On Thursday, August 26th, I will be hosting a webinar covering some of the important changes to the 2021 editions of the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code. Are you up to speed on what's new?
Today's Wordless Wednesday door is located in a hockey rink, and it looks like the panic hardware was mounted too close to the door edge because the opening has a removable mullion. This was the installer's solution.
I can't believe how quickly time is flying by! 2021 is more than half over and so is summer. In two weeks I have a kid heading back to college and I'll finish my 54th year around the sun. And there's more...
Kevin Latimer of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, and while this hold-open method gets some points for creativity and cost-effectiveness, it will eventually have a negative impact on the panic hardware.
Given the added expense and maintenance issues that can come with vertical rod panic hardware, I can't think of a reason why someone would use a vertical rod device on a single door. Can you?
This is one of my favorite work weeks of the year, when lots of people are on vacation, and I can catch up on a few things. I'm currently updating my ShortCodes classes - I'll let you know when they're ready!
Today's Quick Question: Does the 2021 IBC section addressing the locking of exterior spaces allow panic hardware to be omitted on doors serving exterior assembly spaces with an occupant load of 50 people or more?
I received this photo of a bank of doors with delayed egress panic hardware from Jim Elder of Secured Design LLC, and we got to chatting about some delayed egress questions. I'd love to hear what you think. WWYD?
I know last week I said it was the conclusion of Allegion 101 (that's what the schedule said!) but there's one more session on the calendar for this week, and there are 4 classes available on Webinar Wednesday!
This dogging method was found in a Mexican restaurant, hence the post title which sounds fancy but means "table knife." :) Thanks to Dave Toloday of Allegion for sharing today's Wordless Wednesday photo!
I'm wondering what you think about this door opening...it's kind of an interesting one as door openings go. I have never thought about using a combination of panic hardware and a lockset with an electric strike. WWYD?
How do you identify the products that are acceptable for use in a hurricane-prone area of the country? What's the latest on classroom security devices? How do codes define panic hardware? Find out in this week's classes!
Several colleges and universities approached Allegion to find a solution for individual lockdown of doors with panic hardware and access control. For doors with Von Duprin QEL devices, the Emergency Secure Lockdown (ESL) feature is the answer.
Can a wave-to-open switch be used to actuate an automatic operator? Does the IBC allow any stairwell doors to be locked mechanically? What's new in codes for health care facilities? Find out in this week's classes!
Ben Gorton posted this photo on the page of the Facebook group called "There's no crying in hollow metal", and I just knew I had to share it (with permission) for Wordless Wednesday. This door is an emergency exit for a shooting range, and I'm #wordless.
Jason Albert posted this classic Fixed-it Friday fix on the Crap Locksmithing Facebook page. Seems pretty secure, no? I'm wondering why the installer didn't just mount the new device closer to the lock edge.
Do you see what I see in these Fixed-it Friday photos? It's hard to know whether this was done to secure these doors against intruders or to prevent elopement of young students, but either way it's a problem.
I'm sure there's some sort of explanation for this, right? Today's Wordless Wednesday photo was taken at a convention center that is currently being used as a Covid vaccination site.
This elementary school fire door "fix" is one way to keep the wedges from disappearing but might be tough to explain when the fire marshal shows up for an inspection.
The opportunities for distance learning continue, and here's what's on the docket for this week. The recording of my fire door session from last Friday is available on-demand, along with the Q&A from the session.
Last week I posted an exercise to help you apply some of your code knowledge by answering questions about swimming pool egress. Cheers to the few brave readers who gave it a shot!
When I saw this photo, I had flashbacks to all of the times architects asked me to specify doors with other materials attached to them - wood planks, decorative plates, even brick (that was a hard no). What do you think about this application?
After Tuesday's post about a code change, several people asked me how to tell when panic hardware was required for doors serving a swimming pool enclosure. I decided to create another "Apply It" post and let you work it out.
I received these photos from a code official. This pair of doors serves a large assembly space, and as you can see, the doors get a fair amount of use. The original "fix" on the LHR leaf is not all that unusual, but the extension has me scratching my head.
BHMA A156.41 is the Standard for Door Hardware Single Motion to Egress. It describes the requirements for doors and door hardware to comply with building code and fire code requirements that mandate a single releasing motion...
Today's Quick Question: In an office building with an occupant load of 400 people, is a paddle latch code compliant for the main entrance door? Or is panic hardware required?
As many of you know, I have a webinar scheduled for this Thursday, which covers the detailed requirements for delayed egress and controlled egress locking systems...
Anyone else see the problem with this Fixed-it Friday photo? Note: The photo was sent to me by an AHJ, and the situation has since been corrected.
Maybe I should go into door forensics in my retirement years (someday). I think it's so interesting to look at a door opening and try to figure out what happened.
Harry Porosky of Integrated Openings Solutions sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo. This looks like it's going to be a pretty expensive fix.
Safe Schools Week is nearly here and we have a fantastic webinar coming up, along with 4 more sessions from our national trainers on Webinar Wednesday, and the next Security in 30!
Here are the answers to Tuesday's real-world questions about the egress requirements for this mosque in Dubai. Read the other post first if you want to give it a try.
It's one thing to read an article or watch a video about code requirements for doors and hardware, but how about applying what you've learned using a real project?
The 2021 editions of the model codes have been modified, separating the limitations on the force used to open the door from the force used to operate the hardware.
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo shows a university weight room, where students allegedly "modified" the hardware so that the door would not be lockable.
It still amazes me that people with seemingly no understanding of the code requirements will make modifications to their doors that could result in injury or even death.
If your fire exit hardware shows up on the job-site without the dogging feature, there's a good reason for that. Homemade dogging is not a valid fix!
Someone really went to a lot of trouble to turn this door from "exit" to "no exit", but they missed a few things. Like checking in with the local fire marshal.
I think online learning is here to stay. Which doesn't mean that we'll never see each other in person again, but there's a lot we can learn in the meantime.
Leave it to NFPA to come up with a new type of dogging that is guaranteed to keep a door with panic hardware unlocked indefinitely.
Coming in just after duct tape and WD-40 in the lineup for must-have tools to fix door-related problems...the Sharpie!
Several questions were prompted by my recent webinar on touchless hardware, about the requirements addressing automatic operators and non-latching hardware on fire doors.
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo shows an after-hours repair on a door that would not lock, as reported by the security department at a large university. Scary.
Speaking from experience, this repair method - which apparently spans across multiple industries - does not last long.
Now that you've memorized the applications that require doors with panic hardware, a change to the 2021 IBC will add a new location that requires panics.
This is one of my favorite weeks of the year, but maybe for a different reason than you might expect. :-)
Our national trainers are continuing with their Webinar Wednesday series - classes are currently scheduled into August. Feel free to share this information with your colleagues.
Thank you to those who attended the live webinar last week! The webinars page has been updated with the recording, a list of resources, a short survey, and information about Webinar 3!
Many of you probably know a lot about panic hardware already, but maybe you have colleagues who could benefit from Webinar 2 which I'll be presenting this Thursday. Please share!
My next webinar is coming up on Thursday, April 16th. The topic will be panic hardware - where it is required and the related code requirements - including the electrified options.
