Door Closers and Air Pressures:

Understanding air pressures and door controls can be a challenge on some doorways and we have summarised this to help influence and choose the right door control.

Factors that affect these can include:

• The room is air conditioned
• The room is small
• The room is a corridor to a lift shaft
• It is a fire stop wall
• A compartmentation fire stop
• The door has a drop seal
• The door has double or triple blade seals for smoke or sound prevention
• The door is an external door with a threshold

Ways to overcome these can include:

• Slow the door closer down to allow air to escape
• Open a window or air vent on the window
• Increase the power on the door closer unit
• Use a bigger size door closer
• Fit the door with a fire grill
• Fit the room with a air grill or fire grill damper.

We trust these are useful and if you require any further help do not hesitate to contact ourselves.

The Equality Act 2010 (formerly The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, or The DDA for short) is human rights legislation that imposes a duty on employers (under Part ll) and people or organisations that provide a service to the public (under Part lll) not to discriminate on grounds of disability. For education buildings, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) imposes a similar duty on establishments providing educational services.

A building or a design solution cannot be The Equality Act 2010 compliant. It can only be designed or built in a way that helps people meet their duties in the Act and, therefore, minimises the risk of a legal challenge. For many existing buildings, it will be necessary to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to certain ‘physical features’, e.g. to widen a doorway or to modify a staircase, where it would otherwise be impossible or unreasonably difficult to accommodate a disabled person.

Since any alterations to a building need to comply with building regulations, the guidance in Approved Document M, Section 4 of the Scottish Technical Handbook and Part R of the Northern Ireland regulations should be the first reference point for suitable design solutions.

However, for issues not covered in the regulations, the recommendations in the most recent edition of BS 8300 should be followed.

You can read the UK Government’s full guidance on The Equality Act here.

It’s the standard that covers the design of buildings and the approach to meeting the needs of people with disabilities. It’s widely used as a reference document for guidance on issues not specifically covered in building regulations.

Published in November 2001, it covers:

• Car parking, setting down and approaching buildings
• Entrances and horizontal circulation
• Vertical circulation
• Use of the facilities and spaces within buildings
• Individual rooms
• Building types

Based on ergonomic research, BS 8300 includes reach ranges, space allowance, management issues and colours, contrast, lighting and acoustics.

With regard to door closers, BS 8300 states: ‘the opening force, when measured at the leading edge of the door, should be not more than 30 N from 0° (the door in the closed position) to 30° open, and not more than 22.5 N from 30° to 60° of the opening cycle.’

Contact us to discuss your obligations and requirements with regard to BS 8300.

1. Confirm you have a Rutland product
2. Have the correct invoice number that relates to this return/complaint
3. Check the date it was despatched to yourselves
4. Contact Rutland by phone or email and confirm reason for return/complaint
5. Obtain a returns number from Rutland with the agreed credit if applicable – goods are subject to inspection on return.
6. Pack product securely and Label with your return/complaint number Rutland address.
7. Agree a date and time for Rutland to collect.

What happens next?

Faulty goods – if your product is faulty we will invoice you for a replacement and then credit/refund if found to be a mechanical fault.

Wrong colour/product - if your product is sent wrong, we will invoice you for a replacement,  then credit/refund when your incorrect product is returned.

Un-wanted goods will be subject to a 15% handling and re-stocking charge and will only be credited if returned in a re-saleable condition and in perfect working order.  

Important

Returns are checked and if found to be misused, vandalised or been incorrectly fitted, this may affect your guarantee and a credit/refund may not be warranted.

Any un-wanted goods returned that are not faulty or incorrect are subject to a 15% handling and re-stocking charge.

Returned products can only be credited if returned in a re-saleable condition (packaging intact) and in perfect working order.  

Goods returned after 3 months may not be credited.

Goods returned without a returns number notification will be refused and returned to sender.