This part of BS 8300-1 and BS 8300-2 are published by BSI Standards Limited, under licence from The British Standards Institution, and came into effect on 31 January 2018. The two documents supersedes BS 8300:2009+A1:2010, and is published in the following parts:
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Part 1: External environment – Code of practice;
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Part 2: Buildings – Code of practice.
As a code of practice, this British Standard takes the form of guidance and recommendations. It should not be quoted as if it were a specification and particular care should be taken to ensure that claims of compliance are not misleading. Here we focus on BS 8300-2:2018 as it is this part of the document that relates to doors and ironmongery.
BS 8300 is a code of practice which focuses on the design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people.
When specifying doors and the associated hardware, it is important to fully understand the recommendations of BS 8300 and the implications for the door specification. In some instances, recommendations are quite specific, whilst in others they include dimensional ranges. Where dimensions are stated, they are subject to tolerances. Dimensional ranges are intended to provide designers with some flexibility of design solution.
Outlined below are the main areas detailed within the document which affect the door.
SELF-CLOSING SWING DOORS
BS 8300 suggests that any self‑closing hinged (single swing) or pivoted (single or double swing) doors should have controlled door closing devices and allow independent use by disabled people by conforming to the following recommendations:
– the opening force at the leading edge of the door do not exceed 30N between 0 and 30 degrees;
– and does not exceed 22.5N between 30 to 60 degrees.
The choice of controlled door closing devices should take account of the efficiency of the closer, as well as the resistances from edge seals, hinge friction, latch resistance and differential air pressure.
The use of high efficiency closers can reduce the force required to open the door and increase the proportion of the disabled population who can pass through independently.
For assistance with specifying highly efficient closer mechanisms, please do not hesitate to contact Doorview.
POWER-OPERATED DOORS
Where it is not possible for a controlled door closing device to close an entrance door and keep it closed against external conditions without exceeding the opening force limits set out above (Self-closing swing doors), one of the following systems should be used:
a) a power‑operated door (sliding, folding, balanced or swing).
b) a low energy swing door.
c) a power‑operated revolving door with an adjacent accessible door.
d) an entrance lobby or airlock system of inner and outer doors.
Effective clear opening widths
The minimum effective clear width of a single leaf door, or one leaf (the primary leaf) of a double leaf door, clear of any projections from the face of the door such as door furniture and weather boards, is shown in the table opposite.
When specifying a door size, designers should take into account the extent to which the door might not be able to open beyond 90°, allowing for the projection of the door furniture or wall configuration.
An unobstructed space of at least 300 mm should be provided between the leading edge of a door (when it opens towards you) and a return wall, unless the door is opened by remote automatic control. Increasing this space to 450mm will improve manoeuvrability, enabling wheelchair users to pass through the door more easily.
DOOR FURNITURE
It should be possible to operate all door opening furniture one‑handed, without the need to grasp or twist. Wherever possible, door opening furniture used in conjunction with locks and latches should have a lever action. Knobs with a spherical, circular or similar design, as well as small symmetrical turn buttons, are difficult to use by people with limited dexterity, arthritis or a weak grip.
The location and design of lever furniture for external and internal doors should be as follows (Figure 15 opposite):
– Lever diameter at least 19mm
– Hand grip zone of at least 95mm
– Hand grip zone at least 45mm from face of door
– Start of hand grip zone at least 63.5mm from door edge
For easy identification by blind and partially sighted people, all door opening furniture should contrast visually with the surface of the door (see Annex B). It is considered that a difference in LRV between the door opening furniture and the door of at least 15 points is acceptable. Where lever furniture intercepts viewing panels, any projecting glazing beads should not interfere with the operation of the lever or reduce the effective clearance behind it.
PULL HANDLES
The location and design of pull handles for both external and internal doors should be in accordance with Figure 14 (opposite) and, preferably, consistent throughout a property. Although the conventional “D” pull handle is shown in the diagram (opposite) other patterns are acceptable provided they conform to the dimensional criteria below:
– Pull diameter between 19-35mm
– Pull handle grip at least 45mm from face of door
– Fixing centres at least 300mm
– Bottom end of pull handle no lower than 700mm and no higher than 1000mm above the floor
– Top end of pull handle no lower than 1300mm above the floor
Pull handles should preferably not be fitted to the push side of doors. As with door furniture used in conjunction with locks, all pull handles should contrast visually with the surface of the door. It is considered that a difference in LRV between the door opening furniture and the door of at least 15 points is acceptable.
LOCKS AND LATCHES
To ensure that blind and partially sighted people and/or people with limited dexterity have unobstructed access to the keyway, upright mortice lock/latches should either have:
– the cylinder positioned above the lever handle where it is more visible and accessible or,
– if the cylinder is below the handle, the minimum distance between the handle and the keyway of the cylinder should be 72 mm.
– the backset of the lock/latch should be at least 54mm
Where a multi‑point locking system is used, it should be capable of being locked/unlocked simultaneously by a single turn of the key. The operating height of the lever/pad handle should be that as mentioned in Figure 15(above). The torque force required to operate keys and cylinder turns should not exceed 0.5 N·m.
DOOR BOLTS
Where doors are required to be bolted for security purposes, one of the following types of door bolt should be used:
a) knob slide flush bolts or surface bolts with a free moving slide action;
b) rack and pinion mortice bolts fitted with fixed knobs to enable the user to operate them easily (i.e. without the need to locate a loose key and insert it into a restricted hole);
c) a surface‑mounted or morticed espagnolette bolt with top and bottom shoots or side shoots operated by a single handle positioned at a height between 900 mm and 1 050 mm from the finished floor level;
d) lever-action flush bolts.
PANIC & EMERGENCY EXIT DEVICES
Release forces for panic exit devices operated by a horizontal bar for use on escape routes should conform to BS EN 1125:2008, requiring an operating force no greater than 80 N.
Release forces for emergency exit devices operated by a lever handle (type A device) should conform to BS EN 179:2008, with an operating force no greater than 70 N.
Release forces for emergency exit devices operated by a push pad (type B) should conform to BS EN 179:2008, with an operating force no greater than 150 N.