Old Buildings, New Assembly Occupancies
Mark Kuhn and I are in Golden, Colorado this week, doing some training for our Early Careers Program. Mark's latest post looks at a common problem with assembly occupancies...
Mark Kuhn and I are in Golden, Colorado this week, doing some training for our Early Careers Program. Mark's latest post looks at a common problem with assembly occupancies...
Mark Kuhn's latest post looks at the advantages of push pad style panic hardware vs. crossbar style. Can you think of any other advantages or disadvantages to add?
In Mark Kuhn's next post, he writes about a problem many hardware specifiers have faced...a conflict between door width and the code requirements for panic hardware.
A while back, I taught a class at a large university and was fortunate to have access to their fantastic training room. As with other doors on campus, they had a lockdown strategy.
Brian Messina of Kamco Supply sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo, and he had to educate me on what I was looking at. #WORDLESS
There's (almost) nothing I love more than casually checking out fire door assemblies with someone from a fire test lab, and I recently had a chance to do just that! :D
An architect recently asked me today's Quick Question...How do the various dogging options for panic hardware operate? What are the pros and cons of the different types?
Brad Anderson of Allegion sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photos, taken in a hotel. Someone made a good effort but I see a few problems. What do you think?
Yesterday an integrator contacted me with questions about the Von Duprin Chexit, delayed egress panic hardware. Luckily I could point him to all of the resources he needed in one location.
Today's Quick Question came up again last week: Do current model codes prohibit the use of crossbar style panic hardware? What are you seeing in the field?
Although at first glance I was Wordless, I'm wondering...what would you do? On the other side of this door is an unoccupied roof, four feet down from the occupied space.
I saw something similar to today's photos (although less elegant) at the Hoover Dam years ago, but being from New England I didn't know what problem the "fix" was addressing.
We all know by now that doors in a means of egress are required to be readily distinguishable by building occupants. What do you think about today's Wordless Wednesday photo?
Tim Weller of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photos...who can guess what led to this situation? (Not to mention what looks like an extra deadbolt!)
Today's post on emergency exit hardware is the second in a series on the EN standards for hardware, and was written by Hamza Ali DHT and Sushil Kumar Dip GAI, both of Allegion.
Marc Zolner of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, and he asked what the codes say about having one pair locked with a cable, with four other pairs available for egress.
Last week I asked for ideas about what could have been done differently with the hardware on a stage door. Today's post is a follow-up with the solution that I would specify.
Hal Kelton of DOORDATA Solutions sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo of an "emergency door", and well... I'm wordless!
Cesar Montalvo of Wesco sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo, taken in the heavy equipment bay of a military facility. These doors are 18 feet tall!
Today's Quick Question: Do the model codes require a certain amount of contrast between the releasing hardware and the door, so the hardware is distinguishable for egress purposes?
Kevin Taylor of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo of an installation problem that has been "fixed" with instructional signage.
I'm sorting through some boxes of old papers and I found this ad from Architectural Record, dated May 1967! No, I was not collecting hardware memorabilia back then - I wasn't even born yet!
While this may seem like "just another chained exit" (boooring...), I am reminded of the MANY times that locked or blocked exits have resulted in fatalities during an emergency.
Today's Fixed-it Friday photos are a great "before and after" example from a high school gymnasium. If you have photos you'd like to share, there's an upload link in today's post.
Last weekend I took my daughters and their friends to the movies, and that's where I saw today's Wordless Wednesday application on the theater exit.
Earlier this week I shared photos from a college visit with my youngest daughter. I also saw this mullion on campus with a key cylinder...is anyone familiar with the purpose of the cylinder?
I received today's Fixed-it Friday photo from Jim Elder of Secured Design, LLC - it was taken in an elementary/middle school. While this seems like a simple and common fix, it can severely impact security.
During an ongoing organizational project in my house, I found an amazing original advertisement for Von Duprin, and coincidentally today I am on my way to the home of Von Duprin - Indianapolis - so I'm posting this here for you all to enjoy.
