Swing direction: IBC 1010.1.2.1
Pivot or side-hinged swinging doors must swing in the direction of egress travel where they serve:
- a room or area with an occupant load of 50 or more, or
- a Group H occupancy
Exactly 50 triggers the rule. Reading it as more than 50 is the listed common error. Group H is an additional trigger, not the only one, and the section does not tie swing direction to panic hardware. A Group B conference room with an occupant load of exactly 50 needs an out-swinging door.
Opening force: IBC 1010.1.3
- Interior swinging doors other than fire doors: 5 lbf (22 N) to push or pull open, not counting the force to retract latch bolts.
- All other swinging doors, including exterior doors and fire doors: the latch releases at 15 lbf, the door is set in motion at 30 lbf (133 N), and it swings to full open at 15 lbf.
Traps:
- Mixing up 15 and 30. The set-in-motion force is 30 lbf; latch release and full open are 15 lbf.
- Applying 5 lbf to a fire door. An interior labeled fire door falls under the 15/30/15 limits.
- Pairing 5 lbf with 15 lbf mixes the two sets.
- Fire doors are not exempt; 50 lbf is not a figure in the section.
Unlatching force: IBC 1010.1.3
The force to unlatch depends on the hardware type:
- push or pull hardware: 15 lbf
- rotating hardware such as levers and knobs: 28 in-lb (315 N-cm)
The 28 figure is in inch-pounds, not pounds-force. 30 in-lb is not a code figure; the 30 appears only as the 30-lbf set-in-motion force. 5 lbf is the interior non-fire door opening force, not an unlatch force.
One line to remember
Interior non-fire door: 5 lbf. Everything else: 15 to release, 30 to start, 15 to open fully.