3.3 Doors, Doorways, and Gates: Clear Width and Maneuvering Clearances

3.3 Doors, Doorways, and Gates: Clear Width and Maneuvering Clearances

Windows, Doors, and Doorways carries 5% of the ICC 21 outline. The 2017 edition of A117.1 changed several maneuvering numbers, so read the table in your edition carefully rather than relying on ADA or 2009 memory.

Scope (404.1)

Doors, doorways and gates that are part of an accessible route comply with Section 404. Doors operated only by security personnel are exempt from the maneuvering clearance, hardware, closing speed and opening force provisions. IBC 1010.1.1 independently requires egress doors to provide 32 in. clear width, with its own exceptions (for example, doors not required to be accessible in Group R-2 and R-3 dwelling units).

Clear Width (404.2.2)

• Doorways: 32 in. minimum clear opening.
• Swinging doors: measured between the face of the door and the stop with the door open 90 degrees.
• Openings more than 24 in. deep at doorways without doors: 36 in. minimum.
• No projections into the clear width below 34 in. above the floor.
• Projections between 34 and 80 in.: 4 in. maximum.
• Exceptions: door closers and door stops may be 78 in. minimum above the floor; in alterations, a 5/8-in. projection of the latch-side stop into the clear width is allowed.
• Double-leaf doors (404.2.1): at least one active leaf must meet the clear width and maneuvering clearances.

A nominal 36-inch door typically yields about 33 to 34 inches clear once the door thickness and stop are deducted; a nominal 34-inch door is often too narrow.

Maneuvering Clearances (404.2.3)

Maneuvering clearances include the full clear opening width plus the required latch-side or hinge-side clearance, and the floor within them must slope no more than 1:48 (404.2.3.1).

Table 404.2.3.2: Manual Swinging Doors

Note what the 2017 table does not contain: there is no 12-inch latch-side clearance on the front push side. That figure comes from the ADA Standards and older editions. In A117.1-2017 the front push side needs depth (52 in. new, 48 in. existing) but 0 in. beyond the latch.

Table 404.2.3.3: Sliding and Folding Doors

Table 404.2.3.4: Doorways Without Doors (less than 36 in. wide)

Recessed Doors (404.2.3.5)

Where any obstruction within 18 in. of the latch side of a doorway projects more than 8 in. beyond the face of the door, measured perpendicular to the face of the door, maneuvering clearances for a forward approach are required. A door set deep in a wall with a return on the latch side therefore needs front-approach clearances even if users arrive from the side.

Thresholds and Doors in Series

• Thresholds (404.2.4): 1/2 in. maximum, complying with 302 and 303; existing or altered thresholds up to 3/4 in. high with a 1:2 bevel on each side for the height above 1/4 in.
• Two doors in series (404.2.5): 48 in. minimum between hinged or pivoted doors plus the width of any door swinging into the space, and the space must provide a turning space. Two 36-inch doors both swinging into the vestibule need 48 + 36 + 36 = 120 in.

Worked Examples

1. Office door, front approach, pull side, new building: 60 inches perpendicular and 18 inches beyond the latch. A wall return 12 inches from the latch jamb fails.
2. Same door, push side: 52 inches perpendicular in a new building. A corridor 48 inches wide in front of the push side fails in new construction but complies in an existing building.
3. Latch-side approach, push side, door with closer and latch: 42 + 6 = 48 inches perpendicular, 24 inches beyond the latch. The "+6" here is triggered by the closer; whether a latch exists does not matter for latch-side approaches.
4. Hinge-side approach, push side, door with closer but no latch (a push-pull door): 42 inches perpendicular, 22 inches beyond the hinge side. The +6 applies only when both a closer and a latch are present.

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