Elevator Cab Interior Code Guide

Materials in their end-use configuration must have a flame spread rating of 0 to 75 and a smoke development classification of 0 to 450 when tested to ASTM E84, ANSI/UL 723 or CAN/ULC-S102. "End-use configuration" means the material is judged as installed — a laminate, wood veneer, solid surface or plastic face together with its substrate and adhesive — so specifiers normally collect the manufacturer's test data for each component and document that the assembly as configured meets the rating.

All materials exposed to the car interior and the hoistway shall be metal or glass, or conform to the tested ratings. Stainless steel, bronze, aluminum and laminated glass need no flame-spread report.

Napped, tufted, woven, looped and similar materials on car walls must pass the vertical burn engineering test in 8.3.7 (average burn length not over 8 in., flame time not over 15 s after the source is removed, drippings not flaming more than 5 s) and textile wall coverings must also meet NFPA 265 (8.3.8). The wall behind them still has to meet the 0–75 / 0–450 rating.

Critical radiant flux of not less than 0.45 W/cm² as measured by ASTM E648. Carpet, rubber, vinyl, stone and tile floors all fall under this line, together with what they are glued down with.

Padded protective linings for temporary use while handling freight must be made of material meeting the same flame-spread rule, and must clear the floor by at least 4 in.

Handrails, operating devices, ventilating devices, signal fixtures, audio and visual communication devices and their housings do not have to meet 2.14.2.1.

The same 0–75 / 0–450 ratings apply to walls and ceilings; floor surfaces are rated separately at 0–300 flame spread and 0–450 smoke developed under CAN/ULC-S102.2.

When new non-metal material is installed over a retained metal enclosure, the finished cab must meet 2.14.2.1.1. When the existing enclosure is not metal and new material is added, the new material and its adhesive must meet 0–75 / 0–450 — and if the new material or combination is thicker than 0.25 in., the whole enclosure must meet 2.14.2.1.1.

A 0–75 flame spread is what the International Building Code calls Class B (Class A is 0–25). A17.1 sets the elevator minimum; a project specification or the AHJ may ask for Class A, so check the spec before you choose a laminate.

Panels of glass, transparent or translucent plastic in a car enclosure must be laminated glass that complies with 16 CFR Part 1201 Sections 1201.1 and 1201.2 (in Canada, laminated glass, safety glass or safety plastic to CAN/CGSB-12.1, -12.11 or -12.12).

Where wall panels are wider than 12 in., a handrail or framing designed to guard the opening if the panel becomes detached must be provided. This is why a full-height glass wall panel always carries a handrail or a retaining frame.

The glass and its mounting must withstand the required elevator tests — safety application and buffer engagement — without damage, and must meet the general fastening rules of 2.14.1.2.

Glass used to line walls or ceilings may be tempered instead of laminated only if all of the following are true: it conforms to ANSI Z97.1 or 16 CFR 1201; it is not sandblasted, etched, heat-treated or painted after tempering in a way that alters its properties; it is bonded to a nonpolymeric coating, sheeting or film backing strong enough to hold the fragments; and it is tested to the acceptance criteria for laminated glass. In practice, specify laminated.

The markings required by the glazing standard must be on each separate piece of glass and must remain visible after installation — plan the etched mark into the layout so it is not hidden behind a reveal.

Vision panels are not required. Where used, total area may not exceed 155 in.², no single glass panel may be wider than 6 in., the glass must be wired or laminated to 16 CFR 1201, the panel must be in the car door or front return, be substantially flush on the car side, and have fasteners on the hoistway side that common tools cannot remove.

Laminated glass to 16 CFR 1201, not less than 50 % of the visible door panel area, flush on the car side of power-operated doors, meeting the 75 lbf / 250 lbf door strength rules, with a non-glass leading edge.

Fixture glass must meet 2.14.1.8; suspended glass must be carried by a metal frame secured at not less than three points; fastening devices may not be removable from the fixture; glass may not be drilled for attachment.

Non-removable sliding or swing panels for cleaning glass are allowed, but they open only into the car, use Group 2 Security cylinder locks, are self-locking, and carry a switch that stops the elevator until the panel is closed and locked.

Where an alteration consists of installing glass in an elevator car, it must conform to 2.14.1.8 — even when nothing else about the cab changes.

For passenger elevators the rated load in lb (kg) is based on the inside net platform area and may not be less than the value shown by Figure 8.2.1.2. The area is measured at a point 39 in. above the floor, inside of any panels or wall surfaces, excluding handrails and the space taken by the doors — so it is the finished interior, not the bare shell, that sets the number.

Table 2.16.1.1 lists the maximum inside net platform area allowed for each rated load. To allow for variations in cab design, an increase of not more than 5 % in that area is permitted. See the table below for the common passenger sizes.

