Full name: Critical Elements of the REAC Inspection: Exterior, Common Area, and Unit Doors. This is a non-narrated, non-audio, self paced version of the video presentation we will make available on our training web site as part of our upcoming complete online REAC training program.

1. Critical Elements
of the REAC Inspection:
Exterior, Common Area,
and Unit Doors
Presented by
The Inspection Group
and REACSolutions
Created and Narrated by

2. ?
This is a non-narrated
version.

3. Doors
• Face it: doors are everywhere. Every building
has nearly as many doors as it does rooms –
probably more.
• Doors get more use, and abuse, than anything
in a building, except for the floors.
• Door defects represent, by far, the most
frequently cited defects in the course of most
REAC inspections.

4. Doors
• As the inspector walks through the
building, he or she is likely to use, and observe
the condition of, every door.
• There are no fewer than SIX distinct types of
Door Damage, according the REAC protocol.
• While Door Defects are not the highest scoring
defects, they are the most consistently
observed and cited of all defect types.

5. Doors
• Door defects can be cited at the Building
Exterior, Common Area, and Unit levels.
• Multiple defects can be cited on a single door.
• While it is unlikely, Door Defects could
conceivably account for scoring losses of as
high as 45 points. Door defects often have a
very significant effect on the outcome of the
inspection.

6. The 6 Types of Door Deficiencies
• Damaged Frames/Threshold/Lintels/Trim
• Damaged Hardware/Locks
• Damaged Surface (Holes/Paint/Rusting/Glass)
• Damaged/Missing Screen/Storm/Security
Door
• Deteriorated/Missing Caulking/Seals
• Missing Door

7. Important Note:
• The following definitions are NOT the
original, legal door definitions as published by
REAC. We have taken the liberty of combining
the most important elements of the Building
Exterior, Common Area, and Unit level Door
definitions to simplify the learning process. The
principles are the same in each case.
• By eliminating the insignificant differences in
language, and studying the similarities, it
becomes easier to understand the criteria that
determine the definition of door deficiencies in
any situation.

8. Damaged Frames/Threshold/Lintels/Trim
• Deficiency: You see a
frame, header, jamb, threshold, lintel, or trim
that is warped, split, cracked, or broken.
• Level 2: At least one door is not functioning or
cannot be locked because of damage to the
frame, threshold, lintel, or trim.
• Level 3: At least one
entry, bathroom/restroom, fire door or
emergency exit door is not functioning or cannot
be locked because of damage to the
frame, threshold, lintel, or trim.

9. In this Unit, a bedroom door did not latch due to the
way the door frame or jamb was split, because this
prevented the striker plate from accepting the bolt
(latch) when the door was closed.
- Unit,
- Doors,
- Damaged Frames/Threshold/
Lintel/Trim,
- Level 2
Level 2: At least one door is not
functioning or cannot be locked
because of damage to the frame,
threshold, lintel, or trim.
If this was a bathroom or entry
door it would be Level 3.

10. In this case, the badly bent door frame put
this door in a bind when closed. The door
had a self-closing mechanism which could
not work, but the issue was caused more by
the frame damage than the condition of the
closer, so it was cited under “Damage Frame”
rather than “Hardware.”
Building Exterior, Doors,
Damaged Frame/Threshold/Lintel/Trim,
Level 3
Level 3: At least one entry, fire door
or emergency exit door is not
functioning or cannot be locked
because of damage to the frame,
threshold, lintel, or trim.

11. Damaged Hardware/Locks
• Deficiency: The attachments to a door that provide hinging,
hanging, opening, closing, or security are damaged or missing.
These include locks, panic hardware, overhead door tracks, springs
and pulleys, sliding door tracks and hangers, and door closures.
• Level 1: A closet door does not function or lock as it should because
of damage to the door’s hardware.
• Level 2: One door does not function as it should or cannot be
locked because of damage to the door’s hardware.
• Level 3: One door’s panic hardware does not function as it
should. - OR -
• One entry, bathroom/restroom, fire door or emergency exit
door does not function as it should or cannot be locked
because of damage to the door’s hardware.

