-
Use entryway mats
Earning this credit is easy for most projects. Make sure you have 10 feet worth of entryway system at main building entrances and keep them clean.
Entryway systems may be mats, grilles, or grates. Most buildings that don’t already have entryway systems purchase mats because that’s typically far easier than installing grilles or grates retroactively.
Document with a floorplan
Provide a ground level floorplan that notes the location of entryway systems. You don’t need to provide systems at emergency exits and infrequently used or personal office entryways. Simply note these on the floorplan.
Protecting IAQ and safety
Entryway systems are a simple and effective way to improve indoor environmental quality. Dust and dirt as well as allergens such as...
Step-by-step credit help
Got the gist of the LEED credit but not sure how to actually achieve it? LEEDuser gives step-by-step help. Members get:
- Checklists covering all the key action steps you'll need to earn the credit.
- Hot tips to give you shortcuts and avoid pitfalls.
- Cost tips to assess what a credit will actually cost, and how to make it affordable.
- Ideas for going beyond LEED with best practices.
- All checklists organized by project phase.
- On-the-fly suggestions on useful items from the Documentation Toolkit, Resources, and Credit Language.
-
Credit language straight from USGBC
Need to check up on the exact LEED credit language from the LEED Rating System on the fly? LEEDuser includes the verbatim language. Members get:
- Easy access to the official LEED credit language with just a couple of clicks.
- On the jobsite without your bulky LEED Reference Guide? Check up on the credit language details here.
- Credit language content is used by permission of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Your credit-by-credit reference library
Why waste time chasing down referenced standards and supporting resources when LEEDuser links you directly to the ones you need? LEEDuser has gathered all the best tools out there and organized them by credit for easy reference. Members get links to:
- Organizations that can give information or help on a credit.
- Standards or studies that are key reference points for credits and prerequisites.
- Articles that help explain important topics.
- Key documents or references for credit inputs.
- Software tools you can use to run calculations or simulations.
Documentation Toolkit
In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:
- Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
- Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
- Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
- Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
- Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
- Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
Sign in for complete access
Not a member yet? LEEDuser membership gives you access to all credit tips, checklists, documentation samples, and more.
Monthly Individual Membership (auto-renews):
Access to all content, cancel anytime—$9.95/month
Annual Individual Membership (auto-renews):
Access to all content, cancel anytime—$99.95/year
Annual Team Membership:
Access for up to 10 members—$349.95/year





59 Comments
Permanently-installed NOT compliant
Based on comments on this forum, I assumed it was okay to permanently install walk-off material. In my specific project, there was existing 'typical carpet' that we a) removed, b) recycled, and c) replaced with walk-off specific carpet to meet the intent of this credit. The walk-off material has a longer loop and rougher texture to effectivly capture particulates. We did this because the property manager did not find it aestictically acceptable to put an additional/removable walk-off mat on top of the existing carpet. This was done at extra expence and effort to the project.
The preliminary comment only requested that we distinguish systems from the other buildings submitted in the block because 'they looked identical'--lesson learned: do not submit as a block, it created more problems where the reviewer thought we only submitted data for one building (because the 4 buildings on a campus looked similar).
And then we got this comment in the final review:
"However, although the photographs identifyexterior grilles and interior mats, it is unclear thatthe installed entryway systems are compliant as it appears that permanently-installed carpet is being utilized as an entryway system. Typical buildingcarpeting does not satisfy the requirements of IEQc3.5, as it is not designed to effectively capture dirt, dust, pollen, and other particles entering thebuilding. The documentation does not demonstrate credit compliance."
This is very frustrating becasue we did the right thing, primarily to get the LEED point because this was a secondary entrance, and we still did not get recognized because the reviewer raised new comments in the final review--I didn't think they were allowed to do that. Similar to my comment in the IEQc3.2 forum, we will not appeal becasue we already achieved our desired level of Gold.
This is just a friendly warning to other project teams who are using permanently installed carpet/matting as a walk-off device. Be sure you provide manufacturer's data confirming that it is walk-off specific material...and beware of 'Review Team C'!
also, they would not let us count the recycled carpet in MRc9 because it didn't qualify as a 'facility alteration' as described in the introduciton of the rating system. Which again, is frustrating because we did the right thing, but are not getting any credit.
