Challenge #3: Solving for fire- and life-safety
Like the privacy and accessibility challenges stated above, fire- and life-safety performance initially eluded yesterday’s sliding door systems. To help bring these eye-catching, space-efficient solutions into areas of egress, manufacturers strove to innovate and meet fire-rated code criteria.
To achieve a fire rating and provide occupants with time to safely exit a burning building, interior sliding door systems must first pass a set of rigorous tests, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 10B, Standard for Fire Tests of Door Assemblies. During the first test, an independent third-party agency like UL determines how long a door can withstand extreme heat of up to 1052 C (1925 F) for 20, 45, 60, 90, or 180 minutes. Following the fire test, a mandatory hose-stream test determines whether a system can achieve a rating greater than 20 minutes. The end fire rating signifies the amount of time a given door can withstand a fire and effectively contain flames and smoke.
While many swing doors are available with fire ratings, first-generation interior sliding doors had problems fully sealing the perimeter. When the system was set in the closed position, smoke and flames could pass through the gaps between the wall and the door. By employing innovative design and material technology, fire-rated wood sliding doors are now available that can help control and contain their spread.
For example, one surface-mounted, top-hung single-leaf wood sliding door offering uses acoustic seals on three sides. The 45-minute fire-protective-rated door meets the UL 10 B requirements and uses positive latching and self-closing hardware for code compliance. With this innovative configuration, even more spaces are open to realizing the benefits of sliding doors.
For projects requiring smoke ratings, next generation sliding solutions are available having been tested to UL 1784. The door systems performing well on this standard are also useful for incorporation into spaces where air infiltration is tightly controlled for other reasons, such as clean rooms, labs, or pharmacies and even isolation rooms (see sidebar, “A Tight Perimeter for Isolation Rooms, Post-Pandemic”).
Solving performance plus aesthetics challenges
Interior sliding door systems have progressed a great deal over the past two decades, providing the functionality to meet many high-occupancy application requirements. Thanks to acoustic jamb gaskets, drop-down bottom seals, accessible hardware, touchless operating systems, and more, next-generation sliding doors can:
∞ meet occupant privacy needs with a tight perimeter;
∞ increase accessibility;
∞ comply with ADA clearance and hardware guidelines;
∞ reduce non-essential contact; and
∞ provide up to 45 minutes of fire protection.
Yet, while performance drives a considerable amount of commercial sliding door manufactures’ specification requests, the doors’ aesthetics must be on par with their swing competitors. To ensure performance plus high-design, manufacturers continue to expand sliding door offerings.
Next-generation sliding door frames, for instance, come with several finish options, including custom colors. The doors themselves specified flush wood, plastic laminates, aluminum style and rail, or even hollow metal. Specialty doors are also available for more other project needs. All the glazing options designers and architects would typical consider—laminated glass, decorative glass, markerboards, integral blinds, and even switchable privacy glazing—can be incorporated into these sliders. Within these styles, architects can choose from a wide range of finishes, veneers, and wood species to integrate with nearly any design scheme.
Along with frames and materials, designers can also incorporate sliding doors into assemblies with sidelites and/or transoms for visibility and daylighting purposes. Graphics, from decorative signage to marker boards, can add personalization or support wayfinding.
To illustrate how design teams are solving performance plus aesthetics challenges, it is worth considering how sliding doors function in real-world settings. From cool white laminated sliding doors adorned with graphics in a Brighton, Colorado, medical center to wood stile and glass-paneled sliding doors in a Bothell, Washington, high school, contemporary sliding doors can go a step beyond the ordinary.
