The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has released AAMA 902-14, “Voluntary Specification for Sash Balances.” This document establishes the requirements for the materials, testing and performance for sash balances used in hung-type windows. It also provides rating criteria and test procedures for qualifying balances to two performance levels and six manually applied force (MAF) Classifications.

“The original goal was to break apart the balance requirements for residential and commercial windows and have a rating system to distinguish the two,” says Gary Newman (Amesbury + Truth), chair of the Sash Balance Review Task Group.

Newman adds that windows will be tested through 5,500 cycles instead of just 4,000 as previously required.

“The MAF requirement is now checked both before and after the cycle testing for the A balances. For the B balances, you only test before,” Newman says.

“This updated document now gives manufacturers a little more freedom to decide the best balance for their products. There’s quite a different set of requirements between manufacturers, and this lets them find a balance that satisfies the needs based on that manufacturer,” Newman says. “This lets manufacturers make that judgment call.”

The document (in various versions) has been in use for 47 years and was last updated in 2007.

AAMA 902-14, along with other AAMA documents, may be purchased from AAMA’s Publication store.

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Filed under: AAMA, ASSOCIATION NEWS, Products