Understanding Ultimate And Nominal Design Pressures For Windows And Doors

The design pressure tests were designed to measure wind loads and how resistant windows would be to different types severity of storms.

Understanding ultimate and nominal design pressures for windows and doors.

What is design pressure and how does it impact the windows or doors you are considering for your home. According to aama american architectural manufacturers association wdma window and door manufacturers association and the nafs north american fenestration standard design pressure dp is a rating that identifies the load. Windows and sliding glass doors must meet the requirements of industry standards that include air water and structural testing. Understanding design pressures are relatively simple.

National building codes now require testing and certification of windows. The water penetration resistance test pressure for r products is also 15 of dp. Exterior windows and doors shall be designed to resist the design wind loads specified in table r301 2 2 adjusted for height and exposure per table r301 2 3. Dp ratings represent three performance elements structural load water resistance and air infiltration resistance.

Note also that for skylights the structural design pressure is 200 percent of design pressure whereas it is 150 percent for windows and doors. What this means is that a lab has carefully tested a window s design pressure by measuring how many pounds of pressure per. As required by the florida building code every new window installed must meet a minimum design load pressure. It just starts at 2 9 psf for the gateway dp of 15.

Dp stands for design pressure. High speed wind such as wind during a hurricane creates positive and negative pressures and this pressure can tear out windows and doors break glass and force rain into your home. The pressure is caused by wind blowing on and around the subject property. 10 psf asd general requirements.

For testing required in sections r612 6 r612 7 and r612 8 design pressures determined from table r301 2 2 or asce 7 are permitted to be multiplied by 0 6. As defined by the aama american architectural manufacturers association wdma window and door manufacturers association and the nfrc national fenestration rating council design pressure is a rating that identifies the load induced by wind and or static snow that a product is rated to withstand in its end use application. Design pressure testing measures the performance of fenestration products to withstand positive and negative pressures. Combined together all these factors give a measure of design pressure which is the product of all these different pressures a building is exposed to.

Using this design pressure as a basic element architectural designs for building walls doors and windows are created accordingly. Design pressures are the amount of pressure put on the openings envelopes windows doors during a hurricane. Let s start with the definition of design pressure.