Best Practices: Unique Door Numbering

Unique door numbers are ideal within each set of contractual documents.

Using unique door numbers during the design and construction process are an easy way to avoid confusion around a building's security. A common way to provide unique door numbers while maintaining order is to associate them with an appropriate room number. Many building owners generally have a similar organizational strategy, thus when available, it is advisable to follow the facility owner's guidelines. 

It is important to make sure everyone knows what they need to do. This will help to save time and make the project go more smoothly. Conversely, if multiple openings share the same number but have different hardware needs, this can cause confusion and potential errors, resulting in more time and effort during collaboration. This process will help to avoid unnecessary confusion in the design, construction, and procurement processes.

When door numbers appear multiple times within a defined project, it is a common practice within the design community to use a prefix or suffix to differentiate each opening. Building owners frequently have a similar organizational strategy, with the prefix or suffix reflecting the names or other organizational strategies for their campus setting.

For example, this prefix/suffix could reflect the building name on the site: 

• Buildings A, B, and C could be distinguished by A1100, B1100, and C1100, respectively.

The benefits of implementing this strategy include, but are not limited to, the following.

• Avoid unnecessary confusion in the design, construction, and procurement process.
• Avoid unnecessary and costly RFI(s), PR(s), and CO(s) during bidding and construction. 
  • Multiple openings sharing the same number might not have the same configuration, size, panel type\material, or function.  

The Overtur for Revit Plugin provides numerous ways for users to generate and apply door numbers by harnessing data within their Revit model.

To learn more about Overtur and the Overtur for Revit Plugin, explore the resources below: Overtur for Revit - Room/Door Renumbering (RDR) process.