Many of today’s architectural designs incorporate outdoor spaces such as balconies, terraces, and courtyards, allowing building occupants access to natural light and fresh air. How do the model codes handle these areas?
In the wake of any tragedy, society struggles collectively to process the loss. For some it is the loss of friends and loved ones, but for most it is our feelings of safety and trust in the overall goodness of our fellow man that are diminished or seemingly lost entirely. In their place, we are filled with an overwhelming desire to do something...
For health care facilities, controlled egress can provide a greater level of safety for patients who require containment because of their clinical needs. This video explains the requirements for controlled egress and delayed egress...
A while back, I posted some photos of a door that had panic hardware along with several stationary push bars. Although the model codes don't specifically address this application, I don't think it's acceptable...
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'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.
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 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...
It's Wordless Wednesday again, and there are 3 days left in the iDigHardware celebration and $100 gift card giveaway!
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...
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...
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!!!
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...
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...
Anyone see a problem with this Wordless Wednesday photo sent in by Art of Doors?
During yesterday's shooting at UCLA, Brian Fochler tagged me in a photo tweeted from the engineering building where the shooting was taking place, which was my first indication that something lock-related was happening. Since then I've received many other emails...
Brian Lane of Allegion sent in the photos below (via Deputy Jeff Tock). This is a cross-corridor door in a health care facility. The wall behind the door MUST be temporary, but wow...
Schools have been able to use magnets over locking mechanisms, allowing doors to be easily opened throughout the day and still lock quickly by simply removing the magnet. But by Jan. 1, 2018, that quick fix will no longer be enough...
I think we all know by now that egress doors are not allowed to be painted or covered in a way that would disguise them (except certain doors in health care occupancies where NFPA 101 allows murals)...
Last week, I was asked how I would handle the hardware for an animal research lab, where animals (particularly primates) may need to be prevented from eloping...
Last week I posted my next Decoded article - about changes affecting door openings between the 2000 edition of NFPA 101 and the 2012 edition. Paul Dzurinda of Russell Phillips & Associates sent me a few more changes that we should be aware of...
In case you haven't noticed, there is an interesting conversation happening on my post from earlier in the week about classroom barricade devices. If you have something informative to add in response to the manufacturers of these products...
Here's the latest on classroom barricade devices...let me know what's happening in your state.
According to the IBC Commentary, the purpose of this requirement is to prevent people from locking themselves in the toilet room to create a safe haven for illicit activities...
This Wordless Wednesday photo could have easily been a Fixed-it Friday photo, but since this "fix" is on an occupied Assembly space, it left me Wordless. Thank you to Dave Ilardi of Allegion for sending me photos from the family vacation. :D
In addition to yesterday's applied panels, which qualified as Fixed-it Friday photos, here are a few more applications from the conference center where I'm spending one more night. If you're in Orlando and saw any Fixed-it Friday doors during your stay, send them along!
Take a close look. There are 2 doors in this opening - one inswinging, one outswinging. Each has 2 surface bolts. The request was to add yet another lock to these doors. Yikes.
I posted these photos (below) yesterday to ask what problems you all saw. Here's what I see...
I am assuming that the airport requested and received the proper code modifications for the pair of doors in the photos below - serving the airport terminal. Anybody know what the required code modifications would be?
In addition to the fact that you're not supposed to disguise egress doors, those hinges are severely under-engineered for those doors. Photos sent in by Dave Ilardi of Allegion.
This Fixed-it Friday solution is ok for a preschool since the average height of the occupants is 26 inches, right? WRONG!
Code question...fake it till you make it?
See any problems here? Thanks to Tim Weller of Allegion for this Wordless Wednesday photo! The fun never ends!
While delayed egress locks must automatically unlock 15 seconds after a building occupant actuates the device, a controlled egress lock allows the egress doors serving certain areas to remain locked until they are unlocked by staff, the automatic fire protection system, or power failure...
This photo was taken in a high school, while school was in session. The doors lead from an enclosed courtyard into the school - the egress path should pass through the interior of the school and out the main exit doors to the public way...
Safety officials are concerned a new state law that allows barricade devices on classroom doors could make a crisis situation worse. The idea sounds great...
I have finished the on-demand version of Class 3 in the Decoded series, so now 3 of the 4 classes are available - for free!
When I receive a question about the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code requirements for health care facilities, I need to know not just what the code says but how it will be enforced...
I was very surprised at research conducted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which found that people trusted a robot to guide them to safety, even when it made mistakes or experienced technical difficulties...
Most stairwells in commercial and institutional buildings are designed to protect the means of egress using fire-resistant construction and fire door assemblies as opening protectives. When building occupants are within a stair enclosure during a fire...
The word "occupied" is not defined in the IBC or the IFC. When a term is not defined in these publications, the "ordinarily accepted meaning" applies, as defined in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary...
Escape rooms are popping up all over the world, and have already opened in many US cities. The premise is that you are locked in a room with friends, family members, coworkers...
This photo was taken at a VERY well-known theme park which does a great job with their door-related code-compliance, and is frequently inspected by the local code officials. The black part of this chain looks like it might be a magnet...
THE VOTES ARE IN, and the code change proposed by BHMA to address classroom locking in the 2018 IBC has been approved as modified by public comment!
What do you think? Does this door meet the intent of NFPA 1 if the security devices are only engaged when the building is not occupied?
It looks like this TV show needs a new quality-control expert with some experience in doors!