Today's Quick Question: Is it acceptable by code to supply the dogging feature on panic hardware installed on a door or gate serving a swimming pool enclosure? What do you think?
I don't think the use of the door hardware in today's Wordless Wednesday photo is part of the cycle testing for durability - not to mention the stored materials blocking the exit!
Jon Payne sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo of the secondary exit in a busy truck stop. This is why I firmly believe that AHJs should not allow non-code-compliant security measures "after hours"...those devices often end up installed 24/7.
I recently saw a photo in a door and hardware installer's group on social media, with a question about the purpose of the cylinder on the head of the panic hardware. Was it supposed to lock the latch? Or control the locked/unlocked indicator?
I've seen a lot of creative holiday decorations that impact the exits, but what do you think about today's Wordless Wednesday photos, sent by a retired fire marshal?
I have updated this Decoded article to include current requirements from the 2023 edition of NFPA 70, in addition to previous editions beginning with the 2002 National Electrical Code.
One of our specwriters contacted me earlier this week, in search of the Quiet Doorman product. Does anyone have a source for this panic bar retainer or something similar? WWYD?
I saw this Fixed-it Friday dogging method recently, and I can't for the life of me figure out what the original purpose of this part was. It looks so familiar! Can someone help me out??
I find it interesting to see how people adapt doors and hardware for their convenience - sometimes at the expense of security or code requirements. In today's Fixed-it Friday post is an example that I saw during the recent DHI conNextions conference.
It's hard to believe that it has been 6 YEARS since I last updated this post on zombie-resistant door openings, and 9 YEARS sine I wrote the original version. With the new model codes coming out soon it's time for another update, and what better day to post it than on Halloween??
I recently saw this Throwback Thursday photo and coincidentally, I had just looked at the requirements for panic hardware in the 1927 edition of the NFPA Building Exits Code. The word "PUSH" on this hardware rang a bell...
Yesterday I shared an updated Decoded article on clear opening width and height, and this Quick Question was raised: Does the projection of a surface-mounted strike for rim panic hardware affect the clear width of a door opening?
Qasim Mousa from Allegion's office in Saudi Arabia, sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, taken at a new school. This is a great example of how so-called "value engineering" can negatively impact a project.
Although there is a section in the I-Codes dedicated to automatic doors, this section does not address the hardware used for security and egress. Locks for automatic sliding doors are covered in other sections of the model codes.
I'm wondering why these doors swing toward the soccer field, but it's hard to know the egress route without a floor plan. Regardless, someone has solved the problem of unauthorized access to the stands with today's non-code-compliant Fixed-it Friday modification.
My next Decoded article looks at some of the exceptions where doors serving assembly spaces are NOT required to have panic hardware. Did I miss any? Leave a comment and let me know!
For my Fixed-it Friday posts, I typically share photos of creative modifications - often applications that are not code-compliant. But I also like to share product changes that solve a problem. In today's post, a retrofit kit for the Schlage AD993.
I received this Quick Question the other day, and it has been a while since I've written about this topic: Is it acceptable to install panic hardware on a 2-foot-wide door that is part of a 5-foot-wide unequal leaf pair?
Last week when I was with our specwriter apprentice/sales development program cohort, I stopped into a large retail store and noticed their Wordless Wednesday method for entrance/exit control at the main entrance.
I spent part of last week with Kevin Braaten, Shannon Tracey, and the current members of our specwriter apprentice and sales development programs, and we went on a field trip - one of my favorite ways to see applications "in the wild."
In this article for Door Security + Safety, I have used information from various sources to support interpretations of the intent of the accessibility standards. If you have anything to add, leave a comment asap!
I saw this Fixed-it Friday photo posted by Vincent Zito on the Locksmith Nation Facebook page, and I asked for permission to share it. This is NOT an authorized means of repairing this product, which looks like it has faced more than its share of abuse.