transferred and the holes from previously installed locks are sealed.
The problem associated with reinstalling the door is specific, but can be solved fairly quickly.
Left and first doors
There are 4 installation options according to the opening method. Moreover, in different countries they have different names. For example, the right and left doors in Russia and Europe are defined differently.
In Europe, the position of the handle on the door leaf is determined by the side opening away from you, and in Russia - towards you. Accordingly, for a Russian, the left door is a door with the handle on the left, and the right door is with the handle on the right. In Europe, the opposite is true, which should be taken into account when ordering products in an online store, for example.
Door opening options