Because the measurement is taken inside the finished panels, a thicker wall system reduces the net area. It rarely changes the rated load on its own, but it matters for the ADA minimum car dimensions and for the ambulance-stretcher rule in the building code (see Related requirements below).

Where partitions are installed to restrict the platform area for passenger use, they must be permanently bolted, riveted or welded in place and arranged for roughly symmetrical loading. Gates, doors and handrails may not be used for this purpose.

Passenger elevators must be able to safely lower, stop and hold the car with 25 % more than the rated load.

Every elevator needs a capacity plate in a conspicuous position inside the car showing the rated load in kg, lb or both, plus a data plate on the crosshead (or in the car when there is no exposed crosshead) that lists, among other things, the weight of the complete car including all attached equipment. Plates are metal or equally durable, engraved, etched or cast (or raised/depressed lettering or a protective cover), attached to resist 15 lbf, with letters not less than 0.125 in. high on data plates. Stick-on foil or paper labels are not permitted.

When a local ordinance also wants capacity stated in persons, Appendix D divides the rated load in lb by 160 (kg by 72.5) and rounds down: a 2,500 lb car is 15 persons; a 3,500 lb car is 21.

Where an alteration results in an increase or decrease in the deadweight of the car sufficient to change the sum of the deadweight and rated load, as originally installed, by more than 5 %, the elevator must conform to Section 2.15 (car frame and platform), 2.16 (capacity), 2.17 (safeties), 2.18 (governor), 2.20 (suspension), 2.21 (counterweight), 2.22 (buffers), 2.23 (guide rails), 2.24 (driving machine) and 8.7.2.9, and the acceptance tests in 8.10.2.3.2(d) must be performed. On a 3,500 lb car whose empty weight is 4,000 lb, the threshold is 375 lb of added or removed weight.

Where an alteration increases the car deadweight enough to raise (deadweight + rated load) by more than 5 %, the installation must conform to Sections 3.14 through 3.17 and 3.20 through 3.23.

Before the interior is ordered, get the current car weight from the crosshead data plate or the elevator contractor, and compare it with the weight of what comes out and what goes in. Staying under the 5 % line keeps a cab-interior job an interior job instead of a re-engineering of the hoistway equipment.

The car enclosure top must carry 300 lb on any 24 in. × 24 in. area, or 100 lb at any point, without permanent deformation, and two clear standing areas of 14 in. × 14 in., at least 24 in. apart, must be kept on top of the car for mechanics.

Enclosure linings, decorative panels, light fixtures, suspended ceilings and other apparatus attached within the car enclosure must be securely fastened and supported so that they will not loosen or become displaced in ordinary service, on car safety application or on buffer engagement.

Decorative panels attached to the car enclosure must either not be unfastenable from inside the car with common tools, or — where they can be removed from inside — any hanging perforation in the shell larger than a 0.5 in. ball must have a permanent means to prevent straight-through passage into the running clearance. The enclosure itself must be built so removable portions cannot be dismantled from within the car.

Walls must withstand 75 lbf applied horizontally at any point without permanent deformation, without reducing the running clearance below the 2.5.1 minimum, and with no more than 1 in. of deflection.

Openings and hinged or removable panels are prohibited except for signal, operating and communication equipment, entrances, vision panels, the top emergency exit, ventilation, glass-cleaning access panels on observation cars, and locked equipment-access panels for maintenance (hinged, opening into the car, Group 1 Security key, with a switch that removes power when open, and of the same material and construction as the enclosure).

Nothing may be installed inside the car that is not used in connection with the elevator, with these exceptions: handrails; fastening devices for protection pads; freight hooks or tracks in a passenger car at 96 in. or more above the floor; picture frames, graphic display boards, plaques and similar displays; heating, ventilating and air-conditioning equipment mounted above the ceiling or outside the enclosure; and emergency responder radio coverage equipment.

Picture frames, graphic display boards, plaques and similar visual displays must be mounted to withstand the elevator tests, have all edges beveled or rounded, meet the fastening and flame-spread rules (2.14.1.2 and 2.14.2.1), and — when attached to the wall less than 84 in. above the floor — project no more than 1.5 in. from the car wall (support rails excluded).

Passenger car floors may have no projections or depressions greater than 0.25 in. — the limit for a tile inlay, a metal transition strip or a recessed mat.

A minimum clear headroom of 80 in. above the car floor must be maintained, including under a lowered ceiling or a downward-swinging exit panel.

Side emergency exits are prohibited; on an altered car, existing side exits must be permanently fixed closed.

Freight-car enclosures must be metal without perforations to at least 72 in. above the floor; above that, metal with or without perforations rejecting a 1 in. ball, except the area in front of the counterweight.

