Prima Doors Ltd, Steel Doors, Hinged Doors, Security Doors, Fire Doors,

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The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)

At Prima Doors we continually appraise our products against evolving standards and building regulations to ensure we develop our products to comply with these standards and enable us to offer suitable options and guidance in these areas.

From October 2004, all public buildings- existing as well as new- have had to comply with the requirements. If you haven't already made changes or incorporated these into your new design you could be leaving yourself vulnerable under the law.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 DDA) - This is the primary law. It makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities. Part lll is the section which deals with access to public buildings and residential accommodation. The Act does not go into specifics, but rather it sets out general duties and obligations which must be fulfilled.

BS 8300: 2001 - This is a code of practice. It gives detailed recommendations on how to design a building to make it accessible to the disabled. The standard does not have the force of law itself, but following it should ensure that you meet your legal obligations under the DDA.

Building Regulations - Part M has been revised to incorporate the requirements of BS 8300.

Prima Doors manufacture doorsets that provide the accessibility and automation that the Disability Discrimination Act demands.

As a general guide we list below the key areas that need to be considered and the options available from Prima :-

Clear widths :- The effective clear width through a single leaf door, or one leaf of a double leaf door (clear of any projections from the face of the door such as door furniture and weather boards) should be a preferred 800mm and a minimum 750mm based on a straight-on wheelchair approach as set out in clause 6.4.1 of BS 8300:2001. That equates to a structural width of approximately 1000mm depending on the ironmongery used. For more details please click here clear_width.pdf

Vision Panels :- Entrance doors and lobby doors, other than those to dwellings, should have viewing panels to alert people approaching a door to the presence of another person on the other side. If a door has a single viewing panel, the minimum zone of visability should be between 500mm and 1500mm from the floor. If a door requires an intermediate horizontal section for strength or to accommodate door furniture, the door should have two viewing panels, one accommodating a zone of visibility between 500mm and 800mm from the floor and the other accommodating a zone of visability between 1150mm and 1500mm from the floor as set out in clause 6.4.3 of BS 8300:2001. For more details click here dda_vision_panels.pdf

Door opening furniture :- Wherever possible, door opening furniture with a lever action should be used as door furniture with a spherical, circular or similar design is difficult to use by people with, for instance, arthritis or a weak grip.

All door furniture should contrast in colour and luminance with the surface of the door, for easy identification by visually impaired people.

If a door has no closing device, an additional item of door furniture (such as a long horizontal pull handle) should be provided on the push side of the door to help a disabled person to close the door behind them. External handles on an entrance door should be warm to the touch.

The location and design of latch and push/pull handles should be consistent throughout a property and should be in accordance with clause 6.5.1 of BS 8300:2001 and Figure 17.

For more details please click here dda_ironmongery_heights.pdf