Error in Sample Exam - Required Width for Egress Component
This is a sample item from the ARE Handbook. The required clear width for the door is 45", as shown in the calculation. However, the illustration shows the dimension between the door frame, including the door thickness. Since this is the case, shouldn't the solution be 4'-0" (which would be closer to 47" assuming a door thickness of 2")?
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I agree with the fact that the "door thickness isn't factored into egress calculation". However, I think this sample item is incorrect because the dimension string includes the door thickness, and for that reason the number shown in the illustration should be different than the calculated one.
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When you're documenting an egress plan for a set, you wouldn't include the door thickness in representing the clear opening size for egress, would you? (E.g. a door with 22 occupants exiting through a 36" door opening wouldn't need to be 38" clear due to a 2" thick door). The tests are just as much about reading into the details as they are about using common sense and methods for documentation you would see in a standard drawing set.
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We're going in circles, my friend. My point is simple, the illustration is wrong and the sample item should be updated. Typically, you would include a label in an egress plan with the required and provided width without including a dimension string. As you say, 36" doors are very typical because they are generally used in response to the minimum required width of 32". In this question, the dimension (between the frame) shows 3'-9" or 45", which means that the door would be a very unusual 45" door that would not comply (you probably use Revit and you probably know that this 45" dimension would show up in your door schedule).
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To solve the question, it's not a matter of practicality, it's looking for the minimum width needed to provide egress according to code calculations with the information provided. A 45" door opening (emphasis on opening) is in compliance with code with the given occupancy parameters; the door thickness or whether the door is a typical or non-typical size is beside the point, and part of the trickiness of the ARE. You're forced to think differently about these items when presented.
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