Archive for October, 2009
Back in the day, before my restaurant choices were based on whether the establishment offered crayons, chicken nuggets, and a giant mouse or talking tree, I used to frequent a local cantina. The “naked” door closer on their ladies room door drove me nuts, so one night I showed up with a closer cover, screws, [...]
A couple of weeks ago, someone asked me why hinges traditionally come in pairs. I asked two of my favorite hinge experts – Matt Bouchard and Bob Jutzi, and they both gave me a variation of the same answer. In the 17th and 18th centuries there were 2 hinges on a door, so they were [...]
One of the disadvantages of a shear lock is the noise associated with locking/unlocking. This post has a video of the operation of a shear lock.
I usually try to use the photos of Doors Gone Wrong to illustrate a code or product issue but tonight I’m at a loss for words. I received the photo on the left from a local hardware supplier, who was called to a job-site to look at a “lock problem.” Apparently the lockset and deadbolt [...]
A while back I posted a photo of an egress door in an indoor soccer arena, which had nets hanging in front of it. I asked my blog visitors to comment on whether they thought the application was code-compliant or not. The general consensus was that it was not code-compliant but I wanted to find [...]
Last week I spent a couple of days in North Conway, New Hampshire, and I came back with some souvenir photos of the Doors Gone Wrong that were scattered around town. North Conway is a beautiful vacation destination and a fun place to visit, but I can find bad hardware in the most picturesque of [...]
Name: Keith Laduzinsky Company, Location , and Years of Service: Interbuild, Israel – 22 years Current Position: Owner Summary of Previous Industry Experience: Started at Interbuild Total Years in Industry: 22 years How did you get your start in the door and hardware industry? I started out at Interbuild working in the field, installing hardware, [...]
The other day, one of my friends asked me about the new Schlage LiNK, which is a remote access system that connects you to your home from anywhere via cell phone or computer. With the monthly subscription and Z-Wave enabled products, you can remotely control and monitor your door locks, check on your pets with [...]
I’ve seen plenty of inventive hold-open devices on fire-rated doors, but I’ve never seen instructional signage to go along with them! Coincidentally, I received photos of a chain hold-open and the signage for a chain hold-open on the same day from two different people. The photos are not from the same facility or even the [...]
Name: Hal Kelton, AHC/CDC, CDT Company, Location, and Years of Service: Founder and President of DOORDATA Solutions, Inc., for 3 years now and Co-owner and CEO of Sierra Pacific Sales & Consulting, Inc., for 7 years. Both companies are located in Northern California. Summary of Previous Industry Experience: 6 years with ASSA ABLOY – [...]
Just when I think I’ve seen it all, someone always surprises me. I received this photo today, and at first I couldn’t really tell what was going on. Then I realized that the pipe has been cut to length to act as a hold-open. That’s a first! When I asked what was holding the pipe [...]
That’s the question I was asked on Friday…“If someone orders a delayed egress exit device or delayed egress mag-lock, when do they need the ‘BOCA’ feature?” Incidentally, the person who asked me the question was one of my college classmates. There are actually a few graduates of Vermont Technical College who ended up in the [...]
Last week, someone asked me about code requirements related to panic hardware on balanced doors. (If you’re not sure what a balanced door is, there’s a good explanation here.) The project in question is in Israel, and apparently the code requirements there do not include any specific requirements for panic hardware on balanced doors. However, [...]
I’d be rich if I had a dime for every time I explained that panic hardware is required for Assembly and Educational occupancies with an occupant load of more than 100 people (per IBC 2000 or 2003, NFPA 101) or more than 50 people (per IBC 2006 or 2009). Well, maybe I’d just have a bunch of [...]
I just said to my husband, “I’ve got to post something *fun* on the blog tonight.” I figured that after a couple of very technical, code-heavy posts, we all needed a break. He looked at me like I had two heads…I guess this isn’t his idea of fun. So here it is…door and hardware fun. I saw [...]
I recently received this photo of a door in a hospital with the question, “What does the code prescribe for lock/panic protectors on fire-rated and non-rated doors?” I know some of you will point out that the exit device is not fire-rated (evident because of the dogging hole), and others will note that the glass [...]
Fair warning…this is going to be one of those posts that makes your eyes glaze over, especially if you haven’t had your coffee yet. But since I’ve seen several people come to my site looking for this information and leaving without it, I need to post about it before the next person comes looking. I’ll try to [...]
Last week I posted a photo of a double egress pair I saw on a recent site visit, and asked “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” regarding the photo on the bottom right. I received quite a few correct answers and some good guesses. The plastic on the armor plates, while distracting and ugly, is not [...]
