Monthly Archives: March 2009

Blumcraft Center Housing

I am running into more and more all-glass doors on my projects, and in the words of one of the contractors I'm working with, "Doors are being asked to do things they've never done before."  I've had large glass panels pivoting at the center, glass doors acting as opening protectives in fire-rated walls, and glass doors with all types of electrified hardware applications - all with invisible wires, of course.  Given the limited options available for glass door hardware, it's often a real challenge to specify hardware that meets the functional and aesthetic requirements for the project.  On one project I specified Schlage mortise locks installed in Blumcraft center housings and it was a great solution.  The glass door manufacturer had no problem accommodating them, the architect was happy with the way they looked, and I had the full range of lock functions to choose from.

By |2014-05-23T22:04:19-04:00March 27th, 2009|Glass, Panic Hardware|0 Comments
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Max Headroom

Remember him?  I guess I'm dating myself if I admit that I do since he made his debut in the mid- to late-80's, right around the time that Bill Lawliss, John Gant, and I all graduated with degrees in Architecture from Vermont Technical College.  Just think where we could be now if we took those drafting jobs we were offered instead of choosing the glamorous field of door hardware.

By |2013-09-13T00:25:23-04:00March 26th, 2009|Accessibility, Electrified Hardware, Means of Egress|0 Comments
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Continuing Ed

Last week I conducted a 3-hour class for the New England Chapter of the Door & Hardware Institute.  The class is available to any hardware suppliers, architects, or end users in New England who need to understand code requirements related to doors and hardware, including recent changes to the Massachusetts State Building Code, and the 2006 and 2009 editions of the International Building Code and the Life Safety Code.  If you have 12 or more people who are interested in attending, I will conduct the class at your facility or our office in Needham, Massachusetts.  It's worth 3 HSW learning units for AIA members, and 9 continuing education points for DHI members.

By |2014-10-08T09:23:35-04:00March 20th, 2009|General Info, New England Codes|1 Comment
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Bondo

I recently conducted a fire door assembly inspection and I noted that many of the existing frames had old holes that had been patched with Bondo filler putty.  NFPA 80 requires that holes left by the removal of hardware must be filled with steel fasteners or with the same material as the door or frame.  To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a filler putty-type product that has been tested for this use.  If anyone knows of a putty that is acceptable for use on fire-rated doors and frames, I'd love to hear about it.

By |2012-01-27T22:10:40-05:00March 19th, 2009|FDAI, Fire Doors|4 Comments
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Residential Fire Doors

According to the International Residential Code, the door between a private garage and a single family home must provide protection from fire.  The picture to the right is from a fire department website describing how the door between the garage and the home protected the rest of the residence and its occupants.  The door must be a solid wood or solid/honeycomb core steel door, at least 1 3/8" thick, or a door with a 20-minute label.

By |2013-10-29T13:36:13-04:00March 17th, 2009|Fire Doors|0 Comments
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Special Templates

Don't let this happen to you!  If you have an application that can't accommodate a standard closer, LCN has thousands of special templates and engineers standing by to help.  Some of my favorite special templates are the track closer for a door with rescue hardware, closers for arch-top doors, and the templates that move the concealed closer away from the face of the frame so you don't end up with the application in this photo. 

By |2013-12-04T23:50:57-05:00March 6th, 2009|Door Closers|0 Comments
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New Requirements for Nightclubs in Massachusetts

In the Good Old Days when I was a more frequent nightclub visitor, I remember trying to exit through a club's main entrance at closing time and encountering a locked door. The manager had locked the door to prevent more people from coming in. The vestibule was dark, and the dark bronze storefront door had an Adams Rite deadlatch with a dark bronze lever. The lever was completely invisible and people started to gather behind me. If it had been a panic situation there could have been tragic consequences.

By |2012-08-22T08:33:15-04:00March 4th, 2009|Means of Egress, New England Codes, Panic Hardware|2 Comments
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Solution for Unequal Pairs

One of the top 5 questions which I receive almost weekly is regarding the replacement of a 5'-wide equal pair with a 3'+2' unequal pair.  Because automatic flush bolts and a coordinator can be problematic, and most panic hardware will not fit on a 2' wide door, I'm constantly being asked if it's ok to use manual flush bolts on the 2' leaf.  That's a tough question to answer because the code-compliant solution isn't the best application as far as function and durability.  The IBC (2003) says this:

By |2012-07-26T17:56:08-04:00March 4th, 2009|Accessibility, Locks & Keys|2 Comments
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Job-Site Preparation of Fire Doors

This morning a customer asked about using continuous hinges to change the hand of a pair of rated doors (inswing to outswing), in an equal rabbet frame.  I couldn't think of any objections - the existing hinge preps would be filled with steel fillers in compliance with NFPA 80.  The continuous hinges wouldn't require a hole greater than the maximum 1" diameter allowed by NFPA 80.  I checked with Steelcraft to see if our frames need to be reinforced for continuous hinges when used in a rated application, and the answer was no.  So...although the AHJ always has the final say in the matter, I can't think of one reason you can't do this as long as it is an equal rabbet frame.

By |2014-09-19T11:04:50-04:00March 4th, 2009|Fire Doors|3 Comments
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