Survey Q4: “What are some ‘rules’ regarding fire doors?”
This is the 4th post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey.
Survey Q3: “How can you identify a fire door?”
This is the 3rd post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey.
Survey Q2: “What is the purpose of a fire door?”
This is the 2nd post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent survey.
Survey SAYS…
A couple of weeks ago I posted a survey to find out what people know about fire doors. The purpose was to test my theory that the reason fire doors are improperly modified and damaged hardware is left unrepaired is because people don't realize a) which doors are fire doors or b) what can or can't be done to a fire door. I originally developed this theory while I was creating a presentation about fire door inspection, and I wanted to have data to support it.
"Welcoming ‘Chip’ to the Library"
If you're new to this blog, you have a little catching up to do. If you've been a loyal reader for a while, you know about "Chip Falcon." In a nutshell, I had to take a Falcon 24/25 series exit device on my family's annual summer road trip last year. During our travels the exit device became known as "Chip," and I posted about the trip almost daily. To my surprise, people really seemed to enjoy reading about Chip's adventures.
Construction Label
Last week I was on a conference call for one of my projects in Washington DC, because of a problem with the specified concealed closer and the fire-rated wood door and wood frame. The door manufacturer suggested a "construction label," and most of the call participants needed an explanation of what that was. I thought posting a description here might help others who are wandering the web seeking information about construction labels. (Don't laugh...you wouldn't believe how many people come to this site wondering what a Cush arm is.)
Another Strike Where it Doesn’t Belong
A few weeks ago I saw an ASA strike used in an oddball location, and the other night I saw the deadbolt strike on the right.
<90 Degrees, Not So Fast
My last post was about the method of measuring the clear opening width of a door that doesn't open to 90 degrees. After reading the codes and the commentaries and having several discussions with someone from the ICC, I posted a graphic of a 32" cylinder passing through the opening, as described by the ICC.
<90 Degrees
I haven't posted for a few days because I've been working on my new FDAI presentation and various other things, but I'm kind of excited about this post because it answers a question that has been floating around for years. Ok...maybe "excited" is the wrong word, but I really enjoy crossing things off the "grey list."
Fire Door Survey
In 2007, the annual inspection of fire door assemblies became a code requirement that is gradually being adopted across the U.S. Given the enormous quantity of fire doors and the relatively small number of qualified fire door inspectors, implementation of this change has been challenging, but because of the appalling condition of the fire doors I see daily, I am determined to increase awareness of this requirement and use it to improve the safety of buildings.
Let's Celebrate!!
It's been a while since I've given anything away, but it's a new year and I feel the need to celebrate the upcoming 1-year anniversary of this site and the approaching milestone of hosting visitors from 100 COUNTRIES! It still amazes me that hardware haters (and hardware lovers) worldwide are using this site as a resource!! I look at the stats daily to see what people are searching for when they arrive on the site, and I can see the countries of origin for many of the IP addresses. There are also quite a few IP addresses with "unknown" countries, so I'm sure there are other countries who have visited, but so far I've counted 95 different countries.
European Aluminum Doors
I have recently run into aluminum doors on a few different projects which have unusually small jambs - the jamb depth of the aluminum extrusion is very close to the door thickness. So imagine a 2" thick aluminum door and a jamb that is just a little wider than that.
Happy New Year!
After I posted some pics of my kids during Chip Falcon's Road Trip, many blog readers commented or emailed me about them. I finally finished our electronic "Happy New Year" card, so feel free to take a look if you want to. If not, come back tomorrow and I'll post about something more door-like. :-)
Low Voltage License
Someone recently asked me whether a low voltage license is required for wiring electrified hardware in Massachusetts. I asked my Panel of Experts and did some research on the Mass.gov website, and (regardless of what actually happens out in the field on a daily basis) a license IS required for connecting wires to electrified hardware in Massachusetts (actually two licenses - read on).