Alyson, I feel your pain! It can be very frustrating when you are doing the right thing, even go beyond the credit requirements, and not earn the point for your efforts. It seems the credit was denied because the reviewer did not understand that typical carpeting was replaced with walk-off mat material, but not because it was permanently installed. In fact, the credit requirements are to employ permanent entryway systems (grilles, grates, mats). Did you submit a cut sheet of the walk-off carpet material? I think this would have cleared up the confusion.
I am not surprised that the project did not receive credit for MRc9 though. A facility alternation is defined as an alternation that includes construction activity by more than 1 trade specialty and includes substantial changes to at least 1 entire room. Therefore carpet removal would be considered a minor upgrade. But at least you can feel good about keeping the old carpet out of landfill!
Indoor/Outdoor Carpeting in Large Open-Air Tropical Lobby
For a building located in a tropical climate with an open- air lobby around the elevator banks, would indoor/outdoor carpeting completely under the cover of the building meet the requirements? People enter the very large carpeted lobby area from all directions since there are no true entryway doors. They must walk on the large carpeted area before getting on the elevators to reach the office floors above. The carpeting is vacuumed at least twice daily and deep-cleaned weekly.
Yes, I would say so. I would want to check that this carpeting does a good enough job at being a trackoff mat, and that no matter which direction someone is coming from, they walk over the required amount of mat.
IEQc3.5
Could you clarify for me the cleaning requirements for the 10' mats? Is there a required minimum "in-house" cleaning schedule plus "professional" cleaning schedule? It seems having each project send out mats for professional cleaning would add to overall unwanted emissions to the atmosphere. Thank you for this very helpful tool!
Janna, there is no specific cleaning frequency requirement. It just has to be part of a good overall cleaning policy for the facility. You can see a template for this in the Doc Toolkit above.
entry way systems also for vehicles ?
For a factory I am considering to pursue this credit. Has anyone experience with the question, if the same requirements apply for gates to be used by trucks?
thanks a lot in advance
Let's step back from a minute from the requirements in this case.
Is this a situation where the intent of this credit is relevant? What would you do with the trucks if you were meeting the credit intent?
I'm curious, what kind of factory?
Robert, I think you're asking about loading docks. If that's the case, no entryway mats are required for the garage roll-up style doors, but if there is an entrance that workers use to cross from the loading dock area into the main part of the facility, there should be at least 10 feet of entryway mat at that entryway.
I've got a similar situation for a car dealership/ workshop. We have several new roll-up doors for car entry. These car entries do not need entry way systems, correct? We're installing entry systems at all people enties.
Thank you.
That's correct, no mats for roll-up garage doors used in this way.
How about for a mixed use roll up garage door, loading dock to main area.... people/forklift/carts/freight etc. thanks!
Frequency of Cleaning
What frequency would typically be considered as acceptable for changing out removable mats and sending them off for cleaning? Would a monthly frequency be acceptable?
For inlaid walkoff / trackoff carpet in vestibule areas that either precede or follow an area covered with a removable mat, would it typically be considered as acceptable if such carpet is vacuumed nightly? Is any other cleaning or maintenance necessary for such carpet?
Under NC the credit IEQc5 Indoor Chemical and Pollutant Source Control requires roll out mats to be cleaned on a weekly basis. I assume you can consider the same requirements for this credit. It is not specified how they are to be cleaned.
best regards
Robert
Entryways into existing stairwells
An existing Hospital building has several 'main' entryways that are through stair towers. There is not anywhere near 10' available in these entryways which are located on landings (maybe 5'x8'). My question is, have you seen walk-off mat being carried on stairs? If we put mat on the stair treads down 5 steps and up 5 steps (so we would have the 10' distance for every travel option), this would work, no?
Has anyone else done this or see any reason this would not work?
I haven't seen this, but I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted. Another options is to use multiple mats to make up the full 10 feet. You mentioned that you have 8 feet on the landing before the stairs begin. If you put a separate 2 foot mat outside the door, and there is some sort of awning or overhang that would protect it from the elements, the combined coverage of the two separate mats would be acceptable.
mats
In your opinion, do you think it would be acceptable to use two 5' mats in the direction of travel or could you only use one continuous 10' mat?
