Code-Required Signage and Egress Markings

NOTE This standard governs the signs a building must carry because the means-of-egress and accessibility provisions of the adopted code say so: what each sign reads, where it sits, and how its raised characters and Braille are made. The signs are non-illuminated, their messages are fixed by the code rather than chosen by the designer, and an inspector checks each one against the code text at the final inspection. (1.1)

NOTE The sign types in this set are the tactile exit signs at exit doors, the stairway identification and floor-level signs inside exit stairways, the identification, instruction, and directional signs that serve an area of refuge and an accessible means of egress, the elevator emergency-use sign and the hoistway floor designations, the occupant load posting, the NO EXIT sign, and the notice sign at a main exit door secured with a key-operated lock. (1.2)

NOTE The following are governed elsewhere and are outside this standard: (1.3)

NOTE Three decisions in this standard are independent of one another and are made separately: the fabrication process and plate material that every raised-character sign shares, the form of each sign type where the code leaves the form open, and the mounting method. The message and the position of each sign are not decisions; they follow from the code. (1.4)

NOTE The 2010 ADA Standards and ICC A117.1 agree on nearly every sign provision, and where they differ on a dimension the stricter of the two is the one that satisfies both; the differences are small enough that one sign design satisfies both standards when it is drawn to the stricter value at each point. (2.4)

NOTE The sign schedule is reviewed against the life-safety plan word for word, because a tactile exit sign whose message names the wrong door function, or a stairway sign that omits the terminus, is a code deficiency that no quality of fabrication cures. (3.1.2)

NOTE Raised characters and Braille from two fabricators differ in dot profile, stroke, and edge sharpness in ways a hand reads at once, and plates from two color lots read as two colors under the same light, which is why the signs of one building are held to one source wherever the project allows it. (4.1.1)

NOTE Holding the signs under this standard and the tactile room-identification signs under SignageSignageResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/signage to one fabricator makes every tactile sign in the building one family, at the cost of tying two packages to one supplier's lead time; holding only this standard's signs to one source keeps the packages independent and relies on the family-matching clause in Scope for the rest. Multiple fabricators are what a project with a long-lead or proprietary room-sign system buys, with the matching done by sample. (4.1.2)

NOTE Braille that reads correctly is a matter of dot geometry to a few thousandths of an inch, and the only way to know a fabricator holds it is to measure a sample; a visual review of a photograph proves nothing about the dots. (4.2.3)

NOTE A conditioned interior corridor is where most of the signs under this standard are installed, and the plate materials and adhesives offered as the norm are rated for that service; an exit stairway in an unheated or unconditioned building, a loading dock, a parking structure, a natatorium, or a door that opens to the weather is a different service, and the clauses below raise the material at those locations without changing the selection for the rest of the building. (5.1)

NOTE No process is the norm across projects, because the choice turns on sign count, on the plate material the building's sign family uses, and on the service the sign sees. Photopolymer forms the characters and the dots in one exposure of a light-sensitive sheet, so the copy cannot delaminate and the Braille geometry is as accurate as the artwork, and it is the process of most high-count projects; the face sheet is a plastic laminated to its backer, so it is a conditioned-interior product unless the fabricator rates it otherwise. Raster-bead Braille sets a spherical bead into a drilled hole, with the characters cut and applied separately, so the plate can be any machinable material, including the metals photopolymer cannot be, and the bead profile is uniform; an applied character can be pried off, which is why raster signs in abuse-prone locations are specified with the characters pinned as well as bonded. Cast metal gives the most durable sign and the one that survives weather and abuse, at the highest cost and the longest lead time, and its Braille dots are only as round as the pattern and the casting allow. Molded plastic is the lowest cost at high volume and is limited to the sign formats the fabricator tools. (6.1.2)

NOTE Acrylic to ASTM D4802 is the plate of most interior tactile signs, because it takes paint, subsurface color, and photopolymer lamination equally well and is the least costly to fabricate; phenolic and melamine composites resist impact and moisture better than acrylic and are the plate of choice in schools and transit; aluminum to ASTM B209 is the plate of stairway signs and of exterior-door signs that must survive weather, and is anodized or painted; stainless steel to ASTM A666 is specified where the sign family is stainless or where corrosion and abuse both apply; bronze and brass are specified where the building's hardware and signage finish is bronze, at the highest material cost. The plate is chosen to match the building's sign family first and the service second, which is why the field carries no default. (6.2.2)

NOTE A plate of 1/8 in is the thickness most interior tactile signs are made to in every material, which is why it is the default; a thinner plate is a decal-like applique that bows on an uneven wall, and a thicker plate is bought where the sign family calls for a dimensional edge, where a metal plate must resist denting, or where the sign is edge-exposed to abuse. (6.2.4)

NOTE The character height, the stroke, and the Braille dimensions are fixed by the accessibility standard and are not selections, which is why this standard cites the standard rather than restating the values; the fabricator draws the sign to the edition in force and the sample is measured against it. (6.3.2)

