Barrier-free doors and washrooms in Alberta

Power door operatorsArticle 3.8.2.7.

Power door operators are required at barrier-free entrances (including the inner door of a vestibule), at many doors along a barrier-free path to suites or rooms served by a public corridor, and at the entrance to any washroom with a barrier-free water closet. There are exceptions, so check how they apply to your building.

Operator controlsSentence 3.8.3.6.(6)

Push buttons must be on the barrier-free path, marked with the International Symbol of Access, and operable at two heights: 150 to 300 mm and 900 to 1 100 mm above the floor. Without safety sensors, the door must take at least 3 seconds to open fully and stop with a force of no more than 65 N.

Clear widthSentence 3.8.3.6.(2)

Doorways on a barrier-free path need a clear width of at least 850 mm with the door open.

Opening forceSentence 3.8.3.6.(8)

Without a power operator, an unlatched door must open with no more than 38 N for an exterior swing door and 22 N for an interior swing or sliding door. Closers have to be adjusted to meet this.

Door hardwareSentence 3.8.3.6.(4) and Clause 3.8.3.8.(1)(b)

Handles, latches and locks must be mounted 900 to 1 100 mm above the floor and work with one hand in a closed fist, without tight grasping or twisting. In practice that means levers, push/pull hardware or panic bars rather than knobs.

Barrier-free entrancesArticle 3.8.2.2.

All pedestrian entrances to a storey that must be barrier-free have to be barrier-free and connect to a barrier-free exterior path, with some exceptions such as service entrances. Where an entrance has more than one doorway, one of them has to meet the barrier-free door requirements.

Universal washroomsArticle 3.8.2.8.

Where washrooms are provided on a storey that needs a barrier-free path, at least one universal washroom is required, with exceptions such as washrooms inside residential suites. The universal washroom door must be lockable from inside with a closed fist, have an emergency release from outside, and, because the room has a barrier-free water closet, have a power door operator.

This is a plain-language summary, not the code itself. Requirements depend on the building's occupancy, size and whether the work is new construction or an alteration. Confirm them with your designer and the local authority having jurisdiction. More on barrier-free code.