Special Knowledge for Opening Egress Windows
Is there any chance that there would be a specification that a lab or 3rd party could use to determine if Specialized Knowledge is required to open a particular window, in the case of egress? Right now it seems to depend on the interpretation of a building inspector whether a window requires specialized knowledge or not. Ideally there would be some type of objective standard to determine whether a window requires specialized knowledge. In the absence of that, it would be helpful if Fenestration Canada could publish a document on what they recommend as what qualifies as "Specialized Knowledge". I think that it could be distributed to building, or help manufacturers when a disagreement arises.
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Good morning, The term Special Knowledge does not have a definition in any of the Canadian codes I have reviewed, nor has any of our inquiries with codes officials provided one. The use of SK is a key stumbling block in the devices that can be used for egress and/or fall protection. Even while the ASTM F2090 standard states the F2090 devices do not require special knowledge, this has not been satisfactory for most codes officials. Fenestration Canada has requests in with multiple provincial codes authorities to provide a definition. As soon as we receive clarity we will issue a bulletin on this item. A discussion with your local building official may be successful. We would like to hear about any of those conversations.