FF: Stairs
I am often asked to provide "proof" that this type of repair is unacceptable. Often the most direct route to find that evidence is to ask...
FF: Unhinged
From these photos it looks like the holes for the hinge screws were stripped, so the wrap was added - but that doesn't add a whole lot of strength to the installation.
FF: Dogging Clamps
Not to name-drop, but when the executive leadership team starts noticing and sharing oddball hardware applications, it warms my heart. :D
FF: NOT Fire Door
Today's Fixed-it Friday post includes a serious question for all of you to ponder. I'll get to it in a minute. First...I received the photos below from a code official...
FF: Don’t Talk to Me About Fear
Maybe this is cracking me up because it's the middle of the night...I guess we'll see if it's still funny in the morning.
FF: Shifting Gears
I've shared lots of photos from my travels over the years...in fact, I went on a quick road trip this week and will have some photos to post soon. In the meantime, check out today's Fixed-it Friday photos from Mongolia...
FF: Quirky Entrance
I love this door (although I question its structural integrity) - and yes, I have been called quirky a few times. Why be normal?!
FF: Closer Conundrum
Alec Walsh of Allegion sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo and we're both scratching our heads wondering what would cause someone to install a closer in this manner. Any ideas?
FF: Restroom Closer
Julia Bradley of Willis Klein sent me this photo of a closer she saw in a restroom. Yes, the mounting is not per the manufacturer's instructions, but what's really odd is the paint job. Why bother?
FF: Padlocked Panics
Leo Lebovits of M&D Door & Hardware sent me these photos from his summer vacation...this is a particularly egregious situation - very scary.
FF: Auto Operator Coordination
If an automatic operator is properly coordinated so the latch is released when the actuator is pressed, only the signage required by the BHMA standard should be needed. This is an accident waiting to happen.
FF: Hygienic Handle
Alex Howe of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo of a piece of hardware he recently saw on a restroom door. Although I have never seen this product before, the plastic cover on the pull made it pretty easy to track down...
FF: Access Control Gone Wrong
This is the perfect image to reinforce why it's so important to coordinate the electrified hardware / access control in advance. I have to admit - I learned this lesson the hard way...
FF: Captured Lever
David Toloday of Allegion sent me these photos and I had to ask - does the lever move? Was I seeing things? No - the lever does not move. Turn the key to retract the latch. I can't say that I've seen this application before...
FF: ADA Upgrade
I received these photos from Don Funsch of Commercial Mill & Builders Supply. The interesting thing about these photos is not that the mailbox has been placed in front of the door, because this door isn't a required means of egress. What makes them worthy...
FF: Two Bars Are Better Than One?
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...
FF: Custom Dogging
I received this photo from Tabor Stride of Commercial Door Company...at least it doesn't appear to be a fire door!
FF: Inconsistent Mounting Strategy
This was one of those photos from a recent road trip where the kids were like, "MOMMMMM...We just want a 5-dollar footlong!" and I was fixated on why these two closers would have different mounting locations for the shoe. How did this happen?
FF: Twist Harder
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo is from Kayla Pollock of Allegion. Why fix the problem when you can just make a sign?
FF: Mismatch
This brings back that old sinking feeling that most door and hardware distributors have felt at some point. I haven't worked as a distributor for more than 20 years, but I can remember the mistakes...
FF: Hinge Side Latch
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FF: Dutch Door Modification
This Wordless Wednesday photo from Paul Shaaf and Kevin Lach of Twin City Hardware is a first for me. And after 7+ years of writing this blog, I don't say that very often. Enjoy.
FF: Barricade Box
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is hoping a device he invented will be in your child’s school soon. It’s designed to keep active shooters out of classrooms...
FF: Sensor Release
Sometimes a system incorporating a sensor can be problematic, because traffic moving past the door can inadvertently unlock the mag-lock...
FF: Expensive (and Painful) Ride
Thank you to Estefano Pilonieta of M&D Door & Hardware, who found this on Imgur and knew it would make my day. :D
FF: Custom Dogging Mechanism
From a code perspective, there's nothing wrong with today's Fixed-it Friday photo, sent to me by Jim Jennings of Oregon Lock. It's not a fire door, so mechanical dogging isn't a problem. It is, however...
FF: Access Control Alternative
According to Andy, this lock is on the exterior door of a school's bus garage. Inside the "bag" is a stack of large washers, and when it is attached to the lever it allows drivers to enter the garage without using the card reader. Even though it's Friday, I'm Wordless...