Every car in an enclosed hoistway needs a top emergency exit with a cover. The opening must be not less than 400 in.² and not less than 16 in. on any side, located to give a clear passage unobstructed by equipment on top of the car. Equipment directly above the exit is allowed only if it is at least 42 in. above the car top, or the exit still allows a 12 in. × 20 in. × 59 in. volume through at 60° or more from horizontal.

Opens outward, hinged or chained (chain not over 12 in., factor of safety 5), openable from the car top without special tools; may be openable from inside the car only with a Group 1 Security five-pin key. An electrical device stops the car when the cover is open more than 2 in.

The movable part of a suspended ceiling below the top exit must be restrained from falling. It may hinge upward or downward as long as it lines up with the top exit opening. A downward-swinging panel must keep 80 in. of headroom; an upward-opening panel must be held open in use and may not reduce the exit area.

Neither the movable nor the fixed portion of a suspended ceiling may contain lamps that could be shattered by a rescue through the top exit. Light fixtures in the movable panel are allowed only if they connect to the fixed ceiling's wiring by plug-and-socket or flexible armored cable — and that flexible wiring may not be used to support or restrain the open panel.

Cars must have not less than two lamps or sets of lamps of approximately equal illumination. A system that lights only one set at a time is allowed if each set alone meets the minimum, the second set switches on automatically when the first fails, and a signal tells authorized personnel a set is out.

Not less than 5 fc (50 lx) at the car threshold with the door closed for passenger elevators; 2.5 fc for freight.

Every elevator needs auxiliary lighting that comes on automatically when normal car lighting power fails: at least 0.2 fc measured between 35 in. and 48 in. above the floor, roughly 12 in. in front of the car operating panel; powered from a supply on the car that lasts at least 4 hours; from two lamps or sets. Battery units must comply with UL 924 (CSA C22.2 No. 141), be rated for 4 hours, be permanently wired to the car light circuit and be sized for the emergency signaling devices if they are connected. The normal lamps may double as the auxiliary lamps.

An in-car light switch is optional; when provided it sits in or next to the car operating panel and on automatic elevators is key-operated or behind a locked cover (Group 2 Security). Automatic shut-off is permitted only after the car has sat at a floor with doors closed, no demand and on automatic operation for at least 5 minutes, and any interruption turns the lights back on.

Light troughs that support raceways must be metal unless lined with noncombustible material. Diffusers and lenses must be metal, glass or 2.14.2.1.1-rated material and may not touch the lamps. Bulbs and tubes must be guarded, recessed or mounted above a drop ceiling; a car that runs with the drop ceiling removed needs a separate permanent guard. Fixtures must survive the elevator tests without damage.

Ventilating fans, blowers, heating and air-conditioning equipment must be securely fastened and located above the car ceiling or outside the enclosure.

Each car top needs a light and a duplex receptacle giving at least 10 fc where maintenance is performed, with guarded lamps and a switch reachable from the landing.

Any alteration to a top emergency exit must conform to 2.14.1.5; any alteration to car illumination or lighting fixtures must conform to 2.14.7.

Openings exposed to the inside of the car may not be located in the band from 12 in. to 72 in. above the floor. Openings below 12 in. must reject a 1 in. ball; openings above 72 in. must reject a 2 in. ball; both must be guarded against straight-through passage.

The total area of natural ventilation openings must be not less than 3.5 % of the inside car floor area, divided equally between the bottom and the top of the enclosure. The unrestricted opening in and around the car doors may be counted, and the opening provided by a forced-ventilation system counts toward the part of the car it is in.

Openings in the car ceiling must be protected and must meet the car-top load rules of 2.14.1.6.

Glass-walled observation elevators exposed to direct sunlight need forced ventilation giving one air change per minute of the net car volume, with an on-car auxiliary power supply that can run it for at least 1 hour.

Grilles or louvers below 72 in. in a freight car must be within 12 in. of the floor and reject a 2 in. ball.

Any alteration to passenger car ventilation must conform to 2.14.2.3 — including panel systems or base trim that cover an existing vent.

The enclosure may have openings for signal, operating and communication equipment, but for nothing else — a new decorative return panel has to carry the same fixtures as the old one.

Operating devices, signal fixtures, audio and visual communication devices, ventilating devices and their housings do not have to meet 2.14.2.1.

Passenger elevators get a stop switch that is either key-operated or behind a locked cover, in or adjacent to the car operating panel, marked STOP with the STOP and RUN positions shown (Group 1 Security key). Passenger elevators do not get an open emergency stop switch.

Freight elevators need an emergency stop switch in or adjacent to each car operating panel: manually operated, red push-to-stop button, marked STOP with STOP and RUN positions, sounding the audible alarm while open.

