These photos from the Glassboro Fire Department are a terrific reminder of the value of fire doors. Although most doors in single-family homes are not required to be fire-rated, the International Residential Code does require protection between the garage and the home...
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!
WWYD if asked to specify/supply oversized doors for a commercial or institutional project? How would you hang doors like this?
When working with electrified hardware it's very important to understand the difference between fail secure and fail safe products. I hope this video helps!
I received this photo from Tabor Stride of Commercial Door Company...at least it doesn't appear to be a fire door!
I've received a lot of questions about stairwell reentry lately, so I think it's time for me to address that topic in another article for Doors & Hardware. In the meantime, here's a new whiteboard animation video about stairwell reentry!
These were taken DURING a high school basketball game. Thank you to John Borchmann of Allied Building Products for this week's Wordless Wednesday photos.
I received a question recently about testing of fire exit hardware - when panic hardware is tested for use on fire doors, is it mounted on the fire side (facing the furnace) or the non-fire-side of the door?
I've received quite a few questions about roller latches lately, with regard to the CMS prohibition on using roller latches on corridor doors in health care facilities...
This was one of those photos from a recent road trip where the kids were like, "MOMMMMM...We just want a 5-dollar footlong!" and I was fixated on why these two closers would have different mounting locations for the shoe. How did this happen?
Charles Anderson sent me this photo of a horizontal sliding door he found on a marked exit in an antique store. So...is it code-compliant?
I received this photo from Guardian Fire Testing. The bolts have been installed on existing fire-rated doors in a school, and Guardian was asked to relabel these fire door assemblies...
A code change proposal has been submitted to the North Carolina Building Code Council, to address "emergency lockdown safety mechanisms" (AKA barricade devices) in schools, government buildings and office buildings...
OK - this one is going to take some thought, so let's focus. Paul Nykiel of Johnson Hardware sent me these photos of an opening he's trying to help with...
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo is from Kayla Pollock of Allegion. Why fix the problem when you can just make a sign?
CPTED (pronounced sep-ted) stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, and is defined as a multi-disciplinary approach to deterring criminal behavior through environmental design...
I might need to go on a field trip to the Vikings' new stadium...just to see these doors! WoW! Blake Nelson of Allegion sent me these photos from a recent site visit...
I currently have an article on BUILDINGS BUZZ…the blog for BUILDINGS, a magazine for commercial building owners and facilities management professionals. The article covers some of the code changes...
If you're involved in specifying, supplying, coordinating, or maintaining hardware for aluminum or glass doors, WWYD? Where should the hardware be specified and how do you ensure that all of the details are addressed...
This brings back that old sinking feeling that most door and hardware distributors have felt at some point. I haven't worked as a distributor for more than 20 years, but I can remember the mistakes...
With the continued focus on fire door assemblies, it’s important to be familiar with the basic requirements as well as what has changed in the more recent codes and standards. This article focuses on hinge requirements for fire doors...
It's Wordless Wednesday again, and there are 3 days left in the iDigHardware celebration and $100 gift card giveaway!
Along with Joe Pulizzi, Robert Rose hosts a weekly podcast called This Old Marketing, and this week's podcast mentioned iDigHardware and the community we have created here!
I've been asked several times - what is the difference between a swinging door with builders hardware (addressed in Chapter 6 of NFPA 80) and a swinging door with fire door hardware (covered in Chapter 7)?
For 6 more days, we're celebrating the exciting milestones recently achieved by iDigHardware and giving away one $100 Amazon gift card each day! Visit iDigHardware.com/celebrate to find out how to enter today's drawing, or click here to read about why we're celebrating!
To celebrate some exciting milestones and the 7-year anniversary of iDigHardware, we’re giving away a $100 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner every day for 7 days!
It's a good thing it's Wordless Wednesday, because I'm running out of words. Thank you to RB Sontag of Allegion for the photos.
I read an article this morning about a 3-year-old boy who eloped from his preschool in Bangor, Maine. The teacher saw him go through the exterior door...
Kudos to the fire department, but the fire doors got some recognition too! From KCRA News...
This Wordless Wednesday photo from Paul Shaaf and Kevin Lach of Twin City Hardware is a first for me. And after 7+ years of writing this blog, I don't say that very often. Enjoy.
How quickly should a fire door close? If the door closes too slowly, could it negatively impact the ability of the fire door to deter the spread of smoke and flames?
WHOA. Today's Wordless Wednesday photo courtesy of Deputy Jeff Tock of Allegion.
There is some confusion surrounding the use of multiple delayed egress locks in a means of egress – in part because of variations between the codes...
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is hoping a device he invented will be in your child’s school soon. It’s designed to keep active shooters out of classrooms...
For the last year or more, our industry has been dealing with legislation overriding the code development process in several states, with regard to classroom security...
This Wordless Wednesday photo from Scott Straton of Allegion shows not just an exit that requires two operations to release the latch...the operations must be performed simultaneously! NOOOO!!!
The United States Access Board has been slowly but surely building an online guide to the ADA. Chapter 5 - General Site and Building Elements, is now available...
Every so often, I'm asked whether a double-acting door can be used in a location where egress is required in both directions. A double-acting door is one that swings in and out...
Sometimes a system incorporating a sensor can be problematic, because traffic moving past the door can inadvertently unlock the mag-lock...
We have been asked to share our expertise and constructive feedback on this product idea for locking classroom doors...
I could hardly believe my eyes when I received these photos from Kevin Wiley, a fire marshal. These doors are in a college dorm, and he said at first he didn't know why the door didn't close when he removed the wood wedge holding it open. Look closely...
This article about the updated CMS fire safety regulations crossed my desk over the weekend, and it contains a lot of information about how these changes will affect health care facilities...
I am SO EXCITED that the last class in the Decoded series is finally available on-demand, so you can take all 4 classes any time - for free!
Thank you to Estefano Pilonieta of M&D Door & Hardware, who found this on Imgur and knew it would make my day. :D
A very common repair includes installing steel fasteners in unused holes, grinding off the fastener heads, and concealing the repair with Bondo, but this is not specifically mentioned in NFPA 80...
It is not uncommon for a building classified as another occupancy type to include an area used for assembly. For example, a nursing home would typically have a dining room, an office building might have a large conference center, or an apartment complex could have a function room that can be used for parties...
From a code perspective, there's nothing wrong with today's Fixed-it Friday photo, sent to me by Jim Jennings of Oregon Lock. It's not a fire door, so mechanical dogging isn't a problem. It is, however...
This is a real-life problem on a current project and I know someone out there has a good answer. Here is a description of the doors...
Anyone see a problem with this Wordless Wednesday photo sent in by Art of Doors?
Several people have sent this video to me lately, so in case you're not one of the 10+ million people who have viewed it on Facebook, check it out! It's pretty cool.
