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gerry_suggitt

Can small door clearance cause a back pressure problem?

5 years ago

I have a rooming house for students and I want to change all the doors to fire rated doors. According to the fire code, the maximum clearance allowed is 1/4 inch between the bottom of the door and the floor. A 5 inch pipe bringing the air in would be about 20 sq inches. A 1/4 inch clearance would provide at most 7 sq inches of return. Would that difference cause too much back pressure for the HVAC system to run properly?

Comments (10)

  • 5 years ago

    Maybe, why not ask an HVAC contractor?


    Do the rooms have individual return ducts? I'd guess not, if so, you wouldn't be asking the question. Would putting those in be feasible?

  • 5 years ago

    What is rating of door? I think you have incorrect information. I believe you are allowed 3/4". Your door supplier should be able to verify that.

  • 5 years ago

    Thanks for your responses. There doesn't seem to be anyway of responding to a response, so I will just address them here.


    @Elmer J Fudd: Well, when I posted it here, I thought I was asking a HVAC contractor. Of course, it is possible to add returns but the idea of adding new bulkheads and columns and running returns back to the furnace room seems expensive and daunting. However, I am contemplating that as it would provide 2 points of control for an individual room.


    @Seabornman: The rating is 20 minutes. According to the Ontario building code: A door described in Sentence (1) [sentence 1 defined a 20 minute rating] shall have a clearance not more than 6 mm at the bottom and not more than 3 mm at the sides and top.


    @sktn77a: The 1/4" can be achieved with a sill, which would still allow the door to clear the floor by 1/2" or more.

  • 5 years ago

    Ah, Canada.... OK. Yes, a sill would work. Tripping hazard, though (?)

    Don'tcha just love these codes!

  • 5 years ago

    Tripping hazard? Wow!

  • 5 years ago

    Yep. Student trips, sues the condo owner and gets a handsome payola!

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Doors commonly have sills. Every bathroom door, every door to the outside, and a few of the interior doors in my home have sills - including the door from my kitchen to the basement - have sills.

    Student trips on a carpet edge or wet bathroom floor or on a slippery kitchen floor and who gets sued?

    You think this is a Canadian thing? lol

    Don't make stuff up.

  • 5 years ago

    A sill isn't going to do the OP any good. I read the Ontario code. There's a chance a transfer grille could be used somewhere in the wall, but I couldn't tell if it would need a fire/smoke damper.

  • 5 years ago

    A sill doesn't have to be a tripping hazard