Back in August, I posted some information about a change to the UL procedures regarding fire doors less than 32" wide. UL has just issued another bulletin, which reverses the August 2nd bulletin. There will be no special requirements for labeling doors less than 32" wide - doors can be labeled in accordance with the manufacturers' service procedures.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2012 issue of Life Safety Digest, a publication of the Firestop Contractors International Association (FCIA). The article has been revised slightly to reference more recent codes.
Last year I published a post about the two common types of smoke detectors - ionization and photo-electric detectors. There was a report on NBC News tonight about this same topic. In case you missed the first post or didn't get around to checking the detectors in your home, here's a follow-up:
This is the emergency exit for a day care center, sent in by Dwight Isaacs of US Homeware Inc. If you look closely, you'll see that the latch is up near the top of the jamb post, out of reach of the kids. This seems like it could be a viable solution, except that in another situation when I asked all of my code official pals about how I could prevent a child with special needs from exiting out of a school without permission, most of them said that they would not allow a latch mounted above the range mandated by code.
Here are some recent news stories you might be interested in reading...
I couldn't have said it better myself..."Mullion? Who needs a mullion when you can just turn the exit devices 90 degrees?" From Chris Steward of Steward Steel, by way of Jim Phillips of SBS Associates.
Mary Hinton of Mulhaupt's sent me a link to check out a one-of-a-kind door, and she was right - it's amazing! The door is on a single family home in India called "House with Wall of Light." It was designed by Matharoo Associates, for Dilip Sanghvi, a diamond merchant. The architectural firm won the Architectural Review's Emerging Architecture Award, when they submitted the door design.
Question: Is there a requirement for the location of a glass lite in a door or sidelite?
Whatcha think? Is this exit visible enough?
Since this blog began, it has had visitors from 165 countries. I've been contacted by readers from outside of the United States, and have heard first-hand of door and hardware professionals in other countries using the site as a resource. That amazes me.
Am I the only one bothered by this? Probably.
In case you're wondering, I do know that it's not Wednesday, but I'm never actually Wordless either.
I'm in sunny Phoenix this morning, getting ready to head over to the convention center for the CONSTRUCT show. I know that some of you are here too! Last week at our local CSI meeting, 5 different people came up to me and said, "I HATE HARDWARE!", usually with a theatrical grimace, a stomp of the foot, or a shaken fist (or all of the above) and a little smile. I'm happy to represent the industry that architectural specifiers love to hate because there are plenty of us who are here to help you.
It’s time. Today.
This used to be a very common application but I haven't seen it much lately. Do you know what the potential issue is?
How is it possible that hotels almost always have fire and egress door issues? It seems like they would get it right once, then duplicate those good applications across the chain and make sure that they're maintained. Yet hotels have been a great source of Doors Gone Wrong.
I just love when I ask a question and some of you actually answer me. Following up on yesterday's post about "The World's Heaviest Door", here are a few more big doors:
Brenda Dove of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies spotted this door on the Energy.gov website, where they feature a new energy-related photo each week. In 1979, this was the world's heaviest door, weighing in at 97,000 pounds. I wonder if it still holds the record. Seen any big doors lately?
Step 4: Invert the cylinder cam as shown.
Free Webinar: NFPA 80, Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Swinging Fire Doors
I recently saw this closer prep on a brand-new fire door. Now what?
I'm going to be traveling a fair amount over the next couple of months, and if you'll be where I am I'd love to see you! This afternoon I am headed to our office in Carmel, Indiana, to continue training our newest batch of specwriter apprentices. The door and hardware industry seems to always have trouble attracting new people, and specwriters are usually created over a long career filling other roles in the industry. Well, Bill Lawliss and I have risen to the challenge and are working with some recent college graduates to teach them everything we know about doors and hardware. They've already learned a lot and this week we will continue with some more training on hardware applications. If you or anyone you know might be interested in participating in this training program in the future, let me know!
Whenever I teach a class on fire door inspection, questions always come up about holes in fire doors and how to fill them. I promised a class of 120 last fall at the Yankee Security Conference that I would write a blog post about it, but there was really no good solution, particularly for wood doors - until now.
Question: Is there a code requirement for how often the delayed egress hardware in my facility must be tested?
UPDATE: As of October 4, 2012, UL has reversed this directive. The bulletin can be downloaded here.
In addition to beautiful doors and interesting locks, I love old architecture and the amazing photography that captures the decay of these crumbling structures. I look forward to new photo essays posted on the Kingston Lounge site, and the most recent was especially exciting because it's very close to my town and an important part of Worcester, Massachusetts history.