NOTE A Braille cell that is dimensionally perfect and reads the wrong word is the deficiency a sighted reviewer cannot see; the translation check is what catches an uncontracted word, a dropped indicator, or a number sign, and it is a line item in the fabrication sequence because of that. (6.3.4)

NOTE A single set of raised characters that meets the visual requirements as well is the construction of most tactile signs, which is why it is the default; a separate visual set is used where the sign family wants a larger or lowercase visual legend above the tactile line, and it lengthens the plate. (6.3.7)

NOTE The orientation follows the building's sign family and its wall colors, and neither reads better in the abstract, so the field carries no default; a light field shows handling soil sooner, and a dark field shows scratches in a glossy plastic sooner, which is why the finish is non-glare in both cases. (6.3.9)

NOTE Neither the 2010 ADA Standards nor the current ICC A117.1 fixes a numeric contrast, and a 70 percent difference in light reflectance value is the value the earlier federal guidance recommended and the one nearly every sign specification still carries, which is why it is the default; a lower value is accepted where the sign family's colors cannot reach 70 and the authority having jurisdiction accepts the pair, and a higher value is specified for low-vision populations and for signs read under dim stairway lighting. (6.3.11)

NOTE Tape and silicone is the mounting of most interior tactile signs on painted gypsum board, because it needs no blocking, leaves no hole when a sign is relocated, and holds a plate of the default thickness for the life of the finish, which is why it is the default; it fails on a textured, dusty, or freshly painted wall and on masonry, and it does not resist a deliberate pull. Exposed fasteners hold on any substrate and are the mounting of stairway signs on masonry and concrete, at the cost of a visible fastener head that the sign family might not accept. Concealed fasteners on a bracket or standoffs give the dimensional look some sign families call for and resist a casual pull, and need blocking in a framed wall. Tape with tamper-resistant fasteners is the mounting in abuse-prone locations and in any building whose Owner has lost signs to theft. (6.4.2)

NOTE A tactile exit sign is the sign that lets a person who cannot see the illuminated exit sign find the exit by hand; it is required at the doors the adopted code names and is a separate sign from the illuminated exit sign, which is furnished under Emergency And Egress LightingEmergency and Egress LightingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/emergency-and-egress-lighting and which the tactile sign never replaces. (7.1)

NOTE The code assigns the message by what lies beyond the door, so the message is read from the life-safety plan and not from the door's room name; a door into an exit stairway reads as the stair with its direction, a door from an exit passageway to the outside reads as the exit, and a door along a corridor that is itself the exit route reads as the route. (7.4)

NOTE The International Building Code requires the sign in stairways connecting more than a stated number of stories, and NFPA 101 sets its own threshold, so whether a given stairway needs the sign follows from the story count and the governing code; an Owner extends them to every stairway where firefighters, security staff, or a large population benefit from knowing where every stair goes. (8.2)

NOTE A sign that reads only the stair name does not satisfy either code; the terminus and the roof-access statement are what let a firefighter decide whether this stair reaches the fire floor and the roof, and the floor level is what lets an occupant in smoke know how far down the discharge is. A sign missing any element is replaced at inspection, which is why the designations, floors served, roof access, and re-entry condition are confirmed in writing before fabrication. (8.5)

NOTE One plate puts the whole statement where a reader finds it in one place and is one sign to mount per landing; two plates let the visual sign be the large aluminum plate the stair side of the door needs and the tactile sign the smaller plate at the accessible mounting height beside it, which is how the two heights the codes name are both met when the door and the wall space do not allow one plate to satisfy both. The choice follows from the wall space at the landing and the sign family, so the field carries no default. (8.8)

NOTE The stairway sign is the largest plate under this standard and hangs in a stair that is often unconditioned, lit at the code minimum, and struck by whatever is carried up it, so its material is chosen apart from the rest of the family: acrylic matches the interior signs and is the lowest cost; phenolic and melamine composites take the abuse of a school or transit stair; aluminum is the plate of most stairway signs because it is rigid at the size, takes weather, and holds painted copy; stainless steel is specified where the stair finish is stainless or the atmosphere is corrosive; photopolymer-faced aluminum carries integral tactile copy on a plate that does not bow. No material is the norm, because the choice follows from the stair's service and the family. (8.10)

NOTE An area of refuge exists only where the life-safety plan creates one, and in a fully sprinklered building the code often lets the exit stairway or the elevator lobby serve without one, so the sign set follows from the plan rather than from a preference; where no area of refuge exists and every exit is accessible, no sign in this section is required. (9.2)

NOTE A separate plate is fabricated with the rest of the signs and placed wherever the station sits, so it survives a change of station supplier; a legend on the station faceplate comes from the station's installer and leaves nothing for this standard to furnish at that location but the identification sign; a combined plate puts the area of refuge identification and the instructions on one sign at the station, which fits a small refuge where the station is beside the door. The choice follows from who furnishes the station and when it is known, so the field carries no default. (9.8)

NOTE The elevator emergency-use sign is a life-safety sign with a prescribed pictograph and is specified here rather than left to the elevator installation because the elevator contract commonly stops at the hoistway entrance and the sign hangs on the wall beside the call station; where the elevator installation furnishes it, the sign under this standard is omitted at that location and the record schedule says so. (10.2)

