Apartment entry door for 3-family building

I have a 3-family building in Brooklyn. I’m renovating one of the apartments and need to select an entry door for the apartment. What type of door is recommended? Does NYC have any requirements for the door?

I was thinking of using a metal door. I’ve lived in larger apartments (>100 units) and they’ve all had metal entry doors.

decoart

in Renovation 3 years and 1 month ago

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resident2 | 3 years and 1 month ago

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In a multiple dwelling: a 3 family is such. Apartment entrance doors must be Fire Code rated & self closing. Most are solid wood or metal, all must have the round manufacturers ID tag on the inside (hing side) noting its fire rating etc. Solid Wood Fire Rated cost more than the metal ones.
It is easier to buy the pre-hung with the jams, spring hinges, peep hole, lock etc for easier installation etc.

gpuccio199 | 3 years and 1 month ago

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I’m for UPVC door there is a devirsity in design and price, and has some benefits:
low maintenance
high thermal efficiency
secure
low cost in comparison to other materials

stevecym | 3 years and 1 month ago

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The new metal door frames are easy to install.

RobertGMarvin

in Renovation 3 years and 1 month ago

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If aesthetics aren’t a concern and metal doors are safer, why not it use one!

stevecym | 3 years and 1 month ago

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Jaymes, stevecym and doorsby are the same. I know something about this and wish i could help you decide but because i restore doors and install very few new doors and never in apartment entries, i am not qualified to say more. I do suspect augustiner is correct above but in so far as fire safety and worrying about lawsuits, some people think i worry too much (employees say that: i have never been sued though and that is my reply to them) so i am not sure how much credence you want to put in what i say above.

It almost looks like you have a personal choice to make or you can read about the code to confirm what augustiner is saying. what augustiner is saying is there is a threshold as to the scope of a renovation and if you pass a certain point or file a certain size job, they will demand you conform to the modern code. You can take a look at the code and if you do not know how to find it and want to look, i will see if i can find the pertinent material and give you a link. For you to look is not outlandish. I used to do it all the time when i worked in buil dings for other people but always had an architect we knew somewhere who we could confirm that our interpretation of what we are reading is correct.

If you ask more, i will see if i can tell you where the answers might be.

decoart | 3 years and 1 month ago

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@stevecym -There is a brand new rough opening for a metal door.

stevecym | 3 years and 1 month ago

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Jaymes. Those metal doors will get banged up by tenant fecklessness just as the wood doors will. Its just that we think its ok for metal doors to look like crap; we almost expect it.

Keep in mind, if you have an existing door frame and plan on using the old hinge mortises, the hinges on the new door will not line up. Also if you go the fire proof option, i think the frame is supposed to be rated as well as the door (they come as a set)

decoart | 3 years and 1 month ago

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It’s an older building but I gut renovated the top floor. I’ll look into metal doors. They seem to be more resilient against tenant fecklessness.

andriywww1990 | 3 years and 1 month ago

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augustiner is probably correct in what he/she says. if the building was renovated a long time ago it probably means that you can rely on the older code. what might make me a little nervous is, if something went wrong and lawyers and insurance companies got involved, they might be able to make a case that you put a new door in and should have gone with the fire rated door. they will say anything if they can make a case for something and get someone to listen to it and get money. as a landlord, not simply a homeowner, you might want to cover your assets as if you were running a business.

just so you know. if you buy a metal door from say long island fire proof door and it is not fire rated, it still might be a fire rated door just without the label. i had a contractor working in a building years ago and he put a regular metal door on the elevator room. i said “there is no tag on it”. he said, “oh, i will take it back and get a tag put on it” . he runs over to Long Island Fire Proof Door and returns an hour later with the same door with a tag on it. they make their money on the tags or so it seems.

Augustiner | 3 years and 1 month ago

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If it was last renovated long time ago then you can use any door you like. If it is a newer construction or a recent ALT-1 renovation where 2 hour fire rating in hallways is required, then a metal door is the choice.

If you choose a wood door, make sure it is solid core to block hallway noise. In a 3 family and up self closing doors are required, so buy at least one self closing hinge for the wood door. Metal doors have spring hinges.

andriywww1990 | 3 years and 1 month ago

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you will want to check the code on the fire rating. that bigger building you lived in probably had a metal door because it was fire rated.

keep in mind these fire codes have been changing and will continue to do so because of some bad fires.