FF: Wheelie
I have a theory about what happened here...what's yours? This "fix" shows the importance of making sure the correct hardware is specified from the get-go.
Need a new search?
If you didn't find what you were looking for, try a new search!
FF: It ain’t pretty…
Although this is not one of the most beautiful solutions I've seen, I couldn't think of a code issue as long as the hold-opens are above the minimum clear headroom of 80 inches. What do you think?
QQ/WWYD? Door Bottom Clearance
When inspecting a fire door assembly, how do you measure the clearance at the bottom of the door when the clearance varies between the push side and the pull side?
FF: WWYD?
The director of maintenance for some nursing homes in NYC sent me this photo and asked how to avoid this problem in future installations. Any constructive suggestions?
FF: Tubes
A few weeks ago I was in an old factory that is now a complex of art galleries. It took me a minute to figure out what these tubes were for.
FF: Guatemalan Style
Wrapping up my summer road trip through Guatemala, here are a few Fixed-it Friday photos - and a question.
Happy Birthday to Me!
As I mentioned yesterday, today is my 50th birthday. It seems like a day that I should spend reflecting on my life so far, and planning what to do with the next 50 years. And eating cake...
FF: You Get What You Pay For
I have run out of words. Is this the best we can do to secure our classrooms? :(
FF: Count the Fire Door Problems
Even if this jurisdiction is not yet enforcing fire door assembly inspections for schools, the school is required to keep their fire doors code-compliant and to repair them in a manner that is acceptable to NFPA 80...
FF: Custom Rod Guide
This Fixed-it Friday photo is from Paul Goldense of Goldense Building Products. Paul will be teaching a fire door class with Jeff Batick of Allegion at the NFPA conference next week...
FF: Extension Rod
Charles Anderson sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo of a creative solution he saw at a university. Is it me or do some of those parts look like they came from the "leftover box" in the lockshop?
FF: Custom Mag-Holder Bracket
Frankly, I'm surprised this magnetic holder has enough strength to keep the door open, considering that the armature is mounted right at the closer instead of near the door edge...
FF: NOT Fire Door
Today's Fixed-it Friday post includes a serious question for all of you to ponder. I'll get to it in a minute. First...I received the photos below from a code official...
FF: Don’t Talk to Me About Fear
Maybe this is cracking me up because it's the middle of the night...I guess we'll see if it's still funny in the morning.
WWYD? Clearance vs. Undercut
Last week I got a call about a problem that led me to do some research on the difference between the clearance and the undercut on a fire door. On the project in question, the fire doors were supplied with a 5/8-inch undercut...
WW: Trouble in Texarkana
I am writing this blog post from a hotel in Texarkana, Arkansas, where I saw the Wordless Wednesday door in the photos below. I hope that by the time you read this post I will be back on the road. Fingers crossed!
WW: Emergency Exit Only
Anyone see a problem with this Wordless Wednesday photo sent in by Art of Doors?
WWYD? Fire Door Inspections
Will fire door inspections be enforced for health care facilities? NFPA 101-2012 clearly requires them, but it seems that more proof was needed...
FF: Conference Center
In addition to yesterday's applied panels, which qualified as Fixed-it Friday photos, here are a few more applications from the conference center where I'm spending one more night. If you're in Orlando and saw any Fixed-it Friday doors during your stay, send them along!
WW: Fire Door Inspection
John Lozano of Allegion sent me these photos from a recent class on fire door inspection. What problems do you see on this pair of fire doors in a health care facility?
FF: Deadbolt Retrofit
I don't like to be critical of peoples' work, but this Fixed-it Friday retrofit could use a little TLC. Thank you to Deputy Jeff Tock of Allegion for thinking of me whenever he sees a problematic door. ;)
FF: Which Came First?
Sort of like the chicken and the egg, this Fixed-it Friday photo from Steve Turner and Ray Valentine of Precision Doors & Hardware made me wonder...was the closer added because the automatic operator wasn't closing the door properly, or was the automatic operator added because the closer required too much opening force? Or one or the other stopped working completely but was not removed?
FF: Black Friday
There are many commenters who feel that while the blocks are a danger to firefighters, they're not a code issue if the building is not occupied. If the pallets are blocking required exits, I think they are a code issue, unless one of you can find something in the International Fire Code that says the means of egress requirements only apply when the building is occupied...
FF: School Safety “Sew-cials”
Ideally a classroom door can be locked from within the classroom without opening the door and potential exposing the teacher to an intruder in the hallway. Many schools have existing classroom function locksets, which have to be locked by inserting a key in the outside cylinder. When a district doesn't have the funding to replace the locks...
Fire Door Safety Week
It’s Fire Door Safety Week in the UK, and I can’t help but wonder why the US is so far behind in educating the public about the value of fire doors. It’s a shame, really.
WWYD? Removable Mullion on a Fire Door Assembly
Sometimes a question crosses my desk that surprises me - it seems like after 6+ years of writing about doors and hardware every day I would have heard them all, but this was a first. I was asked to find out where in the codes it states that a removable mullion is acceptable to use on a fire door assembly...
FF: Double-Egress Pairs
You may have to look at these for a few minutes to get the gist of what's happening. These are double-egress pairs in a hotel I stayed in recently. Instead of using a double-egress frame so the doors were in the same plane, each door was mounted on the opposite side of a double-rabbet frame...
FF: Automatic Flush Bolt
Jenny Pauley of Kendell Doors sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo of a non-code-compliant repair that was made because the top corner of the fire door split. This is pretty common when corner-wrap flush bolts are used, because of the amount of wood that is removed...
FF: Panic Problem? No Problem!
This could definitely be a Wordless Wednesday photo, but I couldn't wait to share it so here's an excellent (terrible) Fixed-it Friday photo from Rachel Smith of Karpen Steel. Unbelievable.
WWYD? Noisy Mag-Locks
I know that some of you will be able to help with this question from a contractor, who has all-glass doors with direct-hold magnets making noise when the doors close and when the mag-locks engage...