NOTE The jamb designations are furnished either way, and the choice is whether they match the building's signs or the elevator manufacturer's standard plates; furnishing them under this standard makes every raised-character sign on a floor one family and requires the elevator installer to receive and mount them or to leave the jambs clear, while leaving them with the elevator puts them in the elevator installer's hands with no coordination but no family match. Neither is the norm, so the field carries no default. (10.5)

NOTE The occupant load on the posting is the value the authority having jurisdiction approves, and it is not computed by the Contractor or the fabricator; the posting is fabricated after that value is issued, and where the certificate of occupancy is the instrument that issues it, the holder is installed and the insert follows. (11.2)

NOTE A permanent plaque matches the building's sign family and cannot be swapped for a false value, but a change of use or a re-approval means a new plaque; a frame holder receives the card the authority issues and is updated by replacing the insert, at the cost of an insert that can be removed or faded. The choice follows from how the authority having jurisdiction issues the value and how often the Owner expects it to change, so the field carries no default. (11.4)

NOTE A surface-mounted holder is the construction of most postings and needs no wall opening, which is why it is the default; a recessed holder is specified where the sign family is flush or where a projecting frame beside a door would be struck, and it needs a framed opening and, in a rated wall, a listed treatment under Fire Rated Wall And Floor AssembliesFire-Resistance-Rated AssembliesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-rated-wall-and-floor-assemblies. (11.6)

NOTE NFPA 101 requires a NO EXIT sign at any door, passage, or stairway that is neither an exit nor a way to one and that could be mistaken for one; the International Building Code has no such requirement, so under that code alone the sign is an Owner's choice. Storage, mechanical, and electrical room doors that open onto a corridor near an exit are the doors most often mistaken, and the sign at them is inexpensive and prevents the dead-end search that costs time in an evacuation, which is why many Owners provide them under either code. (12.1.2)

NOTE The key-operated main exit lock is a code exception that trades hardware for a sign and an operating rule, so the sign is a condition of the lock rather than an accessory to it; where the sign is missing, the lock is a violation, which is why its presence is checked against the hardware schedule before the doors are hung. (12.2.3)

NOTE A rigid plate matches the sign family and is mounted to the wall or the door with the mounting selected under this standard; adhesive vinyl is the construction of most notices at storefront entrances, where it goes on the glass and no plate would sit, and it is the construction a fire door accepts without a fastener; an engraved laminate plate is the lowest cost rigid sign and is the construction of most NO EXIT signs on back-of-house doors. The choice follows from the door type and the sign family, so the field carries no default. (12.2.5)

NOTE NFPA 80 permits a sign on a fire door only within a stated fraction of the door face and only by adhesive, because a screw hole is a field modification of a labeled assembly and a large plate changes how the leaf behaves in a fire; the restriction is the reason a NO EXIT sign or a notice sign at a rated door is a small adhesive sign or a wall-mounted plate rather than a plate screwed to the leaf. (12.3.3)

NOTE Latch-side mounting is the single most common field error on tactile signs, because a crew centers the sign on the door or mounts it on the push side where the wall is open; both are deficiencies that require relocation and a patched wall, which is why the position is laid out and checked before the adhesive is set. (13.1.3)

NOTE A tape bond made to a wall painted the same week, or to a textured or dusty surface, lets go within the first year, usually in summer, and the sign is found on the floor; the cure period and the surface condition are the whole of the adhesive's performance. (13.2.3)

NOTE Measuring every tactile sign is the practice on most projects, because the signs are few relative to the building and a single sign out of range is a citation at the final accessibility inspection, which is why 100 percent is the default; a sample is accepted on a large repetitive building where the installer's first floors have verified clean and the remaining floors repeat them. (13.3.3)

NOTE Tactile signs are made to order and carry a lead time of several weeks for standard formats and longer for cast metal and custom families, and the stairway and occupant load signs cannot be fabricated until their content is confirmed; the submittal and procurement schedule allows for the confirmation steps this standard requires so that sign installation does not hold the final inspection. (14.5)

NOTE A one-year warranty is the general-conditions minimum and is what a laminate or vinyl sign commonly carries; a photopolymer or raster acrylic sign is commonly warranted for three to five years against delamination and lifting, and a cast metal sign for five to ten years against corrosion; no period is the norm across the materials this standard admits, so the field carries no default and the period is set to the process and plate selected. (15.2)

NOTE A spare quantity is sized to the installed count and to how fast the Owner can reorder a matching sign, so no quantity is the norm and the field carries no default; a zero records that the Owner reorders on damage and accepts the lead time, and a spare set lets a stolen or damaged tactile exit sign be replaced the same day so that the opening is not out of compliance until the fabricator ships. (16.2)

NOTE Two blank inserts per holder is what most Owners accept, enough to replace a faded card and to post a re-approved value once without a reorder, which is why it is the default; a venue whose approved load changes by event configuration carries more. (16.4)