American Architectural Manufacturers Association

AMD’s Side-Hinged Entry Door System Code Proposal Too Little, Too Soon?

Despite participating in a three year effort resulting in development of a door component substitution protocol which was lead by AAMA with participation by various organizations and manufacturers within the door industry, the Association of Millwork Distributors (AMD) created its own standard, Testing and Rating of Static Pressure on Side-Hinged Entry Door Systems [SHEDS] and Their Components, for adoption by the International Residential Code (IRC) during the current code change cycle. The proposal, RB127, received preliminary approval by the International Code Council (ICC) at the fall 2009 code development hearings in Baltimore, and now faces final action hearings at Dallas this May. Its approval has been challenged by a number of parties, including AAMA, WDMA, the ICC Referenced Standards Committee and the Colorado Chapter of ICC.

The current IRC requires windows, sliding doors and unit skylights to be tested and labeled in accordance with the NAFS – North American Fenestration Standard/Specification for windows, doors, and skylights, AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440-05 standard. Side-hinged doors can be tested and labeled per this standard or per ASTM E330, Standard Test Method for Structural Performance of Exterior Windows, Doors, Skylights and Curtain Walls by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference. Both criteria require full scale testing of the door assembly in accordance with ASTM E330 to determine the ability of the door assembly to withstand structural design pressures.

The AMD “SHED” standard side-steps the required full scale ASTM E330 testing, as referenced directly in the IRC, or through the AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440 rating process and its underlying component standards, by permitting testing and rating of individual components of the door assembly.

Despite general agreement with AMD on the need for such a component interchangeability standard, AAMA opposes the current version of the SHED standard for several reasons.

1) The SHED approach essentially calls for summing the structural performance ratings of individual components and extrapolating the performance of the complete door assembly without any test of the overall structure at any point, which would result in erroneous ratings.

2) The SHED standard is not totally complete in that it includes “placeholders” for certain criteria values that are to be filled in later.

3) The standard was also developed in a manner inconsistent with the recognized consensus-based process as required by the ICC. (AMD is attempting to receive ANSI approval.)

In delivering the AAMA position to the ICC, Julie Ruth with JRuth Code Consulting, noted that testing conducted by AAMA over the last two years shows that door component interchangeability is much more complex than the simple substitution approach proposed by AMD. “Significant inconsistencies in overall design pressure results, ranging from 2.5 to 45 psf” surfaced during this testing effort, even when only hinges, frame/stop design, insulating material and insulating glass sealants were varied in units with the same size, type and gauge of skin material, stile material and insulating material, glass make-up and using identical lock/deadbolt sets. “This showed that even with predominantly common elements, variation of single components can provide dramatically different results for the door’s ability to withstand uniform pressure,” said Ruth. While AAMA is optimistic that such variation can be reconciled, more investigation is clearly needed.

AAMA and other industry organizations developed a protocol to form the basis for individual associations to develop their own procedural guides. Based on this jointly developed protocol, AAMA 111-09, Procedure for Limited Component Substitution in AAMA-Certified Exterior Side-Hinged Doors, was released which provides a procedure for limited substitution of components within a door assembly that has already been authorized for certification. Read more about AAMA 111-09 in another Door Council article in this issue. Additionally, AAMA created an “Interim Door Certification Program” based on ASTM E 330 in March 2004. AAMA also plans to continue its research, which includes both testing and structural analysis, to develop a viable and meaningful method for addressing component interchangeability. AAMA, among others, thus remains opposed to the final adoption of the AMD proposal into the 2012 IRC as premature and inadequate and will so testify at the summer ICC hearing.

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