I've been thinking about this post for 2 weeks, and I'm stumped. It's my 500th post on this blog. It seems like 500 posts should warrant some sort of fanfare...maybe a cake?! (in our office we use any excuse to have cake). I've been trying to think of a tie-in to 500 somethings, a related photo I could include, but the pressure has clouded my brain.
Over the last year, I've really started to understand the valuable communication tool that social media has become. Every time I write a blog post, a notification of the post is immediately seen by at least 1500 people. If any of those connections comments, tweets, or "likes" the post, it is then shared with their network of connections. One of my recent tweets was retweeted to over 4,000 people - not a big deal in comparison to celebrity twitterers, but we're talking about doors here!
Some interesting stats...if your state isn't in the Top 10, tell your friends to come visit iDigHardware!
Update: Relay for Life is tomorrow, so if you would like to make a donation, today's the day! Luminarias in honor, memory, or support of a loved one are available for $10 by following the link below. I'm a little over $100 away from my goal. I appreciate your help!
I was pleasantly surprised to open my June issue of the Construction Specifier this morning, and find an article called "Architectural Hardware Specifications," by Joseph D. Calvert, CSI, CDT, AHC of Calvert Independent Hardware Specifications. The article does a great job of explaining the value of an AHC. Joe describes the coordination that we manage between various trades, the complex hardware sets and riser diagrams that we produce for openings with electrified hardware, and the detailed analysis that we perform when creating the hardware sets and reviewing the submittal - including the required function, durability, codes, and aesthetic requirements.
I hope you are all enjoying a safe Memorial Day weekend.
Another blogger wrote about iDigHardware! Check it out!
I guess the blog's subscriber system decided to go on vacation too, and I just realized that you weren't receiving notification emails! There are a couple of posts waiting for you, and I'd also like to announce the winners of the "A Penny for Your Thoughts" contest!
Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I'm a helper. I like to help. I'm always organizing collection efforts for one thing or another, donating items for our local schools, pitching in when I can. There are so many people in need, and if we all help a little, the world will be a better place for everyone.
A penny won't get you too far these days...I have to bribe my kids with at least a dollar to get them to do anything. So I'm going to up the ante. I'm offering a chance to win 10,000 PENNIES!
I don't ask for much, right? But I need a little help. I've been posting on this blog for over 2 years and there are more than 400 posts. I know it can sometimes be hard to find the specific post or topic you're looking for. You can search by typing something into the search box, but when I just typed "panic hardware," I got a list of 49 posts that mentioned that term. You can also go to the index and get a list of all the posts for any given category, but those lists can be pretty long too. As an example, the Fire Door category currently has 91 posts.
For my subscribers on the west coast...check out the rise of the Supermoon tonight! The rest of you can enjoy the beautiful full moon too, but moonrise in Boston was at 7:16. It was amazing! Yes, I do occasionally take photos of something besides doors.
The blog has hit the big time! American Express wants to give Idig Hardware a gold card! :-)
I'm working on a post for tomorrow that will solve another hardware mystery (regarding closers on classroom doors), but in the meantime, a couple of housekeeping issues...
There have been lots of changes around here in the last few months...we moved the site to a new server and a new URL, and things seem to be running smoothly. We've added an archive in the sidebar, and reformatted the search results pages and the category index pages to match. My coworker, Lindsey Weiss, has spent many hours checking each post for broken links and posts that were missing the 2009 code excerpts, as well as updating the photo gallery. She's in the process of checking the categories assigned to each post, so the correct posts show up on each category index page. I'm very grateful to Lindsey for helping me clean up my act, and for Creekside Systems for working behind the scenes. I hope these changes will help you find things and navigate around on the site more easily.
By now I'm sure some of you are wondering if I'm lying in a ditch somewhere, but I'm not! Our website host has had some problems on the server side which left me unable to log in since last Thursday. :-(
Some of the more attentive ihatehardware readers may have noticed a few little changes with the site lately. For a long time I've been thinking about adding another domain name for my blog, indicating my true feelings about doors and hardware. The original domain name, www.iHATEhardware.com, was chosen because almost all of the architects I work with hate or at least have an extreme dislike for hardware, so that URL is easy for them to remember.
Last week I said that as new countries came to visit this site, I'd post a door photo from that country. Sounds like fun, right? Well, it's not as easy as it looks from where you're sitting.
I'm working on the next post about smoke but this has been an extremely busy week.
As I've said before, I often look at my stats and see how people arrived at my blog. I see a lot of people searching for information about fire door inspection and other information about fire doors, when to use panic hardware and various egress questions, and plenty of accessibility questions. Sometimes people arrive searching for something a little different, so I thought it would be fun to share these requests on occasion.
Someone emailed me last week to ask if Ingersoll Rand was hiring. Good question - it's been a really long time since I've perused the want ads. Back in 1987, I was laid off from my job as a draftsman for an aluminum storefront supplier and had to go on the hunt for a new job, but since then the jobs have usually found me. The hardware business is very small, which is great because we all know each other, but sometimes it can be a little awkward. About 10 years ago a recruiter called to ask if I was interested in a job, and not only did I know the person who currently held the job, he didn't know he was leaving yet! Yikes!
In case you haven't noticed, there's a new photo gallery tab at the top of the page. The gallery includes thumbnails of some of the photos I've used in previous posts, and when you click on the thumbnail it will take you to the applicable post. (If any of them take you to the wrong post, let me know!)
