Monthly Archives: November 2009

Not a Door

The cool thing about writing a blog from my little office within a very large company is that I write about whatever strikes me at the time. Unlike many corporate bloggers, I am not told what to write about and my posts aren't approved before they're posted. I'm grateful that I have that freedom, because I use this forum to teach people about doors and hardware, and my favorite topic - codes related to openings. At the same time, I am constantly learning by answering questions, looking at applications, and researching new requirements.

By |2014-10-08T09:18:31-04:00November 30th, 2009|Funky Applications, Reader Photos|5 Comments
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Not an Exit

This sign is on the OUTSIDE of a door on the gas station I frequent.  I can't think of any reason it would be important to know that nobody will be exiting out of that door (UPDATE:  Check out the comments for some interesting insight from a fire marshal.), but it did make me wonder when a sign like this IS required.

By |2012-01-27T22:08:06-05:00November 24th, 2009|Means of Egress|4 Comments
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Tubular Panics on Wood Doors

Here's another photo from my day at Build Boston.  You don't see this application often - Blumcraft or CR Laurence tubular exit devices on wood doors.  I think they look pretty nice.  I would have done something different with the closers, and I wouldn't have specified a key cylinder (the chunky square thing above each pull) for each of the 4 leaves, but hindsight is 20/20.

By |2015-11-11T10:32:59-05:00November 22nd, 2009|Panic Hardware|1 Comment
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Build Boston

I spent 10 hours yesterday attending seminars (or waiting for the next one to start) at Build Boston, the largest regional convention and trade show for the design and construction industry. There were over 200 workshops and 250 exhibitors, and I saw lots of architect and specifier friends, not to mention enough door and hardware applications to get me through the next week of blog posts.

By |2015-11-11T10:32:59-05:00November 20th, 2009|Funky Applications, Panic Hardware|5 Comments
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Massachusetts 780 CMR – 8th Edition

Considering that it took 11 years to go from the 6th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code to the 7th edition, I was surprised when I learned that the 8th edition is due out the beginning of 2010.  It is based on the 2009 edition of the International Building Code, which references the 2007 edition of NFPA 80 (and includes the requirement for the annual inspection of fire doors).

By |2015-07-25T22:26:09-04:00November 15th, 2009|New England Codes|0 Comments
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Classroom Function

It's funny how some things stick in your mind, and even funnier that I have "hardware memories" from way back. I remember a rumor going around my 7th grade Home Ec class that another class had locked our teacher, Mrs. Cross, out of the classroom, and that she had cried. So sad!

By |2012-01-27T22:08:06-05:00November 9th, 2009|Locks & Keys|2 Comments
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Lite Location

When I started working in the hardware industry, we regularly supplied doors with a 10" x 10" vision lite (type V in the Steelcraft graphic below), which was typically installed approximately 63" from the center of the lite to the floor.  This configuration would no longer be acceptable according to some current accessibility standards.  The 2003 edition of ICC/ANSI A117.1 states that if a door has a vision lite or an adjacent sidelite which permits viewing, at least one lite in the door or the sidelite has to be located with its bottom edge not more than 43" above the floor.  There is an exception for lites with their bottom edge more than 66" above the floor, which would apply to transom lites or residential entry doors with lites at the top.

By |2017-05-15T09:22:42-04:00November 9th, 2009|Accessibility, Glass|1 Comment
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Doors of Providence, Rhode Island

Last week I took a trip down to Providence to visit one of my recent projects, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island Headquarters. I had a heckuva time finding it since it was a new address that my GPS didn't recognize, but I found a shuttle bus driver who not only pondered the best route, explained it to me in detail, and then followed me there and jumped out at a red light to run up and tell me to make sure I stayed to the left. I don't know how I could have missed it...it's a gorgeous building in downtown Providence, right on the canal and a stone's throw from the State House.  The architect is Symmes Maini & McKee Associates and you can read a little more about the project here.

By |2013-02-09T00:52:17-05:00November 1st, 2009|Gates, Road Trips|3 Comments
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