Where the code calls for wording on a device, the standard symbols in Table 2.26.12.1 (alarm bell, phone, door open/close, stop, etc.) are used with or instead of the words; Braille, where provided, follows the same table. The note to 2.26.12 points to ICC A117.1 and the ADA Standards for the accessibility layout.

A communication means is required between the car and a location staffed by authorized personnel; unanswered calls roll to an alternate location after 45 seconds. The panel that carries the FIRE OPERATION switch must have a phone push button identified with the phone symbol, plus either a message display or a visual indicator that shows the call was received. Recent editions add a means to display messages that let personnel communicate with a passenger who cannot hear or speak, and a means for authorized personnel to see video of the car floor for entrapment assessment. No handset in the car; calls may not go to an automated answering system.

In-car message display characters must be conventional (no italic, script or decorative faces), with the uppercase I not less than 0.1875 in. high, in light-on-dark or dark-on-light contrast.

The phone line (or VoIP/network equivalent) must be verified automatically at least daily; a failure must trigger a visual and audible signal.

The fire-hat visual signal must be on the car operating panel and illuminate the whole hat outline or area, and stay lit until the car is returned to automatic operation.

The FIRE OPERATION key switch (label letters at least 0.25 in., red on contrasting or contrasting on red), CALL CANCEL button, stop switch, door open and close buttons, the additional visual signal and the operating instructions are grouped behind a locked cover that opens with the same key; floor buttons may also be behind it, and a fire-department phone jack may be below the switch. Nothing else is allowed behind the cover. The cover may not be closable while the key is in the switch, and it self-locks when closed.

Door open and close buttons for power-operated doors must be at least 0.75 in. in the smallest dimension, labeled OPEN and CLOSE (and REAR/SIDE where applicable) in letters at least 0.25 in. high on a contrasting background.

The ADA Standards put car control buttons no higher than 48 in. above the floor (54 in. is allowed only where the car serves more than 16 openings and a parallel approach is provided), with buttons at least 0.75 in. in their smallest dimension, raised characters and Grade 2 Braille to the left of each button, and the emergency controls grouped at the bottom of the panel with their centerlines not lower than 35 in. Floor designations on the hoistway jambs must be raised characters at least 2 in. high with Braille. A17.1 defers to these standards at 2.26.12 and 2.27.1.1.3(a).

In buildings with more than one elevator, each car gets a unique identification at least 2 in. high in a contrasting color on the controller, machine and related equipment. The ADA Standards require raised and Braille floor designations on the hoistway jambs at every landing, and car designations for destination-dispatch elevators. Confirm with the elevator contractor whether an in-car designation is wanted on the new return panel.

An alteration is any change to the equipment other than maintenance, repair or replacement. A repair reconditions parts to keep the equipment in compliance; a replacement swaps a component for one that is basically the same. New wall panels, a new ceiling, new lighting or added glass are alterations; re-laminating a damaged panel like-for-like is generally a repair. The AHJ decides in borderline cases.

Where alterations are made to an existing car: the enclosure must meet the fastening rules of 2.14.1.2; an altered or new top exit must meet 2.14.1.5; installed glass must meet 2.14.1.8; any equipment added must meet 2.14.1.9; side exits must be fixed closed; altered ventilation must meet 2.14.2.3; altered illumination or fixtures must meet 2.14.7; partitions must meet 2.16.1.2; a new car door must meet 2.14.4 through 2.14.6. Hydraulic elevators follow the same list.

Any other alteration to the enclosure brings in the flame-spread rules of 8.7.2.14.3: a retained metal enclosure with new non-metal material must meet 2.14.2.1.1; new material over a non-metal enclosure must be 0–75 / 0–450 (and the whole enclosure must comply if the new material exceeds 0.25 in.); fabrics need the 8.3.7 and 8.3.8 tests; floors need 0.45 W/cm². Fixtures and handrails stay exempt.

If the alteration is a new car, the car must conform to all of Section 2.14 (except 2.14.5.7), Section 2.15 (with the apron rule relaxed to what the pit allows) and Section 2.17.

See the deadweight rule above: over 5 % of (deadweight + rated load) and the job expands to the frame, safeties, governor, ropes, counterweight, buffers, rails and machine, with the tests in 8.10.2.3.2(d).

Where an alteration consists of a change to the car enclosure, doors or illumination, the affected components are inspected per 8.10.2.2.1(e) and (k) through (m): normal and auxiliary lighting; vision panels, glass doors and access panels; the car enclosure — lining materials, prohibited equipment, loading class, passengers on freight cars and identification; and the top emergency exit. Expect the inspector to ask for the flame-spread documentation.

Every alteration is recorded on the code data plate at the controller — the code edition in effect at installation and the edition each alteration was made under.

In jurisdictions with seismic requirements, car-enclosure alterations also fall under 8.4 (see 8.7.1.11).