Pocket and Sliding Door Accessibility: ADA Requirements in the United States

One of the requirements for ADA openings is to maintain a minimum of a 32” clear walkthrough. This ensures that a wheelchair can pass through the opening. In addition, the hardware on the door must be operable with no tight pinching or twisting of the wrist. For this reason, ADA hardware is designed with pulls or levers that protrude from the door to ensure accessibility.

In a pocket door setting, the door must extend into the opening. A general rule of thumb used by inspectors is that the door’s pull must have a 1 ½” space on both sides of the door in both the open and closed positions. To maintain these standards, the pocket frames should be designed to allow a minimum 4” protrusion into the doorway.

For project work, the CS Cavity Sliders team provides shop drawings to ensure the frames supplied meet the requirements of the openings. We consider critical net door dimensions, finished floor to underside of head, jamb thickness, protrusion, flooring thickness…etc. to ensure our frames are manufactured perfectly to their specification. These adjustments can also be made in the field on standard-sized units based on a formula provided in the instructions.

In the field, the horizontal members of the pocket frame can be cut based on the formulas provided in the CS Cavity Slider Pocket Frame kit set instructions. The installer can then use these calculations to make the pocket basket depth shorter to ensure that the door extends the 4” minimum outside the frame to comply with ADA standards.

According to the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, the operable parts of the door handle must be 34 inches (865 mm) minimum and 48 inches (1220 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground. When a sliding door is fully opened, the door handle hardware must be exposed and usable from both sides of the entryway.

An easy way to meet the hardware accessibility requirement, Cavity Sliders offers ADA Hardware using the same patented magnetic mechanism of the award-winning CL400 Magnetic Handle.

The CL400 ADA Magnetic includes additional functionality within the handle as it is easy to grasp and can be used with a closed fist or flat palm. The opening force required to operate the unit is 2.5lbf, which is under the 5lbf threshold for ADA compliance.

Utilizing the CL100 Mortise Lock, the CL100 can be configured with a large LaviLock faceplate. With clear visual cues and a large easy-to-grasp lever handle, the CL100 ADA LaviLock is a classy solution CS Cavity Sliders offers to meet ADA sliding door hardware guidelines.

Specifically engineered for commercial restrooms, this innovative lockset redefines convenience for users with disabilities. With its sleek design and robust construction, the CL100 ADA LaviLock ensures effortless access and unmatched durability, meeting the demands of high-traffic environments.