BOCA? Or No BOCA?
That's the question I was asked on Friday..."If someone orders a delayed egress exit device or delayed egress mag-lock, when do they need the 'BOCA' feature?"
Elevator Lobby Egress
Fair warning...this is going to be one of those posts that makes your eyes glaze over, especially if you haven't had your coffee yet. But since I've seen several people come to my site looking for this information and leaving without it, I need to post about it before the next person comes looking. I'll try to make it as concise as possible, and remember, the red italicized paragraphs are the code excerpts so you probably don't need to read those unless you're really digging into this issue.
What’s wrong with this picture?
The open back strike hadn't been installed when I took this photo, but what else is missing? It's a tricky one, but you can click on the picture to enlarge it if you need to.
Electric Latch Retraction?
Well...the latch is retracted and it involves a wire! As a follow-up to yesterday's post about retrofit dogging accomplished with a tie-wrap, here's a photo from Brendan Daley of Horner Commercial Sales that was taken in a new hospital. I'm guessing they weren't happy with the lock function so they came up with this ingenious solution. I especially love the tape on the lever. Thanks Brendan!
Double Egress Pairs
Last week someone called me with a "quick question" about a double egress pair in a hospital. The hospital wanted to install shear locks on a pair of double egress doors, to use during emergency lock-downs. Unfortunately, as some of you have figured out by now, I don't usually have a quick answer. There are actually two issues here:
Fail Safe Locks
I didn't want to scare anyone by adding more information to my previous post about stairwell re-entry, but I do get questions about how to accomplish this. The stairwell re-entry requirements state that the stair side lever must unlock on fire alarm or on a signal from the fire command station depending on the code (there is always free egress from the non-stair side). I have seen stair doors that had been retrofitted with card readers and electric strikes. If these doors are required by code to meet the stairwell re-entry requirements, an electric strike is not an acceptable way to do this.
Max Headroom
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.
Electrical Power Transfer (EPT)
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.