"Wayne Whitney" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-29, Harry K wrote:

You can have your 4 ft door (minus jambs of course) or any width up
to that without a problem. Make the door swing out. I really don't
understand why people don't do that. It frees up an amazing amount
of space inside and obviates taffic patter problems.

I believe it is mainly convention, that residential exterior doors
swing in, while commercial exterior doors swing out. Also, the UBC
requires that with an outswing door, the exterior landing is at most
1" below the door threshold, I think.

Cheers, Wayne


It is more than convention, it is code. By having the residential door swing
in, it is not blocked by people who don't like you, or snow outside, thus
blocking your escape.

Very important in an emergency. Commercial places have the door swing out
for a similar reason they will be pushed out in a panic. People would
otherwise be crushed in a fire. This has happened in panic situations.