5 Great Courses for AIA or GBCI Hours

Learn about steel doors, fire rated doors, or security while earning continuing education credits. All courses are free and available online or via Lunch & Learn depending on your location.


Specification Resources

We’ve added a handful of useful Specification Resources to the SDI website, including tips and spec samples to help with the proper specification of standard and custom steel doors and frames. Check it out!


Can Doors with Fire Exit Hardware Have Louvers?

We are sometimes asked why our standards SDI 118 and ANSI/SDI A250.8 do not permit louvers on doors with fire exit hardware. The language in SDI 118 reads, “Doors with glass lights, or doors equipped with fire exit devices, may not have louvers unless permitted by local building codes.”

These requirements are there because they reflect the information in NFPA 80 – Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives.

Traditionally, louvers were not intended for use in doors that serve as a means of egress out of a building, and exit devices are typically only used on egress openings.