It still amazes me when I see visitors from countries who haven't visited the site before, and the fact that we are now over 100 countries is so exciting! Here are the most recent countries, which pushed us over the 100-country mark:
One year ago today I wrote the first post on this blog, regarding panic hardware on electric rooms. I don't remember why I chose that topic for my first post, but I tried to post answers to some of the most commonly asked questions before I introduced the site to anyone. Since then I have published 217 posts!
It's been a while since I've given anything away, but it's a new year and I feel the need to celebrate the upcoming 1-year anniversary of this site and the approaching milestone of hosting visitors from 100 COUNTRIES! It still amazes me that hardware haters (and hardware lovers) worldwide are using this site as a resource!! I look at the stats daily to see what people are searching for when they arrive on the site, and I can see the countries of origin for many of the IP addresses. There are also quite a few IP addresses with "unknown" countries, so I'm sure there are other countries who have visited, but so far I've counted 95 different countries.
After I posted some pics of my kids during Chip Falcon's Road Trip, many blog readers commented or emailed me about them. I finally finished our electronic "Happy New Year" card, so feel free to take a look if you want to. If not, come back tomorrow and I'll post about something more door-like. :-)
It's been a slow week for posts and I apologize for that, but I've got a good excuse. For the 5th straight year, my coworkers, family and friends have provided Christmas gifts for the local family shelter - 48 kids and their parents this year! We also provided some new items for the shelter's rewards program.
I guess it's a sign of the times. In the old days, if you were lucky enough to get your name in the newspaper, that was a very big event (unless you were in the police blotter). One time I was on TV and I had my whole family standing by to press *record* on the VCR at just the right moment. My friend's elderly grandfather saw me on the news and almost knocked over his oxygen tank in his excitement. But with the advent of social media - Facebook, Youtube, blogging, etc., appearing in the media is a daily or weekly occurrence for many of us.
One of the Top 10 *issues* I've consistently had to deal with over the years is US10B - oil-rubbed bronze finish. This has been the finish of choice when the "antique" or "historic" look is desired, and whenever I'm asked to specify it I make sure that the architect knows what's going to happen after the hardware is installed.
At next month's meeting of the Boston Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), I'll be doing an update on the 7th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code. The presentation should be about 45 minutes + time for questions, so relatively painless, and the food is GREAT! If you'd like to attend and you're not a CSI member, email Shelley Hudson. Here are the particulars:
Earlier this week with the 8th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, I wondered what was happening at Ground Zero. I checked in with the Metro-NY office of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, and learned that their specification department had written the hardware specs for the four new World Trade Center towers, and the retail space that connects the entire project. Ingersoll Rand Integration is involved with the security and access control as well.
I'm not normally the type of person who would ask for fans...what if I didn't have any?? That would stink.
Last weekend I opened the door to a sports facility where my son was attending a birthday party, and I saw an interesting (to me) application. My three friends scattered when they saw me whip out the camera...I still don't know why it's so embarrassing to be seen with someone taking a picture of a door, but it seems to be a universal reaction unless you hang out with other hardware people.
We had planned to get on the road early yesterday afternoon but we ended up leaving Williamsburg around 5 p.m., about the same time everyone else coming home from everywhere decided to leave. The traffic was terrible, and after 6 hours of driving we had gone as far as Elkton, Maryland and couldn't stay in the car for one more mile.
I've added a new page to help you find what you're looking for - the Index tab above. There are already 76 posts (!) and I'll be adding two new features shortly. One will be a series called Industry Profiles - to help you get to know some of the great people who work in the door & hardware industry. The other is in response to your requests...a series called Basic Training. Our office periodically offers a 5-week course by the same name, which is a pretty generic introduction to doors & hardware including mechanical and electrified hardware, codes, and blueprint reading. Many of our current customers are Basic Training alumni. Quite a few people have found this website and asked for more information on the basics, so they can learn about hardware from the ground up. I hope to have the first posts of both series ready next week.
I started this website a few months ago as a way to connect with our customers and help them find answers to their code questions. I have been amazed at the response to the site, from all over the United States and 18 other countries (and counting!). It really is a small world.
1008.1.8.6 Delayed egress locks. Approved, listed, delayed egress locks shall be permitted to be installed on doors serving any occupancy except Group A, E and H occupancies in buildings that are equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or an approved automatic smoke or heat detection system installed in accordance with Section 907...
This article was written by Carl Prinzler, one of the creators of the original exit device, at the end of the 1930's. I think it's an interesting insight into the development of the first exit device and the code requirements at that time.
There's a great resource for code information on the Reed Construction Data site. It includes information for all 50 states, major cities, and some counties, and lists contact information for many of the AHJs in each jurisdiction.
When my daughter was in preschool, she told her class that when she grew up she wanted to be a "hard work insultant", just like her mom. After 20+ years of explaining to people what I do, I can't blame her for being a little confused. In case you've been wondering why anyone would need a hardware consultant, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions:
I readily admit that I get excited about things that wouldn't excite the average U.S. citizen but that's part of my charm. ;-)
Last week I conducted a 3-hour class for the New England Chapter of the Door & Hardware Institute. The class is available to any hardware suppliers, architects, or end users in New England who need to understand code requirements related to doors and hardware, including recent changes to the Massachusetts State Building Code, and the 2006 and 2009 editions of the International Building Code and the Life Safety Code. If you have 12 or more people who are interested in attending, I will conduct the class at your facility or our office in Needham, Massachusetts. It's worth 3 HSW learning units for AIA members, and 9 continuing education points for DHI members.
I don't know what I was thinking. This should have been the very first post!
I have worked long and hard to achieve certifications within the hardware industry, so you can bet your booty they're printed on my business card. People often ask what they all mean, so here's a quick run-down.
