The hotel in Las Vegas where we had our sales meeting had a Moroccan theme…I felt right at home since my husband is originally from Morocco and I love that style. The entrance doors to the ballroom had a pattern created by contrasting stain and oversized metal brads. They’re labeled doors so I wonder whether the brads were considered plant-ons or whether they required any special testing or approval.
For those of you who are paying close attention, yes, that’s a plunger stop at the bottom of the door. When you’re specifying or supplying hardware for a ballroom or meeting room, I would always recommend providing a code-compliant means of holding the door open or the facility will take matters into their own hands.
UPDATE: Thanks to Michael Rebbec, a member of our Specwriter Development Program, I’ve learned that these were not actual brads, they were attached with adhesive!
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Were they steel or aluminum? I would say steel would be okay because of that being an approved material to “fill” holes with.
I’m not sure what material the brads were, but I was thinking about the NFPA 80 requirement for signage to be attached with adhesive and not with screws or nails. If nails on signage are an issue, these brads could be an issue too.
– Lori
There are a couple of issues that would need to be investigated; 1) Did the door manufacturer supply the door and transom with the plant-on buttons? Which would make them part of the door and transom assembly; 2) Were they done as a plant-on in the aftermarket with permission by the door and transom manufacturer? And how were they installed nail/screw or glue. As an FDI they would be noted on the report as a plant-on with no manufacturer’s verification. That way the AHJ would make the final determination.
Another issue may be door encroachment into the path of egress. It should be noted that vending machines were placed on either side of the opening to give blockage so the doors would not extend beyond the 7 inches. The FDI would note that the pairs of doors swing into the exit corridor in excess of 7 inches, the vending machines are movable and not permanent. The AHJ would need to make the determination based on the size of the corridor and the positioning of these machines.
Hi Tom –
The things next to the doors are actually signs. The doors open into a large lobby so encroachment isn’t an issue but I don’t think I’ve covered that in a post yet so I’ll look for a good example to take a photo of and add it to the list. I emailed the door manufacturer to see if I could get some information about the “brads,” and I’ll let you know.
– Lori
Lori – I had wondered the same thing and I took the time to explore… They are actually decorative buttons that are adhered with an adhesive. If you looked at some of the push side buttons, they were either about to fall off or some were missing with just a little glue residue left. Because of that, I don’t think those would be a concern. The only concerns I had were the hold-open plungers and the exit devices that were falling off the door (they should have gone with this one brand I know that’s made in Indianapolis).
Thanks Michael!