Monthly Archives: September 2013

The Parthenon – Nashville, Tennessee

A few years ago I posted some reader photos and information about the replica of the Parthenon, in Nashville.  Since I'm here this week for CONSTRUCT, I went over early this morning to see it for myself.  I have one more day at CONSTRUCT, starting with the Bloggers' Panel in room 205C of the Music City Center.  Come on over if you have any questions for the panel of bloggers - Dave Stutzman (SpecWords), Elizabeth O'Sullivan (Comments from a Specwriter), Charles Hendricks (Design Matters), Eric Lussier (Eric D. Lussier), and me!

By |2017-10-12T20:30:52-04:00September 26th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Road Trips|5 Comments
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Public Library – Nashville, Tennessee

I'm in Nashville this week for the CONSTRUCT show, and I've been scoping out some of the beautiful doors in town. My 1 vs. 100 Fire/Life-Safety class went well today...nobody fell asleep or faked an injury so they could leave early. Tomorrow I have 1 vs. 100 Electrified Hardware at 2:45, so if you're here at CONSTRUCT, head over to the Learning Pavilion. I decided today that the only thing worse than speaking to a large crowd is speaking to nobody, but luckily I had a pretty full class. Tomorrow will be the same "game show" format but with a different topic, so come back if you attended today! On Friday morning at 9:30 (room 205C), I'm participating in the CONSTRUCT Bloggers Panel, so if you've ever thought about starting a blog, have any questions about blogging, or just want to meet some bloggers, come on down!

By |2013-09-29T19:10:00-04:00September 25th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Means of Egress, Road Trips|5 Comments
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Back-2-Basics: Lock Functions

When a hardware consultant writes a specification, it’s common practice to sit down and discuss the project with the architect, at least for the more complicated jobs.  The topic of lock functions seems to arise at almost all of those meetings – usually someone in the room needs a refresher on how the basic functions work.  In fact, when I was teaching our specwriter apprentices a few weeks ago I said, “Don’t ask the architect if he or she wants a storeroom function lock, ask if the door should always require a key to enter.”  A manufacturer’s catalog may show 50 different lock functions (or more!) and it’s difficult or impossible to remember how each function works.

By |2013-09-29T19:10:24-04:00September 22nd, 2013|Back-2-Basics, Locks & Keys|17 Comments
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WW: Push-Pull-Panic

Cory Yamaguchi of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me this photo of an egress door he saw on an outing to the local dairy farm with his family.  I'm picturing a farm that hosts lots of visitors, not the type where the cow:human ratio is 100:1.  In addition to the creative application of pull handles, there are loops up at the top (one looks like it's missing) if they need a little extra security.  If you're just tuning in, this is not code-compliant.

By |2013-09-29T19:11:32-04:00September 18th, 2013|Means of Egress, Panic Hardware, Wordless Wednesday|9 Comments
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Codes are a Minimum

When we apply the building codes and accessibility standards, it's important to remember that codes establish the minimum acceptable level of safety / accessibility.  The video below is a candid illustration of a door that is code-compliant, but still doesn't provide access for all (if you have trouble with the embedded video, click here to go to the article and video on KOIN.com).

By |2013-09-29T19:11:48-04:00September 13th, 2013|Accessibility|2 Comments
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CONSTRUCT: Help me decide!

On September 24th I'll be heading down to Nashville for the CONSTRUCT show, and I need some help with a decision!  We had planned to offer 2 different classes Wednesday and Thursday of that week, but the schedule was printed with the same topic (codes!) for both sessions.  So help me decide...would you prefer 2 code classes as the schedule shows, or should we stick with 1 on codes, 1 on access control and advertise the schedule change on-site?

By |2013-09-12T01:57:13-04:00September 12th, 2013|General Info|5 Comments
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Reader Photos

Thank you to everyone who has sent me photos of doors they've seen in their travels (or while laying on the couch).  Kelly Chimilar from Allmar Inc. noticed these doors with an obvious egress problem while watching Thursday Night Football.  If you don't know what the problem is, I will hold a special online study session for you after work tonight.  ;)

By |2016-07-25T18:02:56-04:00September 6th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Door Closers, FDAI, Fire Doors, Hinges & Pivots, Locks & Keys, Means of Egress, Panic Hardware, Reader Photos|9 Comments
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Changes to A156.19 – 2013

A couple of months ago I wrote an article for Doors & Hardware, which appears in the September issue.  As always, I triple-checked my sources, and confirmed that 2007 was the most current edition of A156.19 - American National Standard For Power Assist and Low Energy Power Operated Doors.  Well, today a notification regarding the brand new 2013 edition showed up in my inbox!  Luckily, there are not a lot of changes that would impact the article.

By |2013-09-29T19:13:40-04:00September 2nd, 2013|Accessibility, Automatic Operators|4 Comments
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