FF: Double-Fix
On our field trip to the high school last week, we saw this secondary entrance where two different creative solutions had been incorporated. Check them out and let me know what you think...what would you have done differently?
FF: Skater Pull
Chuck Strauss of Allegion sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo from a recent trip to Shannon, Ireland. Pretty cool, don't you think? Don't forget to send me photos of any interesting applications you see during your summer vacations!
FF: Another Zip Tie
This Fixed-it Friday photo from David Seeley of Anixter is not the first zip tie "fix" we've seen, but it might be the yuckiest. I may be one of the few people who would look at a restaurant's door and question the condition of the kitchen, but I think this would be a no for me.
FF: Coffee Shop Exit
Does this coffee shop exit look weird to anyone else, or is it just me? Any theories about what happened here? Thank you to Charles Anderson for today's Fixed-it Friday photo!
FF: Pull-Up Bar
Steven Wehofer of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo of a magnetic holder modification in a school, and the first thing I thought about was how many kids must be doing pull-ups on it every day.
FF: Funky School Door
John Lozano of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos, taken in a high school. There were several doors installed this way...you may have to look closely to see what's going on. Any theories?
FF: This is why we can’t have nice things.
During the pandemic, many facilities changed to hands-free door pulls to minimize contact with the hardware. It was only a matter of time before someone found a way to make creative use of the touchless design.
Last Day!
After writing countless times about fire doors needing to close and latch, and hearing about the impact of open fire doors during a Bronx apartment fire earlier this year, seeing a stairwell fire door permanently prevented from closing is just too much.
Almost to 3,000 Posts!
This deadbolt modification was found on an apartment entry door - the surface bolt prevents the deadbolt from being unlocked from the outside with a key. Pretty creative, but I hope no one ever has to enter to help during an emergency.
Day 2 – Crescent Wrench Lockout
When a lost key may have fallen into the wrong hands, and the maintenance staff needed to secure the door until the locksmith arrived, this was their solution. Photo submitted by Paul Linder of Hills Brothers Lock and Safe.
FF: Baby Grand Hold Open
I spent a few hours yesterday on Cape Cod, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen a baby grand piano used as a hold open. Happy Fixed-it Friday! Send your photos before midnight tonight if you want them considered for the 3,000-post celebration!
FF: Fancy Fix
I love creative door and hardware applications, especially when someone takes the time to add their artistic flair to the fix. Check out these Fixed-it Friday photos from my neighborhood.
FF: Custom Concealed Closer
David Seeley of WESCO | Anixter sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo of a door closer he saw in a Cape Cod restaurant...what do you think? Was it worth the extra effort to partially conceal the closer?
FF: How high is too high?
I guarantee that thousands of people have walked by the doors in today's Fixed-it Friday photos without thinking twice about them. But a retired fire marshal took note of the panic hardware location and sent me the photos.
FF: No Clearance
I was going to post this photo from a retired fire marshal for Wordless Wednesday, but then I noticed the "fix" from when they electrified the panic hardware. Fixed-it Friday seems more appropriate.
FF: Before and After
This "fix" occurred after a local emergency where law enforcement made a forced entry with the use of explosives during a hostage situation, saving multiple people. Great work by Michael's Keys!
WWYD?/FF: Another “Chained” Exit
Nancy Chiang of Cuningham Group Architecture sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, and I'm wondering what you all think. This door is in a zoo exhibit, where the chains are used to keep the "wildlife" from passing through between two areas.
FF: What’s wrong with this picture?
Chuck Park Jr. sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, and at first I didn't see the problem. And no...there is no other door opening into this space. I wonder how many people have noticed this situation - probably not many!
FF: Universal Closer
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo came from Lloyd Raforth of Allegion, who found this parallel arm closer with a "twist" mounted on a restaurant exit. Whatever it takes to get the job done!
FF: Beautiful Door Fix
It has been a while since I've posted a beautiful door, but I saw these the other day. Can you find the fix on these highly-carved doors leading to a restaurant courtyard? Happy Fixed-it Friday!
FF: Fire Extinguisher Fix
Jeff Tock of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos and I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe someone was hesitant to drill into the tile, so this was their solution?
FF: (Window-)Well what do we have here??
I'm not sure how or why this happened, but between the two motions to exit and the concrete block "step" to get up and out of the window well, it's a no from me. Happy Fixed-it Friday!
FF: Belly Up to the (panic) Bar
I received today's Fixed-it Friday photo from Eyal Bedrik of Entry Systems Ltd. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "panic bar." Cheers! :-)
FF: Laundry Room Fire
Whether it's a smoking dryer in the laundry room or something more serious, fire door assemblies play a very important role in a building's fire protection system - even if most people don't realize it. Another fire door win!
FF: A Little (too much) Off the Side
There was a time when trimming doors in the field was common. With most doors now arriving prefit, prebeveled, and premachined from the manufacturer, they should not need to be undersized further in the field.
FF: Third time’s a charm
Andy Lindenberg of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos. Although I've seen poorly-placed floor stops with a second stop added later, I don't think I've ever seen a floor-mounted wall stop thrown into the mix!
