Overview of Revolving Door Codes by Eastern Door Service, Inc.

Overview of Revolving Door Code Compliance

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General Information ¦ Collapsing of Door Wings ¦ Dispersal Area
Speed Control ¦ Adjacent Swing Door

General Information
Revolving doors can not be used for more than 50% of the buildings egress requirements and can not be credited with more than a 50 person capacity. Revolving doors must comply with the following items, if they are considered a means of egress from a building space.

Collapsing of Door Wings

Door wings must collapse into a book-fold position.
Parallel egress paths on each side of the folded doors to be at least a 36" combined width.
Door wings must collapse with not more than 180 Lbs. (880 N) applied 3" (76 mm) from the door's outer edge.

Exception to 180 Lbs. collapsing requirement: Maximum 180 Lbs. (880 N) collapsing force does not apply if the collapsing force is reduced to not more than 130 Lbs. (635 N), when:

1) The door will book-fold, when there is a power failure to the door wing's book-fold locking device.

2) The door will book-fold, when the buildings fire suppression (sprinkler) system is activated.

3) The door will book-fold, when the building's fire detection (alarm) system is activated.

4) There is a fire detection sensor (smoke / heat detector) within 75 feet (22860 mm) of the revolving door.

5) The collapse of the door wings is not delayed.

6) An emergency release switch is located at an approved location by the revolving door. This emergency release switch must be clearly identified.

Dispersal Area

Revolving door can not be located within 10 feet (3048 mm) of a stair case or escalator.
A dispersal area must be provided for between the stair case / escalator and the revolving door.

Speed Control
Revolving doors must be equipped with a speed regulator to prevent the door from rotating faster than the following speeds:

Manually Operated Doors

6'6" inside diameter - 12 RPM
7'0" and 7'6" inside diameter - 11 RPM
8'0" inside diameter - 10 RPM
8'6" and 9'0" inside diameter - 9 RPM

Automatic Revolving Doors

8'0" inside diameter - 9 RPM
9'0" inside diameter - 8 RPM
10'0" inside diameter - 7 RPM

Adjacent Swing Door
Revolving doors must have an adjacent swing door. The swing door must be located within the same wall of the revolving door and within ten feet (3048 mm).

Page Last Updated Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Charles F. Vetter