You can definitely combine multiple mats to make up a total of 10 linear feet in the direction of travel. If you have some sort of awning or protective cover, you can even put one mat outside. For example, it would be acceptable to put one 2' mat outside the door under an awning and two 4' mats inside the door to make up 10' linear feet of entryway mat.
Door width larger than mat width
I know the mat width is not required to cover the doorway width, but I have a 6' wide double doorway and wanted to see if I could turn my exisitng 4'x6' mats both indoor and outdoor to be length wise if that would constitute to 12' total and satisfy the credit?
From your description, it sounds like the total resulting coverage would be 8' wide (for a 6' door) and 12' long in the line of traffic. Is that right? Sounds good to me in terms of the credit requirements.
Be sure to address the indoor/outdoor issue that's been discussed in other threads here.
Indoor/Outdoor Mats
I noticed on the PDF example under documentation toolkit the doorway at the bottom right shows a 5' indoor and 5' outdoor mat. I can't find anything in the reference guide that speaks to the requirements for outdoor mats. Could I implement at 10' mat outdoors or a 5' out and 5' indoors to prevent covering up the marble floor of the interior?
It's acceptable to split up your entryway system between an indoor and outdoor mat. As long as you're covering a linear 10 foot area, this can be compliant. Keep the intent of the credit in mind though - the point is to reduce the transfer of particulates and other pollutants from the outdoors into the interior of your building. If you have 10' of outdoor mat that is exposed to the elements, you'll need to be very clear in your documentation to show that you're maintaining those mats so that they effectively reduce pollutant transfer.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a specific type of mat to use? I do not want to use a grille or grate.
Paul, there are hundreds of trackoff mats on the market. It's hard to single out a product to recommend without knowing more about your project, but I think it would be a straightforward task to pick something suitable.
Can Carpet be a "mat"?
Instead of removable mats, our client has a carpeted lobby which they vacuum nightly. Any thoughts about whether that might comply?
I hope other people with more experience will weigh in, but my initial response is to be a bit dubious. A good track-off systems is designed to catch dirt and pollutants on the way in the door. A lot of carpets just wouldn't do a great job at this. I think you would have to demonstrate that the particular carpet is functionally similar to a walk-off mat.
Thanks, Tristan, that was my reaction as well.
Seems like a good reaction to me, too, but some walk-off mats that get the credit are not a whole lot different than your basic carpet. And in these cases, simple documentation of the cleaning contract and a narrative of the cleaning could suffice.
Though a good reviewer should realize the credit intent and look to see that the wall-off mat has the three components: “scraper”, “wiper”, and “finisher” areas.
The key requirement to document, as Tristan points out, is to capture dirt and particulates entering the building at all public entry points. Your basic carpet simply distributes it throughout the building.
This NC IEQc5 forum discussion on use of carpet tiles is relevant to this discussion. Looks like this approach may be fairly acceptable.
entry way from outdoor atrium
are entries from outdoor atria or open-air courtyards with no exits considered as entryways that require 10' enrtyway mats as well?
Since the credit language refers to "public entry points" I would assume that an internal courtyard would not be subject to the requirements.
I would recommend caution here since the intent of the credit is reduce/prevent the amount of particulate matter that is tracked into a building's interior on the occupants' shoes. If your open-air courtyard features landscaping, soil, gravel or any other type of material that could be carried into the building on a regular basis, I'd say that it would be important to have entryway mats at those building entrances. The key point here is that people are entering the building interior at these locations. "Public entry point" simply means that the entryway is not a private entrance used by a single individual or family; if these courtyards are accessible to any of your building occupants, they would be considered public entry points.
Thank you Tristan and Jason. Regards
Bank Entrance Separate from Building Entrance
I am working with a builidng that has a main entrance into the building with 10 feet of matting, however they have a first floor tenant that is a bank with its own independent entryway from the outdoors. Would the bank have to be in compliance with the 10 foot rule also, even if there are no entrances into the public areas of the building through the bank? Would the building be able to use an alternative approach if the entrance is controlled by the tenant and not the property management team?
Chris, the credit requirements seem pretty clear here, that all public entryway points for the building are subject to the requirement.
Is the bank involved in the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. project? Might be tough to do without their cooperation.
