NBR 11742 and NBR 11785: What a Brazilian Inspection Checks on Fire Door Hardware
A fire door in Brazil is approved twice, once in the laboratory and once at the AVCB inspection, and the hardware is part of both. What the two ABNT standards ask of a push bar and a pair of doors, what inspectors fail, and what to ask a supplier before the first container.
Insight
Johnson LiuDigital Communications, Canton HylandMA Digital Media, Johns Hopkins University
In Brazil, a fire door is approved twice. The first time in a laboratory, when it is tested to ABNT NBR 11742. The second time in the building, when the fire department inspects it for the AVCB, the certificate that lets the building open. The certificate's name changes from state to state; the inspection does not. Hardware is part of both, and it is the second one where it usually fails.
This is written for anyone who sells, installs or maintains fire doors in Brazil and buys hardware from abroad. It explains what the two standards ask of the hardware, what the inspection checks in practice, and what to ask a Chinese supplier, us included, before the first container. It does not replace the ABNT text: whoever signs an inspection report has to read the standard.
NBR 11742: the door, and everything fixed to it
NBR 11742, revised in 2018, covers the fire-rated emergency exit door on vertical-axis hinges: classification, manufacture, identification, installation, maintenance and testing. The door is classified by its fire resistance in minutes, in classes such as P-60, P-90 and P-120, with no intermediate classes.
For a hardware buyer, three points matter. First, the door is tested with its hardware fitted, so replacing a hinge, a lock or a push bar with another model changes the assembly that was tested. Second, on a pair of doors, the 2018 revision, as Brazilian door makers summarize it, requires a closing sequence selector, so the active leaf closes after the inactive one. Third, the door leaves the factory identified, with its maker, the standard's number, the year, the batch and the model, and with the photoluminescent sign OBRIGATÓRIO MANTER FECHADA (keep closed).
NBR 11785: the push bar
NBR 11785 is the push bar standard, and it classifies a bar three ways. By actuation: push or touch. By locking: horizontal, vertical, or horizontal and vertical. And by use: class C for an emergency exit door with no fire rating, class F for a fire door, and class H for doors in very frequent use.
Two practical consequences follow. The bar on an NBR 11742 door is class F; a class C bar on a fire door is a mistake the schedule does not show and the inspection does. And since the 2018 revision, the bar has to span at least 50% of the leaf width. On a 900mm (35-7/16") leaf, a 450mm (17-11/16") bar is the minimum, however well a shorter one is made.
What the inspection checks
At an AVCB inspection, the hardware failures repeat: a push bar that is jammed, chained, padlocked, or needs too much force; a closer that does not bring the door home to the stop; a worn hinge or the wrong type; damaged intumescent seals; and a product with no traceable origin or no report. Four of the five are maintenance. The fifth is purchasing, and it is the only one that starts before the door is hung.
That is where the supplier comes in. A bar that works perfectly but whose report does not name the exact model fails for lack of paper. The right question to a supplier is not whether the product is good. It is what is written, about which model, and in whose name.
What to ask before you order
Scroll sideways to compare columns. Select a column heading to sort; select it three times to restore source order.
| Is the bar class F to NBR 11785? | A fire door requires class F | We hold no NBR 11785 test in our own name. The test can be done in the name of the brand that sells the bar |
|---|---|---|
| Does the report name the model, and whose name is it in? | A report on another model does not cover yours | We show what exists, with issuer, reference and model covered |
| How long is the bar? | At least 50% of the leaf width | 650 to 1110mm depending on the model; the 320 and 330 are made to the length ordered |
| Does the pair latch top and bottom? | Neither leaf should depend on the other to stay shut | 316-D, 320, and the 309-D set for both leaves |
| Is there a closing sequence selector? | Required on pairs by the 2018 revision | DC02, for leaves of 55–100kg |
5 rows · Source order
The honest route for a private label
For a brand selling under its own name in Brazil, the route that works is this: choose the model, receive samples identical to production, test them at an accredited laboratory in your brand's name, and only then order the container, with the same model, the same material and the same finish as the tested sample. We supply the samples, the drawings and the data sheet. If a detail of the product has to change to pass the test, we change the tooling.
What we do not do is say a product meets a Brazilian standard before somebody has tested it. A fire door is only as good as the weakest part fixed to it, and the inspector knows that. Better to find out on the sample than on the day of the AVCB.
Questions this answers
Which push bar class does a fire door require in Brazil?
Class F under NBR 11785. Class C is for an emergency exit door with no fire rating, and class H adds requirements for doors in very frequent use. A class C bar on an NBR 11742 door is a mistake that only shows at the inspection.
How long must a push bar be under NBR 11785?
Since the 2018 revision, at least 50% of the leaf width. On a 900mm leaf, that means a bar of at least 450mm.
Does Canton Hyland have a push bar certified to NBR 11785?
Not in our own name, today. We supply samples identical to production, drawings and a data sheet for testing in your brand's name, and we change the tooling if the test calls for it. We do not say a product meets a Brazilian standard before it has been tested.
About Canton Hyland — Canton Hyland manufactures panic exit devices, locks and architectural door hardware for commercial and institutional projects, supplying specifiers and distributors internationally.