AAMA Releases Document Addressing
Vertical Loading Resistance of Side-Hinged Door Leaves

The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has released AAMA925-07, a specification for testing side-hinged door leaves. According to Ken Brenden, AAMA technical standards manager, the revamped six-page document, first published in 2003 and titled Specification for Determining the Vertical Loading Resistance of Side-Hinged Door Leaves, includes several updates.

The purpose of this specification is to establish a standard method of evaluating a side-hinged door leaf for its ability to resist a vertical load along the lock stile in a typical door frame application. Through the life of a side-hinged door system, there may be several causes of an extraordinary vertical load to be applied to the door leaf. Some typical examples include a child hanging from the handle of the door or a load such as a wreath or hangars being supported by the door leaf. This specification determines the effects of such loads when applied to a side-hinged door system, Brenden says.

“In addition to various editorial changes, the most significant edits were the requirement of a maximum force-to-latch load in the test report and the 15-pound pass-fail criteria was replaced with a new procedure for conducting force-to-latch tests. The force-to-latch testing protocol was modified to coincide with that identified by the newest edition of the North American Fenestration Standard/Specification for windows, doors, and unit skylights (AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S. 2/A440-08),” according to Brenden.

Revisions were also made to section 3.5 that describes an apparatus called “force gage,” and section 1.2 was added to explain that the primary units of measure in the document are metric and values given in parentheses are for reference only.

The Specification for Determining the Vertical Loading Resistance of Side-Hinged Door Leaves is available to members at a cost of $10 for download, $20 for paper copy and $25 for CD. Non-members may purchase the document at a cost of $25 for download, $50 for paper copy and $55 for CD. To order AAMA 925-07, visit the AAMA Online Publication Store at www.aamanet.org; call 847/303-5664; or write the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, 1827 Walden Office Square, Suite 550, Schaumburg, IL 60173.

Need more info and analysis about the issues?
CLICK HERE to subscribe to Shelter™ magazine.