Fire Door Latching
In order for a fire door assembly to perform as designed and tested, it's critical for the door to be closed and latched if/when a fire occurs...
WW: Hinge-Hasp
Thank you to Curtis Meskus for these Wordless Wednesday photos. This pair leads to a storage room in a motel. I have a feeling these will show up in one of my nightmares sometime soon.
LockDontBlock.org
Have you seen the new website from the Door Security & Safety Foundation - LockDontBlock.org?
Duck Test
This morning I was reading an article about an exit problem at the Mineta San Jose International Airport in California...
FF: Hospital Door
What led to this "fix"? Any theories?
Decoded: Fire Door Assembly Classifications
NFPA 80 – Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives, classifies openings protected by fire door assemblies in one of five categories...
WW: What is this?
Derrick Riding sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo of a hold-open device on a fire door (note the painted label)...
Upcoming AIA-Approved Webinar
On Thursday, September 14th, Allegion will be offering a free 1-hour webinar on access control hardware - at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern.
FF: NFPA 101-2018 on Classroom Security
This post has a lot going on. First, since it's Fixed-it Friday and I don't want to disappoint anyone, here's a photo from Bill Stock of Johnson Hardware...
State Code Resources
There are a couple of great resources for finding out more information about the state code requirements as well as the model codes and referenced standards.
WW: Rope and Cleat System
I give up. Not really. I will never give up.
ID Please
An iDigHardware reader needs your help identifying this lock! Any ideas?
QQ: Door Pull Clearance
I answered this question a couple of years ago as part of a longer post, but people continue to ask so here goes... "How much clearance do the accessibility standards require behind a door pull?"
FF: Guatemalan Style
Wrapping up my summer road trip through Guatemala, here are a few Fixed-it Friday photos - and a question.
WWYD? Measuring Clearance
I was contacted last week by a door and hardware distributor who has provided fire door assemblies with hollow metal frames and wood doors on a hospital project...
WW: Who needs electrical codes??
Continuing with the Guatemalan theme (until tomorrow when I have a fire door question for you), I encountered this in a public restroom...
Guatemala and Beyond…
As I promised yesterday, here are a few doors from my recent trip to Guatemala. We saw so many amazing doors - big ones, small ones, ornate doors and utilitarian doors, lots of wicket doors, cool door knockers and other hardware...
¡Muchisimas Gracias! Thank You!
You may or may not have noticed, I have been on vacation with my kids in Guatemala for the last 2 weeks. I wrote all of my blog posts and articles before I left...
FF: Lockout
This is not the intended use of this device. Anyone know what it's for?
WWYD? Posted Occupant Load
Have you ever noticed a sign stating the maximum occupant load of a room? How about a sign stating that the maximum occupant load is 49 people? I've seen several signs stating the 49-person limit, and I recently received a question that made me ponder this...
WW: Emergency Exit
I. Have. No. Words.
QQ: Push ‘N Go For Automatic Operators
In yesterday's post, I wrote about power-assist operators to clarify that these are not the same as low-energy automatic operators. This 2-part question arose from a misconception that "power-assist" is the same thing as "Push 'N Go."
QQ: What is a power-assist operator?
This is Part 1 of a 2-part question, so check tomorrow's post for Part 2. First, I'd like to clarify what defines a power-assist operator...
FF: Trading One Problem For Another
In the case shown in today's Fixed-it Friday photo, a retail store has implemented this creative hold-open because of an assault that occurred in their public restroom...
Decoded: Securing Parking Garages (September 2017)
Without proper planning, parking garages can present security and life-safety challenges. People who are authorized to use the parking area – or unauthorized people who are able to enter an open parking garage – may attempt to gain access to other floors of the building...
WW: Too Short
The most amazing thing about today's Wordless Wednesday photos is that the panic hardware has been installed this way for YEARS, and on a fast-food restaurant!
WWYD? Courtyard Doors
In this school it appears that by preventing access to the courtyard, the school is not required to provide free egress from the courtyard...
QQ: Selected Reentry
What is "selected reentry" and when can it be used?
