I am converting a house into a business, and therefore need to create an ADA compliant bathroom. When I opened up a wall to relocate the doorway I was surprised to find an existing door rough opening. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the rough opening is 35″ wide. As I understand the ADA guidelines, the door opening, including the opened door, needs to be a minimum of 32″. I was planning on a 34″ door to get this. Both king studs of this rough opening are against side walls, so enlarging the opening is not simple.
I’ve thought of a using a thinner door (1 3/8″ and cutting it down to 33″) hoping to get close. Are there different hinge configurations which would swing the door out of the way? Anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dave
Replies
You can get offset hinges which provide an extra inch or so of clearance.
http://www.adaptiveaccess.com/offset_hinges.php
http://www.activeforever.com/p-508-expandable-offset-door-hinges-brass.aspx
Note that to use these you need clearance for the door to swing all the way open -- if the knob hits the wall too soon (or, worse, the hinge side of the door hits the wall) you may lose your opening width there.
Re: offset hinges
Thanks Dan,
I'll have to measure to make sure, but I think the offset hinges might work.
Dave
Also found this:
"Where it
Also found this:
"Where it is technically infeasible to comply with clear width requirements of 4.13.5, a projection of 5/8" maximum will be permitted for the latch side stop." (ADAAG 4.1.6(3)(d) Doors);
"Technically infeasible ... existing structural conditions would require removing or altering a load-bearing member which is an essential part of the structural frame; or because other existing physical or new construction and which are necessary to provide accessibility." (ADAAG 4.1.6(1 )(j))
Another thing to watch is which way the door opens. You can obviously gain a lot of room in the bathroom by having the door open out, but you need to beware of code violations due to this -- blocking hallways, etc. And the offset hinges, in an open-out situation, may create a snag hazard for passers-by (though this might be mitigated by some appropriate trim extensions).
How about considering eliminating the jack stud? This gives you 3 inches to work with. Instead use a hanger bracket or angle iron to support the head framing. (it may not be a structural header anyway).
jack studs can be replaced with simpson header brackets if this is a load bearing wall.
Do you have a 5' turn diameter also?
Do you have the appropriate side clearances at the doorway?
Whether push or pull, you need certain clear distances to the side of the door's handle for the manuevering of the chair. It sounded like your door was between two perpendicular walls?