Scott Tobias of arkaSpecs sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos of a pair of automatic doors with electric latch retraction panic hardware. I don't claim to be an expert on wiring for electrified hardware, but this doesn't look right to me. :-|
This photo has been in my Fixed-it Friday folder for quite a while, but with football season starting again, I went looking for it. Thank you to Lisa Goodwin Robbins of Kalin Associates for sharing it!
What is happening in this Fixed-it Friday photo from Debbie White of Allegion? It's a restroom door in a gas station. I'll wait while you think about it.
Lee Frazier of Allegion sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo, which once again illustrates the age-old problem of security vs. convenience. This door serves as a secondary entrance for a school building, and the latch was taped by summer camp staff.
I saw these beautiful doors and glazed walls in the Mexico City airport last week. While they are gorgeous, this application requires careful attention to the hardware - especially the pivots used to hang the doors. What would you recommend?
Kristi Dietz of LaForce sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, taken in a convenience store. When asked to look at this door due to water intrusion, a LaForce employee mentioned the code issues and was told that the door had not been cited for any egress violations.
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?
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!
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.
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!
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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?
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!
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! :-)
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!
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.
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!
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
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?
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.
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.
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??
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.
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...
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?
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. :)
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!
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!
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.
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!
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
