Monthly Archives: August 2013

Hursley House – Hampshire, England

Twelve years ago I was new to the town where I currently live, and I knew almost nobody.  It was hard to meet people back then - I had no kids and my husband and I both worked in other towns.  My family and a bunch of my friends were still back in Vermont, where I started my career with a door and hardware distributor.  My coworkers at Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies (yes, I have worked at IR for almost 19 years!!) were wonderful, but they were busy with their families (I used to babysit their kids and take care of their pets).  I remember signing up for classes just to try to find some friends - cooking, roller blading, line dancing...you name it.  Are you getting the picture?  I was desperate to connect with someone I had something in common with.

By |2013-09-01T09:02:14-04:00August 30th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Locks & Keys, Road Trips|0 Comments
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WW: No power? No problem!

When I'm teaching about the code-compliant ways to hold open a fire door, I always say that my preference is to use a wall-mounted magnetic holder because there are no moving parts, and not much can go wrong if it's installed correctly.  But if there's no power to the magnetic holder, it won't hold the door open.  And if the door won't stay open, someone will always come along with a creative solution.

By |2013-09-01T09:02:43-04:00August 28th, 2013|Electrified Hardware, Fire Doors, Wordless Wednesday|1 Comment
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Casa del Mayorazgo de Canal – San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

The most ornate pair of doors that I saw in San Miguel was the entrance to la Casa del Mayorazgo de Canal.  The historic home was once owned by the de la Canal family, one of the richest families in New Spain.  This building is now occupied by a bank, as well as la Casa de Cultura de Banamex (Banamex Cultural Center) which houses a collection of historic paintings and hosts special art exhibitions.

By |2013-09-01T09:03:06-04:00August 26th, 2013|Beautiful Doors|7 Comments
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The Ballad of Carl Prinzler

Do you know who Carl Prinzler was?  Does the name ring a bell?  Carl worked in the door hardware industry back in the early 20th century, and was instrumental in developing the first exit device along with his employer, Vonnegut Hardware Company and his neighbor, Henry DuPont.  Recently Peter Wilson of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies came across a poem by Misha Burnett called The Ballad of Carl Prinzler, and sent me the link.  I couldn't imagine who (besides me) would write a poem about Carl Prinzler, so I emailed Misha.  He is a university locksmith and while taking a poetry class he also attended a Von Duprin training class and learned about the invention of the first panic hardware after the tragic fire at the Iroquois Theater, which inspired him to write the Ballad of Carl Prinzler.

By |2017-02-15T21:29:09-05:00August 19th, 2013|Panic Hardware|7 Comments
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La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel

For some of you, this story will confirm my nerdiness.  I'm ok with that.  My trip to San Miguel de Allende is almost over - we're flying home on Saturday.  I have hundreds of door photos to sort through, and I will post some in the coming weeks.  But there was one pair of doors that I had not been able to photograph properly - the doors of La Parroquia, the beautiful church on the south side of el Jardin, which is the garden at the heart of San Miguel.  I have visited the church MANY times during my stay, at all times of the day and night, hoping to find the doors closed.  I've asked several people what time the doors open in the morning, but so far, no luck.  I couldn't go home without photographing the doors of the unofficial symbol of SMA, right?

By |2013-09-01T09:04:31-04:00August 15th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Road Trips|2 Comments
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Impact of Citizen Involvement

I love it when people take action to rectify a code issue - especially when it's a door problem.  Two articles landed on my desk in the last few days about just that - citizens who saw a deficiency and didn't let it drop until it got some attention.  Both stories are from the UK and both involve high-rise apartment buildings - maybe Theodore Firedoor is helping to educate people about code-compliant fire doors. 

By |2017-09-29T13:37:42-04:00August 2nd, 2013|FDAI, Fire Doors, News|0 Comments
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