Here's a little something to enjoy with your morning coffee. Most of us are aware of the requirement for egress doors to be able to be unlocked/unlatched without a key, tool, or special knowledge or effort, but sometimes this requirement is overlooked, especially when hardware is retrofitted on an existing door.
Earlier in the week I published a post about a fire in Aurora, Colorado. Today I ran across this news report which shows an apartment where the door was open, vs. an apartment where the door was closed. The reporter states that the doors were 2-hour rated, which is not typical, but some good publicity for fire doors regardless.
Anybody see the problem here?
This morning I read about a fire in Aurora, Colorado, at a 4-story apartment building. The fire occurred Monday night, and it's possible that it is the result of arson. Sadly, there were two fatalities - a couple who had lived in the building since the 1970's.
This is an actual problem on a current project, and I'm hoping some of you will have ideas to help out. The doors and a portion of the hardware have already been installed, and the remaining hardware is on-site. It's a double-egress pair in a health-care facility, and it is equipped with a system to prevent patients with Alzheimer's Disease or other conditions from "eloping". There is a sensor in the vicinity of the doors which detects an approaching occupant wearing a transmitter bracelet, and when an occupant is detected the system automatically arms the delayed egress locks, which prevent the patient from leaving the unit before staff members can arrive.
I am frequently asked if I have a photo of a particular application. There are almost 2,500 images on this site, so it's likely that I do have the photo someone is looking for, but finding it is not easy. As the number of images grows, it will get worse.
No, really! They do!
Here are some of the lock shops I visited while shopping for the locks in this post.
As I read about the terrible movie theater tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, I thought about things from a door hardware consultant's perspective. Could future tragedies be prevented by changing the way we think about the hardware on movie theater exits? Because the suspect allegedly propped open the exit door so he could return during the movie with guns, explosive chemicals, and a protective vest, would monitoring or alarming the emergency exit have thwarted his attack?
Question: What's the difference between panic hardware and fire exit hardware? And what's an exit device?
This post was printed in the October 2012 issue of Doors & Hardware
I know what you're thinking..."Another day, another kasbah." :-) I sincerely appreciate the chance to enjoy my vacation while still keeping up with my blog, email, etc., so thanks for bearing with me!
I've had a request for photos of Morocco besides just the beautiful doors, so here are some from the Glaoui Kasbah:
I mentioned these gigantic doors in an earlier post, but I went back to see them again since we're in the neighborhood. The mosque wasn't open for tours when we were there (the only way non-Muslims can go into a mosque), but I sent my husband in with a camera and he came back with photos of panic hardware. He's learning! :-)
I hope you're not getting tired of posts about beautiful Moroccan doors because I know I'm not tired of seeing them. There are amazing doors EVERYWHERE in Morocco - adorned bronze, carved wood, hand-painted...absolutely gorgeous. Yesterday I dragged the family to Bahia Palace in the 100-degree heat. They were good sports about it and I think they actually like roaming around old architectural marvels with me. Once we finally find them in the depths of the medina, that is. It's not easy to get around in the old city, or the ville nouvelle for that matter.
Here are some photos of the beautiful sliding bronze doors at the tomb of King Mohammed V. It was built in 1971, adjacent to La Tour (Tower) Hassan. The minaret stands amidst support columns which were once part of a huge mosque destroyed in an earthquake.
As many of you know, I am in Morocco for some vacation time combined with some work, and also working on some family issues with my mother-in-law's estate. We have made the most of each day, and I have seen (and photographed) lots of amazing doors. I hope you don't get sick of seeing them..."Darn! Not another beautiful door!!" I have also had requests for non-door photos so I will show you some of this beautiful country too.
I'll be posting some Moroccan door photos soon, but here are some reader photos to tide you over.
Last week I was a panelist for the BOMA Every Building Conference and Expo in Seattle. It was a pretty busy couple of days but I was able to sneak out each day to see a little of the city, or visit the guy who was LockedInAHouse. I LOVED the Pike Place Market...I was there early in the morning as the vendors were bringing in their flowers, seafood, vegetables, etc. for the day, and it was a sensory feast! I wish I could start each day that way.
This post was printed in the August 2012 issue of Doors & Hardware
If you don't know why this sign leaves me wordless, read this post.
Question: I was told that I couldn't use dogging on panic hardware installed on fire doors. Is it acceptable to use electric dogging?
Just before I flew to Seattle for the Every Building Conference & Expo this morning, I read about a very unusual challenge being run by Schlage, coincidentally also in Seattle. With his consent, they locked a guy named Joshua in a tiny house (174 square feet), and it's up to the locals to follow clues, find the key, and set Joshua free. The first person to find the key and let Joshua out wins $5,000! There are prizes for the 10 runners up as well. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see this crazy guy Joshua, so it was my first stop upon arrival.