12. Damaged Hardware/Locks
• Notes:
• 1. If a door is designed to have locks, the locks
should work.
• 2. If a door is not designed to have locks, do not
record a deficiency for not having a lock.
• 3. If a lock has been removed as a “reasonable
accommodation” in a 504/ADA unit, do not
record a deficiency.
• 4. For public housing only, if a lock on a bedroom
door is missing or damaged, do not record it as a
deficiency. (Must still latch and open properly!)

13. Building Exterior
Doors
Damaged/Missing
Hardware/Locks
Level 3
Level 3: One - entry door - does not function as it should -
because of damage to the door’s hardware.
The closer is not closing and latching the door - even though
this may be a matter of adjustment rather than damage.

14. Here, on the same property, is another example. The closer
closes the door to within ¼ inch of latching, but fails to latch
the door.
Building Exterior
Doors
Damaged/Missing
Hardware/Locks
Level 3

15. Damaged Surface
(Holes/Paint/Rusting/Glass)
• Deficiency: You see damage to the door surface that may affect
either the surface protection or the strength of the door or may
compromise building security.
• Level 2: One door has a hole or holes with a diameter
ranging from 1/4 inch to 1 inch.
• Level 3: One door has a hole or holes larger than 1 inch in
diameter, significant peeling/cracking/no paint, rust that
affects the integrity of the door surface, or
broken/missing glass. - OR -
• One entry, bathroom/restroom, fire door or emergency
exit door has a hole or holes with a diameter ranging
from 1/4 inch to 1 inch.

16. Building Exterior,
Doors,
Damaged Surface,
Level 3
One
entry, bathroom/restroom, fire
door or emergency exit door
has a hole or holes with a
diameter ranging from 1/4 inch
to 1 inch.
This DOES include holes left behind
due to the removal of hardware, and
even holes manufactured into the
door, but never used.

17. Unit,
Doors,
Damaged Surface,
Level 3
Level 3: One entry
door - has a hole or
holes with a diameter
ranging from 1/4 inch
to 1 inch.
Level 3: One door has a - no paint - that affects the
integrity of the door surface.

18. Common Areas,
Closet/Utility/Mechanical,
Doors - Damaged Surface,
Level 3
Level 3: One door has a
hole or holes larger than
1 inch in diameter - that
affects the integrity of
the door surface.

19. This was once a beautiful, new steel door with
a clean coat of gray primer, ready to be
painted. Having never been painted, it is now
an ugly old rusty door, and a Level 3 defect.
In fact, it would have represented Level 3
Surface Damage, even when it was brand
new, because the lack of paint or varnish –
having “no protective finish,” – it met the Level
3 criteria, which include: “no paint.”
Primer is NOT paint. That’s why it is called
“primer” instead of “paint.” Primer prepares
or “primes” the metal door to accept paint.
Protect your investment by painting new doors
immediately when installed.
Building Exterior,
Doors,
Damaged Surface,
Level 3

20. Damaged/Missing
Screen/Storm/Security Door
• Deficiency: You see damage to
surfaces, including
screens, glass, frames, hardware, and door
surfaces.
• Level 1: At least one screen door or storm
door is damaged or is missing screens or
glass—shown by an empty frame or frames.
• Level 3: A security door is not functioning or
missing. (A security door basically means a
screen or storm door with a keyed lock.)

21. This is a “security door.” They are more common
in some parts of the country, and less common
in others. Typically, a security door is an outer
door like a storm or screen door, designed to
provide additional security as well as ventilation.
For a regular screen or storm door, any damage
what-so-ever is Level 1.
When a security door “does not function” (latch,
lock, close, and open normally) or is missing, the
defect becomes Level 3.
NOTE: When inspecting doors, especially
security doors, watch for double cylinder locks –
the kind that require a key to open from inside.
This probably results in a Health and
Safety, Emergency/Fire Exits, Blocked/Unusable
defect, which is both considered “Life
Threatening” and is always a very high scoring
issue.

