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Advertising supplement provided The Window & Door Manufacturers Association

“The new I.S. 1A is a significant step forward in the evolution of this standard,” says Harry Reichwald, executive vice president and general manager of Eggers Industries, Two Rivers and Neenah, Wis. Reichwald chairs the WDMA I.S. 1A Task Group. “Prescriptive specifications have been replaced by performance values and duty levels. This achieves two objectives — the specifier can select the proper door for any given application and have confidence in its performance over time, and manufacturers have more freedom to utilize innovative materials and techniques for door construction as long as they meet the performance criteria. This is a true win-win for the industry,” he says.

I.S. 1A has many other significant changes which make it a cutting-edge standard, but some of the most critical within the document include the Performance Duty Levels and Values. The eight performance attributes (and appropriate test methods applicable) that classify a door and its construction into the various levels include:

• Adhesive Bond (WDMA TM-6: Adhesive Bond Durability Test Method) — Determines the performance of adhesive bonds in doors under accelerated aging conditions;
• Cycle Slam (WDMA TM-7: Cycle-Slam Test Method) — Determines the physical endurance of wood doors and associated hardware connections under accelerated actual operating conditions;
• Hinge Loading (WDMA TM-8: Hinge-Loading Test Method) — Determines the ability of a door stile to resist the horizontal withdraw of an attached hinge;
• Door Finishes (Various ASTM Door Finishes test methods) — Determines the effectiveness of door finishes to resist wear due to abrasion under conditions which accelerate actual in-service wear;
• Screwholding (WDMA TM-10: Screwholding Test Method) — Determines the ability of door components to resist the withdrawal of a screw perpendicular to the component;
• Telegraphing (WDMA I.S. 1A T1: Telegraph) — Determines minimum differential offset of core components that are visible on the face of the door;
• Warp Tolerance (WDMA I.S. 1A T2: Warp) — Determines the allowable variation from a flat plane within the door surface; and,
• Squareness (WDMA I.S. 1A T3: Squareness) — Determines the allowable differential in squareness.

Other significant standard highlights, in addition to Performance Duty Levels and Values include:

Updated Face Veneer Charts — The HPVA created new face veneer charts that apply specifically to architectural and commercial wood flush doors and WDMA adapted these charts for use in I.S.1A with their permission.

Factory Finishing — Each year, more doors are pre-finished at the factory as opposed to the construction jobsite. Improved appearance, durability, environmental compliance and quality control are a few of the advantages that factory finishing provides over jobsite finishing. The new I.S.1A has been updated to further explain the advantages and choices of finishing systems that are available, focusing on the types of finishing systems most often used for architectural and commercial wood doors.