kalamein doors

[Nicholas MacGillivray]

hello everyone.

ive got an assembly occupancy that has a kalamein door leading into the furnace room. 9.2.2.2(2)(a) says existing is acceptable, however kalamein doors did come with rating tags did they not? would you accept a kalamein door as existing without a tag? the door that is currently there does not have a tag

 

thanks!

[Joseph Gardiner]

Hello Nicholas,

I have never seen a rating tag on a Kalamein door and I honestly don’t know if they come with one. I am sure there will be various opinions around the province on your question. I would more often accept a kalamein door but would consider the following conditions prior to my determination.

• Condition of the door – is it flimsy or sturdy.
• Occupant load of the floor area that the appliance room is on and the total occupant load of the building.
• Location of the appliance room. For example, does it open into an exit, is it in the basement or is adjacent to the assembly.
• Does the room posses automatic detection.
•  Condition of the appliance(s).

I have done a lot of fire investigations and doors aren’t typically the weakest area of construction because they do not typically sustain direct flame impingement.

Hopefully this helps you.

JoeG

[George Macris]

Hi Nicholas,

Retrofit is a little different than other sections of the Fire Code.  You need to read it carefully and enforce only what it says and nothing more. The purpose of retrofit is to upgrade the construction to a higher  safety standard with the least amount of work and expenses.  9.2.2.2. doesn’t state anything about a tag. As long as the door functions properly, has a self closing device with existing metal frames you meet the requirement. If you notice it doesn’t even ask for rated frames  as long as they are metal. Similarly with the self closing device, it doesn’t need to be rated if existing as long as there is one there.

You don’t need to evaluate any other items that JoeG stated above. The requirement on the installation of the door is based on 9.2.2.2. only.

Thanks,

GM

 

 

 

[Nicholas MacGillivray]

right, being that i don’t have a lot of experience with kalamein doors, and the research that i do on them comes back that a good majority of kalamein doors did come with tags. there are also requirements for it to be considered a kalamein door (gauge of metal and construction of interior portion of the door) if the door that’s installed is just a hollow door that someone bent some sheet metal over and installed it, does it actually meet the requirements of being a kalamein door? there’s a little more to it.

[John Wilson]

In considering 9.2.2.2.(2)(a), I would look at:

Steel frame?

Steel ‘commercial’ door?

Self-closing device?

Proper latching hardware?

Well installed?

If yes to all the above, I move on with the inspection.

 

My quick research shows that there were some manufactures that did make kalamein doors without tags. The main distinguishing feature of a kalamein door is that it is wood core not all-steel construction.  As to the site-installed door skins, I’ve got quite a few of them here in Perth but in 9.5 buildings where they only needed to get 20 min and had recessed panel doors that didn’t meet the 45mm min.

[Author]

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