If you run a business or are planning to start one, then one essential thing you’ll need to do is to make sure that your facility is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. The ADA is designed to ensure that disabled individuals are able to participate fully in public life, and an important part of that is making sure that public buildings such as stores and restaurants are accessible to them. This piece of legislation goes into detail about a number of different accessibility concerns, and one of them is door hardware. In this article, our team at Coastal Contract Hardware will go over more about ADA compliant hardware so that you can keep your business up to code.
- Closing Speed- One feature of ADA compliant hardware for doors is that it enforces a slow closing speed. Door closers should take at least 5 seconds to go from a 90 to 12 degree angle, and spring hinges should take at least 1.5 seconds to close from 70 degrees to 0. This gives people with mobility concerns enough time to safely traverse the doorway without having to worry about the door slamming into them as it swings closed.
- Opening Force- Another requirement of ADA compliant hardware is that it should require no more than 5 pounds of force to open. This ensures that individuals with muscular conditions can open the door without assistance.
- Placement- A third requirement of ADA compliant hardware is its placement. To meet ADA standards, the operable parts of the door–meaning the handle or knob–must be placed between 38 and 43 inches from the floor. This ensures that the door handle is within easy reach for everyone–not too high for wheelchair users, but also not so low as to force anyone to stoop down.