22. Deteriorated/Missing Caulking/Seals
• Deficiency: Sealant and stripping designed to resist
weather or caulking is missing or deteriorated.
• Note: This applies only to entry doors that were
designed with seals. If a door shows evidence that a seal
was never part of its design, do not record a deficiency.
• Level 3: The seal/caulking is missing on one
entry door, or is so damaged that it does not
function as it should. (This is often judged by
daylight showing around the door.)

23. Unit, Doors,
Deteriorated/Missing
Caulking/Seals,
Level 3
Level 3: The seal/caulking is
missing on one entry door, or
is so damaged that it does
not function as it should.
This defect is usually cited due to visible
daylight being seen around or under the
door. If, upon closer inspection, the
inspector finds no damage to the seal, the
defect is cited under “Frames” rather than
“Seals.”

24. One very frequently overlooked defect when preparing for the REAC
inspection is the “seals” defect at Building Exterior Entry Doors. This is
especially true in senior high rises, where wheelchairs often damage these
seals, and the staff then abandons repairing them.
For the
typical
single
building
high
rise, this
defect can
have a
scoring
value up to
8+ points!!

25. Missing Door
• Deficiency: A door is missing.
• Level 1: A door is missing, but it is not a
bathroom/restroom, entry, or fire door.
• Level 2: Two doors or up to 50% of the doors are
missing, but they are not
bathroom/restroom, entry, or fire doors.
• Level 3: An entry, bathroom/restroom, fire, or
emergency exit door is missing. (Any missing
Exterior door is Level 3.)
-OR-
• More than 50% of the doors are missing.

26. This picture shows a door frame with
an outer security door installed in
place of a solid inner door. It was a
strange choice, but it is the owner’s
prerogative to make such design
changes.
While this was an “intentional design
change,” the presence of hinge
mortises (the rectangular holes where
the hinges would fit) indicates a
missing door.
To complete this design change and
avoid a Level 3 Missing Door
defect, the owner needs to fill or cover
the mortises, to indicate the door has
been intentionally and permanently
removed by design.

27. This principle is often expressed as
“If you remove something, remove
all evidence that it was ever
there.” This would also apply to
hardware changes like the removal
of a self-closer or a dead bolt.
In this picture, the security door
has never had a dead bolt
installed, but the fact that there is
a hole means the inspector might
cite “Damaged Surface” or
“Damaged/Missing Hardware” if
this was a regular door.* The staff
should install a blank cover plate
to make it clear this is intentional
and permanent.
* Since it is a security door, this
would actually fall under
Screen/Storm/Security Doors
rather than Surface or Hardware.

28. In this photo, a closer is missing in addition to the rust on the door. This door has
two defects, one for Surface damage and one for Hardware damage.
It is common and perfectly legitimate for the inspector to cite two defects on the
same door, which can significantly drive down the property’s REAC score. This is
especially true when there is only one or very few buildings, and several Exterior
door defects are cited, or when a large number of Units have repeated door
defects.
For this door, the closer should
have been replaced, or – if the
closer was removed intentionally
- the staff should have “removed
all evidence” by filling the
holes, sanding, and painting to
make it look like a closer was
never there. The door should
have been painted as well, to
avoid the Surface defect.

29. Critical Elements
of the REAC Inspection:
Exterior, Common Area,
and Unit Doors
Presented by
The Inspection Group
and REACSolutions
Created and Narrated by

30. Additional REAC Training
The Inspection Group provides:
• Interactive, online training programs on demand
• Live online teleconference training by
appointment
• Live, classroom style training at your location by
contract
• Speakers on the subject of REAC inspections for
industry conferences, for presentations from an
hour to day long workshops

31. Contact us:
Michael Gantt at
• solutions@reacsolutions.com
Saul Himelstein at
• data@theinspectiongroup.com

32. Visit our Web Sites at
www.theinspectiongroup.com
• Information on UPCS annual inspections, REAC
consulting, HQS inspections, Appeals, Training, and
related topics
www.reacsolutions.com
• REAC consulting for the Multi-Family and Health Care
industries
www.reacguide.com
• UPCS/REAC Inspection Learning Guides and Scoring
Data Publications