How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
Does a French door have safety tempered glass?
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Any glazing in doors has been required by the major building codes to be safety glass since that late 1960s, and by the Consumer Products Safety Council since the late 1970s. So only very old French doors will have regular glass that shatters into dangerous shards when broken. The International Residential Code (IRC) and the Residential Edition of the Florida Building code (FBC) does have an exception for very small glass panels in doors: if a 3-inch sphere cannot pass through the opening, then it does not have to be safety glass. However, we know of no French doors with glass panels that small.
Go to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Safety Tempered Glass for links to all of our articles about safety tempered glass.
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To learn more about doors and windows, see these other blog posts:
• What causes sweating (condensation) on the inside of windows in the winter?
• Is every exterior door of a house required to have a landing outside?
• What are the small slots at the bottom of the outside of my window?
• Why does condensation form on the outside of some windows and not others in the morning?
• Why is the garage door track a white tube?
• What is the raised metal plate on the floor under the garage door?
• Why do I have to hold down the button to close the garage door?
• How can I tell if a window or glass door is safety glass?
• What are the code requirements for safety tempered glass for doors?•
• Should a front door swing in or out?
• How many exit doors are required for a house?
• How many exit doors are required for a mobile/manufactured home?
• Can a bedroom door open into the garage?
• What are the building code requirements for a door from the garage to the house?
• How difficult is it to change a window to french doors or a sliding glass door?
• How do you determine if a door is left-handed or right-handed?
• Why are window security bars dangerous?
• What are the common problems you find inspecting windows?
• What is causing a foggy haze on my windows?
• How can I tell if a window or sliding glass door is double or triple pane (insulated) glass?
• Do I need to have two exterior exit doors in my house?
• When is safety glass required for windows at stairs and stair landings?
Visit our DOORS AND WINDOWS page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
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