protected sidelight and non impact front door

hi! new to the forum. I am licensed GC, former home builder, and licensed insurance agent.

My question is how are you rating homes that have an approved panel protected sidelight but the front door does not have an impact label and therefore considered unprotected.

Are you listed the sidelight as protected and the unglazed door as unprotected? Or are you listed the door as an unprotected glazed door?

Thanks for your input.
Jessica

Had this before, basically these are usually a one insert piece, however, for the purposes of the how the 1802 checks things off, the sidelights are glazed openings and if they are shuttered appropriately, the glazed opening is protected. If the unglazed door is not impact rated and only design pressure or none, then checking off the appropriate selections for it as a separate opening. Same would apply for transom windows and unglazed door.

Go with with Glenn said, it is correct.

Just ha done like that yesterday. Sticker painted over on the front door with a panel for the sidelite.

Glenn is correct. I might add, the non-glazed door without a rating will not affect the final discount credit - just fill in the table correctly. Treat the two as separate openings for the 1802.

Interesting. Dont you and Brad do reinspections for Citizens? If sidelight is attached to the door then that is your opening and it is considered a glazed opening. If you only shutter the glass then your glazed opening is not fully protected. It must be fully protected.

Jessica, if you need anything give us a call 561-420-0277 or email at info@myeliteinspector.com. We have performed over 1000 inspections for Citizen and have the answers you are looking for.

You did them too. No, I am no longer doing reinspections. That is how I have always handled whether retail or otherwise. What about homeowners who shutter all their openings and have a half moon on the front door and place a shutter on the dwelling to cover the glazed portion for an escape route, no different. Shuttering is to prevent building envelope breach by impact to glazing. If your glazing is secured, then you are fine by the form’s definition. We can debate the semantics of what constitutes an ‘opening’ all day long, but the form does not state that sidelites attached to front doors are 1 opening or not, it merely asks what glazed openings are protected and then what non glazed openings are protected/rated. I am merely answering the form’s questions as they are presented and showing photographs and explaining that to the carrier. If the carrier has differing ideas, they are free to ask, but haven’t had issues as of this post.

We dont have to debate. Unfortunately you are incorrect. Also the code states that you can shutter means of egrees for a storm. But what would I know about building codes.

Remember Glenn you can’t attach a shutter to the door to just cover the glass. Same thing.

I realize that shutter to door, no go, I stated to building. We can agree to disagree. My stance is you are turning the entire opening into a non-glazed potentially unrated opening. If a missile hits the shutters over the sidelite(s) and does not breach, but would hit the solid door and breach, how is this any different than if there were no sidelites whatsoever and just a solid door. By placing the shutter, you are taking the glazing out of the equation as impact or not, and relying on the non-glazed door’s rating as your now weakest point of breach for purposes of the form. I reinspected many dwellings over here along the coast with this same setup and rated sidelites as impact and the entry door as either design pressure or no depending on setup. I never said you did not know codes, you know them as well as I do. The form and what it has asked has always differed from code requirements, now less than before at least.

What’s the difference? Same thing, the opening is the opening. I only stated code because you did and thought you realized I am a Building Code Inspector. The thing is you can’t eliminate a portion of the opening because you want to. I guess Kim D at ID may have told you this and she was proven wrong by all. Not disagreeing with you, just trying to tell you how it is.

I have no contractor’s license but when you build a house and have a door with sidelights to install the builder needs to frame the house to accommodate that “opening” correct?

door with sidelights.jpg

Glenn, I dont want you to think I am attacking you because I am not. We have been very involved in this discussion 2 years ago

I understand Preston, I don’t take offense to anyone operating on this board on a professional manner as most of us do. If I am wrong by this board, then so be it but am not changing my methodologies in application. Is a large window array with mullions tying 3 windows together one opening or three as delineated from the form? What if a client had 2 impact horizontal sliders on left and right of a non impact fixed window that they shuttered? Is that still an unprotected opening as it was framed as one opening from the builder? I’ve classified that as protected but under the above scenario that the builder framed the opening, it would not be?? The door and sidelites share mullions but if the glazing is protected, the glazing is protected, regardless of the ‘opening size’ or framed from construction. Not arguing, just a healthy debate. Can we get non members off this board, lol. Just kidding Jessica.

NOT the same thing. When you protect the glazed sidelight, the product is attached to the structure to qualify, not the door or frame. This may very well be an interpretation from Kim, but it is what Citizens has adopted as a guideline (and still does).

The windows would be one opening, think about it. Perfect example.

Actually was Kim and not accepted, I was part of all that. But what would I know, I was just the guy that started that discussion and was in the room with the final answer.

But thats ok do as you must

What do you do about the big 2-3 inch gap on the side of the shutter that lets the missle into the glass because the entire opening isnt shuttered.