This is a really good question. Some of our first floor tenants are not participating in LEED EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems.. They represent 10% of the square footage of the building that is exempt. As such, I would assume their entryways do not need 10 foot mats. Is that correct?
Wendy, IEQc3.5 is not that cut and dry here regarding the 10% exception. This could be one of those credits that "require commitment and cooperation from tenants" especially since the requirement is for at all public entry points.
That being said, however, all credits do offer a 10% exception, but not all credits contain that option in the LEED Credit Form. The IEQc3.5 form states in the required signatory "at all
entryways in the project building, except those not in use over the performance period..."
So, if your circumstance is sticky (e.g., the first floor tenant has public entry way into the lobby of the main building from the tenant space) you should expect to either try out your strategy through a CIR or be prepared for clarifications during the review process. Or, if you would have concern about not being read clearly by the reviewer, an alternative compliance path could be selected where the project team would submit a floor plan which highlights all entryways and installed entryway
systems, and marks any entryways not in use over the performance period (the tenant excepted spaces included) or that serve only as emergency exits.
10 feet ... won't fit
What if the vestibule or entryway simply isn't long enough to hold a 10-foot mat? My building currently has 5-foot mats (which are cleaned daily), and in most locations that's all that will fit before you hit the stairs.
In your situation you probably simply can't earn the credit—a requirement as specific as this typically cannot be bent in LEED.
10 feet ... but not one, straight line
My project has a small vestibule inside the front door. Can the 10 feet of walk-off mats be in 2 sections that are perpendicular? As in, you hit one mat in the vestibule, turn 90 degrees and hit the other mat (totaling 10 feet)...
THANKS.
The IEQc3.5 credit language specifies "in the primary direction of travel," so this should work fine as long as the perpendicular route is in the line of travel, i.e. that someone entering the building basically has no choice but to walk the full 10 feet. If they could cut a corner and walk only 5 or 8 feet of it, I might have concerns.
Thanks, Tristan. One other nuance ... are there any mat requirements, in terms of backing, pile, material, etc. ??
No, I don't know of any specific requirements. The key thing would be whether the mat was made for that purpose and is effective in the building.
Hi Tristan, Along the lines of the mat requirements Jared mentioned, I cannot find anywhere under the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. system the requirement for the carpet system to be certified by the Carpet & Rug Institute - is that low emitting flooring/carpets credit not applicable for Exiting Buildings? Would installing new matting that is certified and/or increased to ten feet qualify for EBOM 2009 IEQ1.5 as an alteration (adding the extra feet) or as an addition (getting new carpet that is certified by the CRIColor-rendering index, or CRI, is a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide, and other non-incandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight is assigned a CRI of 100. or equivalent). I know there needs to be an additional trade change besides just the matting...thanks!
Use of carpeting that meets CRIColor-rendering index, or CRI, is a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide, and other non-incandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight is assigned a CRI of 100. Green Label standards is actually rewarded elsewhere in EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems., specifically under MRc3 - Sustainable Purchasing, Facility Alterations and Additions. Replacement of carpeting in a project building alone would not meet the LEED definition of "facility alteration or addition"; a renovation project must employ more than one trade, so for example, painting and new carpeting could qualify a project for MRc3 (and MRc9).
Any project can attempt EQc1.5, because all that credit requires is that you develop an Construction IAQ Management PlanA construction IAQ management plan outlines measures to minimize contamination in a specific project building during construction and describes procedures to flush the building of contaminants prior to occupancy. for future renovation projects. If you also attempt MRc3, you'll need to explicitly document that your Plan was executed throughout the performance period to meet the compliance criteria.
As far as EQc3.5 goes, the key requirement for entryway systems is that the material used is classified as a walk-off mat surface. There are some carpet materials available that may meet this criteria; however, whether or not the carpet is CRI Green Label certified would have no bearing on compliance with EQc3.5.
