Thank goodness it's Wordless Wednesday because I have no words for these photos. Well, no words other than - deadbolts aren't allowed on double-egress doors, and UL listed hardware can't be modified. Believe it or not, these exit devices actually work (as long as the deadbolt isn't engaged!).
Eyal Bedrik of Entry Systems Ltd. sent me a plethora of photos recently. I think he sent his entire "Creative Closers of Israel" file. :-)
I have TJ Gottwalt to thank for this Wordless Wednesday post. Thanks TJ!
I received lots of reader photos while I was going on and on about hotel doors. Here they are!
These are the last few miscellaneous photos from our vacation, but never fear...I'm headed off for a Moms' Weekend on Friday so maybe I'll have some good (G-rated) spa photos for next week. :-)
When I started this blog, my goals were to organize all of the code information I had into a searchable database, and to offer a more painless way to learn about hardware. I think one of the hardest things about starting out in this industry is the way most of us learn about it - at the School of Hard Knocks. There are some great classes available through DHI and other sources, but it can take a very long time to attend them all, which gives us plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. I know I've made my fair share over the years, so I wanted to help people learn a little bit at a time and hopefully make it as painless as possible.
I received these photos from a fire inspector in Texas who shall remain nameless so he'll keep sending me the crazy stuff he sees in his travels. If you recall from earlier posts, an egress door has to look like a door, and can't be disguised in any way. This egress door is in a restaurant that seats 200-250, and the second photo is what the means of egress looks like after you go through the door. Nice.
Here are some more reader photos that have recently hit my (e)mailbox...
I just got home from the Boston Chapter CSI meeting (that's the Construction Specifications Institute - I'm not cool enough to go to the Crime Scene Investigators' meetings). As I was leaving the parking garage I saw this door on the 4th floor.
These doors are from the same children's museum as the planetarium exit doors in the previous post. I first noticed the "mouse hole" at the bottom of one pair, and wondered why it was there, until I saw multiple other holes with wires running through.
I spend a lot of time with architects, and sometimes I'm put in the awkward position of having to talk them out of trying to do something with doors that hasn't been successfully done before. Many times this involves glass doors, which are becoming more common, yet still have very few options for hardware. It's tough to make a glass door do anything innovative, when all of the locking hardware is paired with a fixed pull handle.
As I've said before, it makes me really happy when people send me photos of door and hardware applications they've seen in the field. I'm REALLY happy today because my inbox is full!
I love to receive photos from people who read my blog, and a couple of weeks ago I hit the jackpot. Within 24 hours I received a bunch!
This weekend we took advantage of the beautiful spring weather to get outside and soak up some Vitamin D at a local farm and on an Easter boat cruise. Lots of sun and signs of spring, but not a lot of doors.
A few weeks ago I saw an ASA strike used in an oddball location, and the other night I saw the deadbolt strike on the right.
Luckily, we are safely home and the hotel didn't catch on fire, but I did take a quick tour of the place before we left. Almost none of the fire doors that I looked at were code-compliant, and I wasn't being nitpicky.
I ran across this photo today on a network security blog (click the photo to go there). -->
We continued our road trip yesterday with a visit to the zoo and a drive through Amish Country. A stop in Paradise confirmed that they could use some Falcon 24/25 exit devices out there, and Chip's up to the challenge. As I've said before, I'm very picky about which products I specify, and after taking this new device apart and learning more about it I would be comfortable specifying it for a school project, especially when the budget is tight.
An astragal is a piece of molding used on a pair of doors or between the top and bottom leaves of a Dutch door, to provide security, protect against weather conditions, prevent light or sound transmission, or to retard the passage of smoke, flame, or gases during a fire. On a Dutch door the astragal is used to close the bottom leaf in conjunction with the top leaf. An astragal should not be confused with a mullion, which sits between (fixed) or behind (removable) the meeting stiles of a pair.
I think this photo speaks for itself. I just love the creativity and the lengths people will go to with these modifications. It's kind of sad that I get my kicks from looking at doors gone wrong, but admit it...you do too!
After over 20 years in the hardware industry, my family has grown accustomed to me taking photos of doors. They still think it's strange, but it's no longer surprising. Last weekend we were on a Fathers Day outing and I saw this sad door on a gas station ladies' room. I couldn't help but wonder...who would be this desperate to get into the ladies room? I guess someone REALLY had to go.
A temperature rise door is a fire-rated door which limits the heat transfer through the door for a period of 30 minutes. Temperature rise ratings indicate the maximum rise above ambient temperature on the non-fire side of the door, and will be either 250°, 450°, or 650° F. The 250° door is the most restrictive because it limits the heat transfer to only 250° for a 30-minute period. A typical hollow metal door would reach approximately 1400° F in the same time period. By minimizing the transfer of heat, a temperature rise door could protect an exit enclosure, allowing people to pass below the floor of fire origin.
My only hesitation in posting these photos is that they are probably the best photos of Doors Gone Wrong that I have ever seen, and any future photos will pale in comparison. These are the holy grail of bad door photos, which I received from Eyal Bedrik of Entry Systems Ltd. in Israel. According to Eyal, these are temperature rise doors, which you can learn more about in my next post.
This is one of those openings that makes me cringe...yuck! But I can't let a teachable moment go by. Yesterday I got a call from an architect who asked whether it was acceptable to put a panic device on one leaf of a pair when only that leaf is required for egress width. The codes aren't 100% clear on this, but I have had code officials require panics on both leaves of a pair even if only one leaf is required for egress. You also need to consider the alternative to using panics on both leaves...a panic on one leaf and auto flush bolts on the other. This application also requires a coordinator and overall it's a problematic application.