FF: SSSHHHHHH…
I love when readers of iDigHardware send me photos of the doors they see as they go about their business, but what I REALLY love is when readers' spouses, kids, parents, and friends start taking photos of doors! :D
FF: What’s wrong with this picture?
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was posted by Fran Van Blargan on the Locksmith Nation Facebook page, and I couldn't resist asking to share it on iDigHardware. So...what's wrong with this picture? What's the code issue here?
FF: Self-Closing Fire Doors
After an I-Team investigation, a Bronx landlord repaired fire door problems in their apartment buildings, including doors to stairwells, trash rooms, and apartments that were not self-closing. Here is a follow-up story from News 4.
WW: Have you seen something like this before?
I received this photo of a fire door in a hotel stairwell from Gabriel Montoya of Jansen Ornamental Supply. You might be thinking to yourself, "This doesn't leave me wordless...I see stuff like this all the time!" That's the point.
FF: Saskatchewan Security
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo, sent in by Pat Little of Penner Doors & Hardware, is a classic! It was taken in the lunchroom at a construction site in Saskatchewan, Canada...this "fix" will keep out the bears, right??
FF: This door may save your life.
I've come across thousands of code issues in the last 35 years, and I have seen people throw up their hands and admit defeat. This makes it even more exciting when someone DOESN'T give up, and keeps educating people about what the codes require and why.
FF: Shimming 101
Most of you will remember that NFPA 80 allows the use of STEEL shims when shimming a fire door so the assembly complies with the clearance requirements of the standard. It looks like this installer wasn't aware of the requirements of NFPA 80...
FF: Double Trouble
Tim Edwards of The Flying Locksmiths sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, after seeing this door at at a mall in Illinois. My question is...why would this happen? Most people don't want to pay for one panic device, let alone two! Any ideas?
FF: An Off-the-Shelf Fix
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was sent by a retired fire marshal, who seems to be finding a lot more photos to share now that he's got plenty of leisure time and isn't responsible for the problems he sees. :)
FF: Flush Bottom Rail
Joe Cross of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos, which are a great reminder about one of the accessibility requirements related to doors. I'll bet nobody involved with this "fix" forgets about this requirement any time soon!
FF: Road Trip Part 3
I've been home from my road trip for a few weeks now, and I finally found time to go through all of the photos I took and put together this final Fixed-it Friday post. Don't forget to send me some photos from your holiday road trips!
FF: Día de Muertos
San Miguel de Allende, in Guanajuato, Mexico, is known for it's amazing doors - some are hundreds of years old. During the holidays, the doorways of San Miguel are beautifully decorated, "Fixed-up" you might say.
FF: Bare Bones Exit
It's almost time for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, so today's Fixed-it Friday photo taken at the rear exit of a Mexican restaurant is particularly fitting. Thank you to Randy Shurr of Architectural Materials, Inc., for sending it in!
FF: Road Trip Part 2
Here are a few more applications that I saw on my road trip - I'm finally heading home on Sunday! I stayed at a total of 8 different hotels on my trip, so you can imagine how many problems I saw...
FF: Road Trip Part 1
I've got another week left in my 3-week training expedition, so I'm assuming there will be a Part 2...I can find something going on in just about every hotel, retail store, restaurant, or restroom, which is a pretty sad state of affairs.
FF: Make Do
What happens when your door won't open to 90 degrees - preventing the installation of a door stop? You make do with what you've got! This Fixed-it Friday photo illustrates one way to handle that problem.
FF: En Español
I saw these two Fixed-it Friday parking lot doors around the neighborhood...one is an example of good planning to avoid a conflict, and the other is either very bad planning or more likely a gate that was repurposed from a larger opening.
FF: Egress Deterrent
I recently noticed this door in the new fancy grocery store in town. I've seen these plastic tabs to deter egress before, but I've never found any specifics on them - for example, a limit on how much force it takes to break them in order to exit.
FF: Crank it UP!
Tony Park of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo...all the way from Korea! The door leads to a recording studio - pretty cool, right?! I wonder why more people don't get creative with their doors.
FF: Special Template?
I'm still scratching my head over today's Fixed-it Friday photos. Something doesn't seem right here, but at the same time, the installer went to great lengths to get this operator installed on the door. Is there a special template that I don't know about?
FF: Double-Sided Tape?
I can't tell if the attempt to repair this panic hardware incorporated double-sided tape, Command Strips, or something else. Whatever the method, it was unsuccessful!
FF: Out of Control
Pete Chappell of Cook and Boardman sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos of a "door closer" that definitely won't provide the level of control that a typical door closer would (it's cool though!).
FF: US Property – No Trespassing
I've written a few posts about gates lately, and we all know what a challenge they can be to secure - especially if free egress is required. No offense to the US government, but I think my Aunt Gladys could get through those zip ties!
FF: Foliage Fix
Joann Robertson of Playground Medic is an expert on playground safety (cool, right?!), and she sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos. They're from a retail store that sells patio accessories, plants, and gifts. Any theories about the motivation behind this fix?