The hot topic of last week was how to handle locks on dormitory entrance doors, since the students have figured out how to reach under the door with a coat hanger and pull down the lever to unlock the door. There's a minute+ of bad video below to illustrate the procedure, as reenacted by a couple of college boys. The video has already been viewed 1,419 times by students who need help with their coat hanger technique, so the problem is bound to get bigger.
A few years ago, an architect that I've worked with for over 20 years called me and indignantly asked, "Do you know the maximum height for a kick plate on a fire door?!" I answered that it was 16" above the bottom of the door. The architect said, "Well! We tried to write our own hardware spec for a 15-door job. There were 11 hardware sets and there has been a problem with every set except one, and now there's a problem with THAT set...the kick plate is too high!" As far as I know, they never tried to write their own hardware spec again.
I'm currently working on several projects that have glass doors in walls that are acting as 1-hour fire barriers with closely-spaced sprinkler heads above the glass. The problem with this application from a hardware standpoint is that the Blumcraft, CR Laurence, and Dorma Glas panic hardware that is typically used on glass doors does not have active trim (like a lever handle) to retract the latch from the secure side. To unlock these doors, you would typically use the dogging feature of the panic device to leave the doors in a push/pull condition, but because they require positive latching, dogging is not an option. I have searched the world over for a solution to this problem, but the only possibility I've found so far is using fail secure electric strikes to release the latches. Unfortunately, this application is extremely noisy, as illustrated by the video below. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear from you.
I am running into more and more all-glass doors on my projects, and in the words of one of the contractors I'm working with, "Doors are being asked to do things they've never done before." I've had large glass panels pivoting at the center, glass doors acting as opening protectives in fire-rated walls, and glass doors with all types of electrified hardware applications - all with invisible wires, of course. Given the limited options available for glass door hardware, it's often a real challenge to specify hardware that meets the functional and aesthetic requirements for the project. On one project I specified Schlage mortise locks installed in Blumcraft center housings and it was a great solution. The glass door manufacturer had no problem accommodating them, the architect was happy with the way they looked, and I had the full range of lock functions to choose from.
Remember him? I guess I'm dating myself if I admit that I do since he made his debut in the mid- to late-80's, right around the time that Bill Lawliss, John Gant, and I all graduated with degrees in Architecture from Vermont Technical College. Just think where we could be now if we took those drafting jobs we were offered instead of choosing the glamorous field of door hardware.
I readily admit that I get excited about things that wouldn't excite the average U.S. citizen but that's part of my charm. ;-)
Last week I conducted a 3-hour class for the New England Chapter of the Door & Hardware Institute. The class is available to any hardware suppliers, architects, or end users in New England who need to understand code requirements related to doors and hardware, including recent changes to the Massachusetts State Building Code, and the 2006 and 2009 editions of the International Building Code and the Life Safety Code. If you have 12 or more people who are interested in attending, I will conduct the class at your facility or our office in Needham, Massachusetts. It's worth 3 HSW learning units for AIA members, and 9 continuing education points for DHI members.
I recently conducted a fire door assembly inspection and I noted that many of the existing frames had old holes that had been patched with Bondo filler putty. NFPA 80 requires that holes left by the removal of hardware must be filled with steel fasteners or with the same material as the door or frame. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a filler putty-type product that has been tested for this use. If anyone knows of a putty that is acceptable for use on fire-rated doors and frames, I'd love to hear about it.
In the last 2 days, a certified fire door inspector and a hardware supplier have both asked me where it is stated that Maine and Massachusetts have adopted the 2007 edition of NFPA 80, which includes the requirement for the annual inspection of fire doors.
I've been asked this question so many times you'd think I'd know the answer by now. By the way...the photo at left doesn't have much to do with the question, I just think it's funny.
According to the International Residential Code, the door between a private garage and a single family home must provide protection from fire. The picture to the right is from a fire department website describing how the door between the garage and the home protected the rest of the residence and its occupants. The door must be a solid wood or solid/honeycomb core steel door, at least 1 3/8" thick, or a door with a 20-minute label.
I saw this homemade security device on a local high school a few years ago. The school had been having trouble with their computer lab door, and this was their solution - a bent bar in 2 hasps welded to the door. This is not code-compliant, as the codes require one motion to exit under most circumstances.
Don't let this happen to you! If you have an application that can't accommodate a standard closer, LCN has thousands of special templates and engineers standing by to help. Some of my favorite special templates are the track closer for a door with rescue hardware, closers for arch-top doors, and the templates that move the concealed closer away from the face of the frame so you don't end up with the application in this photo.
