November 2024: Inspector’s Corner

Vision Lights at Doors

The ADA requires that if a door has a vision light that it be mounted no higher than 43″ a.f.f. to the glazing.

404.2.11 Vision Lights. Doors, gates, and side lights adjacent to doors or gates, containing one or more glazing panels that permit viewing through the panels shall have the bottom of at least one glazed panel located 43 inches (1090 mm) maximum above the finish floor.

On inspections, this tends to be missed. One of the main reasons is because the architects drawings call out the height of the vision light as exactly 43″ or not at all

New door with vision light

vision light mounted at 44 3/4″ a.f.f.

Ramps at Platform Lifts

The ADA and TAS allow the use of platform lift for some changes in level greater than 1/2″. This is allowed in existing conditions where it is technically infeasible to add a ramp or elevator. Most platform lifts provide ramps to exit. The ramp that is provided MUST comply with the ramp section (Section 405). The one violation that I notice for several platform lifts that are mounted on existing slabs is that the ramp is typically 15″ long and the change in level from the interior of the lift to the finished floor is more than 1.5″ and therefore the slope of the ramp is steeper than 1:12 (8.33%)

An interesting correction of a violation

The location of toilets are sometimes more than the 18″ maximum required from the side wall to the centerline of the toilet