Residential Project Approach
I am wondering what the appropriate approach is for a residential multi family project for this credit. Since the LEED EB system is set up for Commercial Buildings and assumes that there are hard surface floors that significant amounts of people are entering upon, we feel that a residential project shouldn't be required to have the same level of entryway systems(10' at every entrance). Our project has about 25 different entrances when you include those through private garages, structured parking, and the many entrances to the individual apartment units in the building (there is about 1 entrance per 6 units in the main buildings, excluding the garage entrances, and the project has about 78 total units). All floor surfaces have carpet on them and have 2'10" grills installed at the entryways. The carpets are cleaned daily by the cleaning staff. I believe the LEED for Homes Rating System requires only 4' entryway systems. Can you provide some advice as to the following:
1) In a residential setting, is carpet and a 2'10" grill acceptable to achieve this credit instead of 10' mats or grills? If not, what is the minimum entryway system we need at each entry?
2) Do we need entryway systems at every one of the 25 or so entrances? If not, how do we determine which entrances do need to have LEED qualifying entryway systems?
Any advice on the correct approach for our project to take would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Tom -
From what I've seen, you need to comply with the requirements as stated, which means that you will need 10 feet of entryway systems at all entrances. You likely know this, but you can use a combination of entryway systems inside and outside each door to meet the 10 foot requirement.
However, you do raise an excellent question as to the requirements for residential projects, as this is not well addressed in the Reference Guide for many of the LEED-EB: O&M credits, though there are relevant CIRs for some credits. It seems to me that submitting a CIR is your best path. Otherwise, it may be that this credit just might not be appropriate for your particular project type.
Definition of "public entry way"
Our office building has one main entrance through which the majority of people enter (employees and visitors). However, there are other locations where only employees can enter from. Are entryway systems required there as well? An example would be those employees who utilize the garage to store their bicycles when they bike to work. They would enter the building from the garage. The general public does not utilize this entrance.
All entryways regularly used by employees should be equipped with entryway systems (mats, grates, etc.). The only entryways that can be excluded are emergency exits and entryways that are never used (e.g., they are blocked or locked).
Thanks Shira. This helps.
Similar issue as Wendy, however, the main entry is a revolving door with two side entry doors. I would expect that the systems must be the full width of the door opening(s) and must be in place immediately inside the required entryways. But, where in the rating system or Reference Guide is this implied/stated?
Do you want to take a different approach than full width and right inside the entryway? I'm not clear from your question what you have in mind.
I am trying to figure out if the side doors of a main building entry that uses the revolving door as the primary would still have to have walk-off mats. My expectation would be that the systems must be the full width of the door opening(s) and must be in place immediately inside the required entryways, but I can't find anything within the Reference Guide regarding full width of the openings.
In most buildings with entry doors alongside revolving doors, those doors get a fair amount of traffic. I don't see a rationale for excluding them here.
Seems like the common-sense approach on width is that the systems would have to be pretty much the size of the opening and immediately inside to be effective, although I could see them being slightly smaller if there were some design constraint.
Would 5 feet of entryway mat before a revolving door, and 5 feet of entryway mat after a revolving door in the primary direction of travel comply? I guess my main question is, would there be any issues with the area within the revolving door not having appropriate matting. 10 feet of matting would be in place, but it would not be 10 consecutive feet, since the revolving door breaks up the two mats.
Seems reasonable to me, as the credit intent is met—keeping pollutants out of the indoors, and providing adequate track-off mats in the direction of travel. I would make sure that if there is not a mat in the revolving door area, that it is built in such a way that it will stay clean and not create a hazard.
Containment Drains
What exactly is a containment drain? The Reference Guide offers no definition or resources on this. Typically in high school laboratory classrooms, hazardous liquid wastes are placed in containers for off-site disposal; non-hazardous chemicals are disposed of in conventional lab drains with neutralization basins (to prevent pipe corrosion). Will a description of the high school's lab waste disposal protocol, emphasizing that hazardous waste is disposed of properly, be sufficient to cover this requirement?
At this point, there is very little guidance around the definition and use of "containment drains." Your description of the high school's lab waste disposal protocol with emphasis on the neutralization basins and compliant hazardous waste disposal process should suffice. Make sure to mark the locations of the drains on the floor plan demonstrating entryway locations.
Please update this string of comments when you receive your comments and let us know how the review turned out - we're all still learning when it comes to this issue.
Rand and others — the containment drain requirement has been removed, per the USGBC's July 2010 LEED addenda. Hallelujah?
Please register to use the forum.