I don't know what I was thinking. This should have been the very first post!
In the Good Old Days when I was a more frequent nightclub visitor, I remember trying to exit through a club's main entrance at closing time and encountering a locked door. The manager had locked the door to prevent more people from coming in. The vestibule was dark, and the dark bronze storefront door had an Adams Rite deadlatch with a dark bronze lever. The lever was completely invisible and people started to gather behind me. If it had been a panic situation there could have been tragic consequences.
One of the top 5 questions which I receive almost weekly is regarding the replacement of a 5'-wide equal pair with a 3'+2' unequal pair. Because automatic flush bolts and a coordinator can be problematic, and most panic hardware will not fit on a 2' wide door, I'm constantly being asked if it's ok to use manual flush bolts on the 2' leaf. That's a tough question to answer because the code-compliant solution isn't the best application as far as function and durability. The IBC (2003) says this:
This morning a customer asked about using continuous hinges to change the hand of a pair of rated doors (inswing to outswing), in an equal rabbet frame. I couldn't think of any objections - the existing hinge preps would be filled with steel fillers in compliance with NFPA 80. The continuous hinges wouldn't require a hole greater than the maximum 1" diameter allowed by NFPA 80. I checked with Steelcraft to see if our frames need to be reinforced for continuous hinges when used in a rated application, and the answer was no. So...although the AHJ always has the final say in the matter, I can't think of one reason you can't do this as long as it is an equal rabbet frame.
News from the Access Board regarding the updated ADA Accessibility Guidelines which were originally published in 2004, revised in 2005, and published for public comment in 2007:
The 2007 edition of ANSI/BHMA A156.19 - American National Standard for Power Assist and Low Energy Power Operated Doors requires low energy operators to be initiated by a "knowing act", which is described as "consciously initiating the powered opening of a low-energy door using acceptable methods, including: wall- or jamb-mounted contact switches such as push plates; fixed non-contact switches; the action of manual opening (pushing or pulling) a door; and controlled access devices such as keypads, card readers, and key switches."
Door opening force is the measurement of how many pounds of force are required to open a door. The requirements for door opening force are found in the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), ICC/ANSI A117.1 Standard on Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, and the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board requirements (521 CMR).
One of our customers sent me this photo last week. It was found on a psychiatric facility and to operate it, a staff member must be present and holding the bolt projected via the lever. I did my best to track down a manufacturer with no luck. It's possible that it was made in a machine shop or that it is no longer available, but my first thought when I saw it was that I need to buy 3 for my kids' rooms and then find 3 suckers to stand there holding the bolts projected. ;-)
Tactile warning is an abrasive or knurled strip on a lever handle to indicate that the door leads to a hazardous area such as a boiler room, mechanical room, or loading dock. This requirement is no longer included in the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) or in ICC/ANSI A117.1, but it is a requirement of the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (521 CMR):
An EPT is an electrical power transfer, which is used to transfer wires from the door frame to the edge of the door. It is used when there is a door-mounted piece of electrified hardware which requires power and/or sends a signal to a remote location. The security consultants that I have worked with all prefer the EPT over electric hinges or door loops, which perform the same function. It is also preferred over an electric hinge by most installers, because the EPT can be installed when the wiring connections are made, rather than being installed by the carpenter, removed for wiring, and reinstalled, getting mangled in the process. The EPT is concealed when the door is closed (the door loop is exposed and prone to abuse) and it can accommodate larger gauge wires than an electric hinge.
The instructors in my Fire Door Assembly Inspector (FDAI) class showed us a really handy gauge to measure clearances around fire rated doors, and since I'm going to do my first *official* inspection tomorrow I tracked one down. It can easily and accurately measure 1/16", 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", and 3/8" gaps, and a 3/4" undercut. For only $18.95, you can be the proud owner of your own Door Gap Gauge by shopping online at doorgapgauge.com.
I have worked long and hard to achieve certifications within the hardware industry, so you can bet your booty they're printed on my business card. People often ask what they all mean, so here's a quick run-down.
Beginning with the 2002 edition, the National Electric Code (NFPA 70) requires that certain types of electric rooms have doors that open in the direction of egress and are "equipped with panic bars, pressure plates, or other devices that are normally latched but open under simple pressure." According to an engineer I spoke with at the National Fire Protection Association, the releasing device could be a hospital latch or paddle-type release, but the fact that the words "panic bar" are used in the Code has prompted many code officials to require panic hardware.