FF: Public Restroom
I'm in Guatemala! I'm on the hunt for some beautiful and/or interesting Guatemalan doors to share with you, but until then, here are some doors from a recent trip to Phoenix...
Sneak Peek
I told you we were going to have fun this week, right? Well, what could be more fun than a quiz to help you learn about codes? :D But first, I have to tell you something...
WW: School Asks 100 Graffiti Artists To Paint It Before Renovation…
This is amazing. Really. You can see ALL of the beautiful photos and read the story here on Bored Panda, but these are a few of my favorite door-related images from the article...
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...
Logan the Locksmith
Tomorrow is my birthday. Not just any birthday - my 50th! The other day someone said to me, "Don't worry! 50 is the new 70!!!" What???
FF: Deadbolt Retrofit
These photos, from Kelly Reese of Allegion, qualify for the double-whammy - Wordless Wednesday AND Fixed-it Friday. But don't worry...it is indeed Friday! Have a great weekend!
Sensor Bars for Egress
Last week a code official contacted me because he had seen some egress doors in a school that were equipped with sensor bars used to release electromagnetic locks...
WW: Mall Exit
Why is it that when something goes wrong with the existing hardware, some facilities use the hardware equivalent of a band-aid rather than repairing or replacing the hardware?
Honolulu High-Rise Fire
Last week, 3 lives were lost in a fire that occurred in a residential high-rise in Honolulu, Hawaii. Although the cause is not yet known...
NFPA 101 Appeals and Testimony
As I've mentioned in previous posts, shortly after the NFPA Technical Meeting on June 7th, two appeals were filed. These appeals were submitted in favor of keeping the proposed changes to NFPA 101 that would allow 2 releasing operations instead of 1...
FF: Sharpie Seal
Ian Baren of Katonah Architectural Hardware sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo. This mortise lock is on a very fancy clothing store, and apparently it was an aesthetic problem for someone that the gasketing did not continue down the lock face. So they drew it in with a Sharpie! You'd think that if they were going to go to the trouble, they would have used a straight-edge!
Why two-operation release is not an option – Joseph Hendry Jr., PSP, CLEE
Joseph Hendry Jr., PSP, CLEE has written the guest blog post below, to share his experience in law enforcement regarding human behavior in an emergency. This relates directly to the question of whether NFPA 101 should continue to limit egress doors to one releasing operation or should allow two operations to release the latch.
WW: Essence Superlounge
"At around 8:45 p.m., Captain Michael Flot of the New Orleans Fire Department faced an angry crowd of hundreds outside of the Essence Superlounge to tell them they would not be able to see Xscape that night. 'This is the worst I've ever seen it,' Flot said."
WWYD? Single Restroom with Automatic Operator
Imagine this...you have a single restroom where the property manager wants to install an automatic operator for easier access to the restroom (or to overcome a maneuvering clearance problem)...
Take us with you!
It's that time of year again, when lots of people go on vacation - remember the road trips I used to drag all of you on? This summer I'm taking the kids to Guatemala, so I don't know how many interesting doors we'll see...
FF: “Please help – I’m stuck in here.”
This is why doors are required to provide free egress. Even doors used by very few people, leading to tiny rooms that may need more security than the average closet.
Federal lawmakers pressed to make real changes in K-12 security
From Security InfoWatch, an article on a recent congressional briefing by advocates for safe and secure schools...
WW: Party Prep
Rich McKie sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo of a high school lobby, which was being prepared for a "Dry Grad" overnight graduation party coordinated by a parent committee...
Change is Good
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of change; I like predictability. I know that might surprise some of you, but I’m more apt to live by the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In case some of you are change-averse like me, I want to tell you about a change that is happening today.
NYC – Greenwich Lock & Safe
Some of you may remember the blog post below, which I first published in 2011. Time flies! When I visited Greenwich Lock & Safe and met locksmith and artist Phil Mortillaro, he told me that there was a documentary in progress about him. The documentary is now available on PBS.org!
FF: You Get What You Pay For
I have run out of words. Is this the best we can do to secure our classrooms? :(
Decoded: Code Requirements for Electromagnetic Locks
This post was published in the August 2017 issue of Doors & Hardware