Archive for June, 2011
We’re currently on our Summer 2011 Road Trip and I’m on the hunt for doors of interest, but so far I’m seeing more sights like this: But you’re in luck! Right before I left I got a huge batch of photos from Deputy Fire Marshal Daniel Wiltse, of the Bluffton Township Fire District in South [...]
Wow! Feast your eyes on this retrofit 994L lever trim for a Von Duprin 98/99 device. It was made by Cirecast, for the Kansas Statehouse. Gorgeous! Photos submitted by Andy Buse of Von Duprin, posted with permission from Peter Morenstein of Cirecast, Inc.
I originally published the post below in May 0f 2009, but I’m trying to gather some information so I’ve pulled it up to the front again. Please take a moment to answer the quick survey about lever return in your area. Thanks! Click here to take a quick survey. Over the years I’ve heard many [...]
Here’s the latest batch of reader photos…don’t forget to send me any interesting doors you see on your summer vacations! From Mary Hinton of Mulhaupt’s Inc., a McDonald’s bathroom door that would provide a convenient peephole for Kidzilla. Amazingly, this is not the first time we’ve seen this creative resolution to the problem. This photo [...]
I first saw this door a few weeks ago but I was late for a meeting, so I hunted it down again. It’s the rear exit from a Chinese restaurant – I didn’t go inside to check out the situation, but even if it’s just an exit from the kitchen it still doesn’t meet the [...]
Every time I specify hardware for a door that swings into a pocket, a little alarm sounds in my head because at least 50% of the time there will be a problem that urgently needs to be fixed at the end of the job. This application requires coordination between the architect designing the pocket, the [...]
Is it me, or are those some really big butts on pretty small doors? This post should bring in some interesting stats…like the guy who Googled “naked ladies with no cover-ups” and was sent to my blog post on naked closers with snap-on covers.
I have always loved Rocky Mountain Hardware, so when I received an invitation to visit their manufacturing facility I was really excited! Unfortunately, I don’t have plans to go to Idaho any time soon, but the good news is that RMH has a video on their website that details their manufacturing process. It’s almost like [...]
We headed to Ogunquit, Maine for Father’s Day…Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! There are plenty of picturesque doors in Ogunquit, with narrow pairs being a very common sight. After a brief thunderstorm we saw two rainbows! Here’s one of them. Another example of obstructed egress in a restaurant… While I was [...]
Today is the 39th anniversary of the fire at the Hotel Vendome, in which 9 firefighters lost their lives when the building unexpectedly collapsed during mop-up operations. Stephanie Schorow, author of 4 books about Boston, spoke about the Hotel Vendome fire, the Cocoanut Grove fire, and the Great Boston Fire of 1872 in this video [...]
I saw this keypad lockset in a rest area on the Jersey Turnpike recently. Can you identify it? Is it a Schlage AD-Series or a CO-Series? <—Here’s a hint. While there are plenty of differences “under the hood,” there are 3 physical differences to look for when you’re trying to determine whether a Schlage electronic [...]
Some interesting stats…if your state isn’t in the Top 10, tell your friends to come visit iDigHardware!
I’ve been in the door and hardware business for a long time – almost 25 years. While I’m still passionate about the products, the industry, and our customers, there are some days when I’m not quite as excited as I once was. It’s kind of like the old, “I love you but I’m not in [...]
In keeping with (Almost-)Wordless Wednesday protocol, I’ll let you gaze upon this beautiful floor stop for today, and tomorrow I’ll tell you the circumstances that led me to it.
This photo of a door in a city hall came from another blog, A Firefighter’s Own Worst Enemy. The blog is written by Jason Hoevelmann, a Deputy Fire Chief / Fire Marshal with the Sullivan Protection District. Jason and the firefighters who frequent his site have a totally different perspective on doors than we do, [...]
<— You know what that’s a photo of??? Rain – torrential rain, at our Relay for Life event this weekend. It rained on and off for most of the relay, but it was REALLY bad at night. Even the die-hard high school kids in the campsite next to ours ended up sleeping in a friend’s [...]
Update: Relay for Life is tomorrow, so if you would like to make a donation, today’s the day! Luminarias in honor, memory, or support of a loved one are available for $10 by following the link below. I’m a little over $100 away from my goal. I appreciate your help! Last week I was grumbling [...]
I received these photos a couple of weeks ago and we’ve been trying to determine whether this is a door closer, or possibly a lever-action shock for an old car. It was being used in an underwater application and needs to be replaced. Does it look familiar to you? If you know someone who might [...]
This post was printed in the June 2011 issue of: Over the years, I’ve heard many people mention the rule of thumb that the rating of the fire door assembly is “3/4 of the rating of the wall.” Although the fire door rating is typically less than the rating of the wall, the 3/4 ratio [...]
You just never know what’s going to show up in my inbox. Last week I received the clipping below from Jim Bystry of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. Jim said he received it from Sue Shapiro of Bell Hardware in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I’m guessing Jim’s had it laying around for a while because it’s dated [...]
I was pleasantly surprised to open my June issue of the Construction Specifier this morning, and find an article called “Architectural Hardware Specifications,” by Joseph D. Calvert, CSI, CDT, AHC of Calvert Independent Hardware Specifications. The article does a great job of explaining the value of an AHC. Joe describes the coordination that we manage [...]
Last week I posted a photo of a deadlock on a pair with panic hardware, and I included a poll to find out what you all thought should be done about the problem. I received some photos yesterday that gave me the idea to make this a regular feature of the blog – “What Would [...]
All of today’s reader photos came from my compañeros at Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies: From Tim Weller, a door which requires 3 motions (and a key!) to exit…a knob, an exit alarm, and a key-operated deadbolt. If this is a required means of egress, the codes require a single motion and no prior knowledge to [...]
I dedicate today’s (almost) Wordless Wednesday post to my wonderful Moroccan mother-in-law, who passed away on Memorial Day. The gigantic titanium doors above lead to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. They reportedly weigh 10 tons, and are operated electrically. To give you an idea of the scale, that’s me sitting in front of [...]