FF: Pivot Problem
A reader from Armor Lock & Security sent me the first photo a couple of months ago. They had been called to a convenience store to work on the safe, and noticed that the top pivot on the front door was barely hanging on...
FF: Kick-Up Holder
Tim Weller of Allegion sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo, which features a kick-down stop (holder) in the new and improved "kick-up" custom mounting configuration...
FF: 180-Degree Pair
Pete Schifferli of Expert Locksmith sent me these Fixed-it Friday photos (this is not his handiwork). These are new doors in a hospital corridor, and the closers are mounted to the wall on each side to allow the doors to open 180 degrees and engage the electromagnetic holders...
FF: Conference Center
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!
FF: Broken Arm
This closer repair obviously qualifies as a Fixed-it Friday photo, but it also left me Wordless. Thanks to Jim Lenox of Allegion.
FF: Preschool Exit
This Fixed-it Friday solution is ok for a preschool since the average height of the occupants is 26 inches, right? WRONG!
FF: Master-Keyed Gate
Here's how you master-key a gate without the complications of master-keying the padlocks...
FF: Duct Tape Again
While I was at the BHMA meeting this week, my dinner companions pulled out their phones to compare photos of bad hardware and code problems (yes, this is the fun stuff we do at these meetings). Tim Weller of Allegion had these Fixed-it Friday photos...
FF: Skewed
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo is not an April Fool's Day joke, the result of a bad camera angle, or an image that has been Photoshopped. The doors are skewed to the left, and it looks like the floor is sloped. The hardware is horizontal, as is the graphic on the wall...
FF: Passage Function Retrofit
There's more than one way to change a lock function...
FF: Egress Deterrent
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...
FF: Backwards Doors
It looks like this TV show needs a new quality-control expert with some experience in doors!
FF: Inactive Active Leaf
According to Ken Cook of Allegion, today's Fixed-it Friday photo is from a church in Indianapolis, where a small earthquake in 2004 broke some underground pipes. This is one way to solve the problem...
FF: Bottom Latch
Oh dear. Must be electric latch retraction. :D
FF: Fire code violations found in Franklin group home
"The violations included a window that was screwed shut with three wood screws; an evacuation sign that labeled three exits to the home, even though there were only two; and one of the two exits, leading out to the back, was jammed by a chair that was screwed to the deck..."
FF: Day Care Stair
This Fixed-it Friday photo could easily cross over into Wordless Wednesday territory...a fire-rated stairwell door in a day care center, where the installer obviously had an accident that he didn't think was important enough to address...
FF: Deadbolt Retrofit
I don't like to be critical of peoples' work, but this Fixed-it Friday retrofit could use a little TLC. Thank you to Deputy Jeff Tock of Allegion for thinking of me whenever he sees a problematic door. ;)
FF: Enter in 15 Seconds
I guess this application would work if there wasn't a real need for security, but if someone is able to press the touchpad from outside the gate, they will be able to enter the secure area after waiting 15 seconds. It's a lot of money to spend for security that can be so easily defeated. I'll give them credit for installing the signage though!
FF: Which Came First?
Sort of like the chicken and the egg, this Fixed-it Friday photo from Steve Turner and Ray Valentine of Precision Doors & Hardware made me wonder...was the closer added because the automatic operator wasn't closing the door properly, or was the automatic operator added because the closer required too much opening force? Or one or the other stopped working completely but was not removed?
FF: Tea Time
I think if I passed this Fixed-it Friday door while visiting this memory care unit my mind would have gone right to the NFPA 101 section that addresses exits disguised by murals in certain types of health care units. Maybe I wouldn't have focused on the actual artwork, but as Gail Erickson of Allegion pointed out when she sent the photo ("I wonder how many times the alarm goes off when they go to get a cup of tea?"), what is depicted in the mural could affect how well the disguise works...
FF: Double-L
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was posted on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page by Brandon Stroud, a firefighter from Anderson, South Carolina. I don't know whether to laugh or cry...
FF: Break Glass
This photo from Kristi Dietz of LaForce, Inc. (check out their blog!), is not just your everyday Fixed-it Friday photo. It is one of my favorite Fixed-it Friday photos OF ALL TIME! And no, it's not code-compliant...at least not in any jurisdiction that I know of...
FF: Black Friday
There are many commenters who feel that while the blocks are a danger to firefighters, they're not a code issue if the building is not occupied. If the pallets are blocking required exits, I think they are a code issue, unless one of you can find something in the International Fire Code that says the means of egress requirements only apply when the building is occupied...