MyFloridaCode.com

Well, gentlemen, I'm a designer/builder up in Pensacola and I absolutely HATE out-swing residential doors.  I know you guys further South use them but I refused to do it even when I was building in Naples for a while.  My reasons are as follows:

First, they remind me of the doors on a house trailer or camper that swing out because there's not enough room to swing inside.  If you open one with a wind blowing, it will try to snatch the door from your hand and swing it around to bang the adjacent wall and pop the hinges loose.  That is, of course, unless you hang one of those beautiful chain and spring assemblies on the door -- especially nice if you have a good looking expensive front door on your house.

I have probably been through a dozen or more hurricanes in my 65 years growing up as a Navy dependent along the East coast from Rhode Island to Miami and for the last 40 years along the Gulf Coast.  I even flew search and rescue with the Marine Corps after hurricane Camille in 1969.  I did post hurricane surveys for the Red Cross locally in the seventies and eighties.  I replaced over 300 roofs after hurricane Ivan in 2004.   I have yet to have or to see an in-swing door  blow in from the hurricane winds unless the rest of the wall came with it.  If one is concerned about that possibility, however, there are unobtrusive jamb bolts that can further reinforce an exterior door.

As far as break-in, with an out-swing door, and the door stop to the inside, the bolt portion of the lockset is revealed to the exterior to the delight of the guy with the screwdriver and credit card.  If he is willing to try to kick the door in as they do on those TV alarm systems ads, and the builder did not know how to properly install the jamb plate and hinges to attach to the rough frame, then he is probably also willing to throw a big rock through a window which will not even trigger the alarm unless it has glass-break detectors or motion detectors inside.

I certainly don't mean to offend anyone and if one is happy with their out-swing doors then I wish them the best.  But I will not use them on my designs.

Chandler Knowles


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Keesee 
  To: Bill LeMaster ; Randy Shackelford ; Swisher, David ; codetalk at myfloridacode.com 
  Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 1:43 PM
  Subject: Re: [Florida Code Talk] Residental Entry Doors


  but.....the code was written for nationwide distribution, and when the snow piles up against the door, then it's a safety issue in case of fire.  So I believe it was left open to work for both climates.   You can use the Webster for the definition of snow.  ;-)






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  From: codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com [mailto:codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com] On Behalf Of Bill LeMaster
  Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 2:23 PM
  To: 'Randy Shackelford'; Swisher, David; codetalk at myfloridacode.com
  Subject: Re: [Florida Code Talk] Residental Entry Doors


  Outswing doors are also harder for robbers to kick in.

   

  William T. LeMaster CBO/CEAP/MCP

  Okaloosa County

  From: codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com [mailto:codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com] On Behalf Of Randy Shackelford
  Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 11:29 AM
  To: Swisher, David; codetalk at myfloridacode.com
  Subject: Re: [Florida Code Talk] Residental Entry Doors

   

  Section R311.4 of the Residential Code deals with egress doors.

  It doesn't look like it requires the swing to be of any particular direction.  I also did not see any changes to this section in either of the Supplements.

   

  On the other hand, building safety groups have lately been encouraging the use of doors that swing out because they are less likely to be blown open in a windstorm.  That may be the source of the subject.

   

  Randy Shackelford

  Simpson Strong-Tie

  800-999-5099

   


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  From: codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com [mailto:codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com] On Behalf Of Swisher, David
  Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 10:24 AM
  To: codetalk at myfloridacode.com
  Subject: [Florida Code Talk] Residental Entry Doors

   

  Has there been a recent change in the code requiring residential entry doors to all be outswing?

   

  Regards,

  David "Swish"Swisher

  National Accounts Installed Sales

  ProBuild East

  1615 N. Michigan Ave

  Kissimmee, Fl 34744

  p: 407-933-8665

  f: 407-933-4336

  m:727-580-5369

  david.swisher at probuild.com

   

   



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