WW: Emergency Exit Only
Anyone see a problem with this Wordless Wednesday photo sent in by Art of Doors?
WW: Cross-Corridor Door
Brian Lane of Allegion sent in the photos below (via Deputy Jeff Tock). This is a cross-corridor door in a health care facility. The wall behind the door MUST be temporary, but wow...
Oldest Panic Hardware Ever?
Deb Henson of DH Consulting sent me these photos of some REALLY old panic hardware. These doors were spotted at a home show, and were originally installed on a YMCA in Laurel, Mississippi, built in 1904. Do they look familiar to anyone?
WW: Were you raised in a barn?
This Wordless Wednesday photo could have easily been a Fixed-it Friday photo, but since this "fix" is on an occupied Assembly space, it left me Wordless. Thank you to Dave Ilardi of Allegion for sending me photos from the family vacation. :D
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: 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...
Decoded: Change to BHMA Standard for Exit Devices
BHMA is required by ANSI to update and review each of the product standards every 5 years, and an important change was made to ANSI/BHMA A156.3 when it was last revised in 2014. The standard now requires cycle tests for Grade 1 exit devices to include preloading...
FF: Bottom Latch
Oh dear. Must be electric latch retraction. :D
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...
WWYD? Existing Fire Door – New Access Control
This question comes up quite often, so I hope some of you have insight to share. In the words of my old friend Waller Elliott, "Picture this: You have an existing stairwell door (single), with a 90-minute fire rating..."
Types of Panic Hardware (video)
Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be enough to know about panic hardware for another whiteboard animation video...here's one that talks about the different types of panics available and why you might choose one over another.
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!
WW: Panic Problem
Sometimes I wonder if y'all are creating these Wordless Wednesday and Fixed-it Friday photos just so you can get famous. :)
WW: Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving with friends and family!
FF: Wrong Hand?
What is happening in this Fixed-it Friday photo sent to me by Daniel Cannon of Allegion? If the lever has to be turned up instead of down because it's the wrong hand, shouldn't the sign be on the other side of the door? Or...maybe someone could just make it right?
WW: Classic on Ice
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo, sent to me by Aaron Owens of Allegion, is not an unusual code violation. The location is what leaves me wordless - an NHL hockey arena...
WWYD? Multiple Crossbars
Today's question...is it code-compliant to have panic hardware along with additional stationary horizontal push-bars?
Panic Hardware Styles and Types
Whether panic hardware is required by code or specified for increased security and ease of use, there are three basic styles and four types that are commonly used...
FF Follow-Up
Last week's Fixed-it Friday photo has raised some questions about the best way to handle an unequal pair...a) Do both leaves of a pair require panic hardware?...
FF: Unequal Leaf Pair
This is not how I would have specified the hardware for this unequal leaf pair. I think the panic hardware on the small leaf actually results in an opening that is less safe, because the removable mullion makes the small leaf difficult or impossible to use...
FF: Bodega Emergency Exit
We still do almost all of our shopping in the small tiendas and larger mercados, but last weekend I saw this door at la bodega. At first glance I saw the sign and thought it had a delayed egress lock...
Construction Specifier: Understanding Code Requirements for Panic Hardware
This article is currently posted on ConstructionSpecifier.com...The question, “When is panic hardware required by code?” is one that many specifiers continue to struggle with because there isn't a simple answer to this seemingly simple question...
WW: Down at the Mini-Mart
Chris Ostwinkle from DH Pace sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo. The bar above the panic limits the degree of opening, which may have contributed to the closer issues. And in case you missed it...that's a double-cylinder deadbolt above the panic, in addition to the slide bolt. :(
WW: Not So Fast
Seriously...this Wordless Wednesday photo makes me want to cry. Posted with the permission of Ron Burgess Jr. of the Westport Fire Department (originally posted on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page).
FF: Double-Egress Pairs
You may have to look at these for a few minutes to get the gist of what's happening. These are double-egress pairs in a hotel I stayed in recently. Instead of using a double-egress frame so the doors were in the same plane, each door was mounted on the opposite side of a double-rabbet frame...
WW: Locked After-Hours
What I want to know is...why do some people think it's ok to use these locks after-hours, when the building is unoccupied? I don't see anything in the codes to support that, but it seems to be a common belief. Am I missing something?
Where is Panic Hardware Required by Code? (video)
This is one of the most common questions I receive...do you know when and where panic hardware is required?
School Courtyard Applications
I recently went on a field trip to an elementary school with Greg Thomson (Allegion specwriter) and a group of our specwriter apprentices, and we saw a couple of interesting applications in the courtyard. The courtyard is fully enclosed so a means of egress is required at each end...
FF: Unfixable
Yesterday's post was not ready in time for the afternoon notification, so in addition to today's Fixed-it Friday photo, there's a bonus set of photos from the Bronx Zoo. If you're reading this on the email notification, you should see the zoo link below. Happy Friday!
FF: Panic Problem? No Problem!
This could definitely be a Wordless Wednesday photo, but I couldn't wait to share it so here's an excellent (terrible) Fixed-it Friday photo from Rachel Smith of Karpen Steel. Unbelievable.
Panic Hardware on Electrical Rooms – Follow-Up
A while back, I wrote an article for Doors & Hardware about panic hardware requirements for rooms housing electrical equipment. Someone asked me recently how the voltage and amperage are determined. Do you add up the voltage or amperage of each piece of equipment and look at the total? Or is it the highest voltage/amperage of any piece of equipment that determines whether the room is over the threshold where panic hardware is required?
Can fire exit hardware be installed on a non-fire-rated door?
As much as I like black/white-yes/no answers, sometimes it's not that easy. This is one of those questions, and it keeps coming back. Here's the scenario...I have an exterior aluminum door serving a large Assembly occupancy, with no fire rating required. I don't need the ability to dog* the device, and I have fire exit hardware left over from a previous project. Can I install the fire exit hardware on the aluminum storefront door?
WW: Mullion, you’re doing it wrong.
I realized that what I was looking at was a removable mullion that was not mounted behind the doors as it was designed, but between the doors, leaving visible gaps along the lock edge of each door. The black spacers are needed...
WW: Armed Forces Museum
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo was sent to me by Lee Francisco and Jerry Rice of DH Pace. The "Remove for Exit" bar makes this exit non-compliant.
Panic Problem Follow-Up
Many of you figured out right away that someone has taken fire exit hardware designed for a 3-foot-wide door and installed it on a 4-foot-wide door. The original mechanism tube has been replaced with one from a 4-foot device, and a filler plate fills the area where the wider touchpad should be...
FF: Panic Problem
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was sent in by Rick Turcotte of Horner Commercial Sales. A few questions for you: a) This is a 4'-wide stairwell door. What's wrong with this picture?...
Panic Hardware Basics (video)
Allegion has created several videos using the videoscribe format, including these two about panic hardware. Some of the code information in the "101" video is a bit general and I will eventually make a more in-depth video on this topic (I didn't create the videos below), but what do you think of the format?
WW: Not an Exit (Any More)
This door is in a high school auditorium, and although it no longer seems to be used as an exit (and there are marked exits nearby), it is the first door you see when attempting to exit. Many AHJs will tell you that if it looks like an exit, it has to act like an exit...
FF: Panic Hardware Hacks
Here are two creative fixes for problems with panic hardware...what issues were these Fixed-it Friday "solutions" designed to rectify?
Concealed Vertical Cable Exit Devices Fill a Church’s Tall Order
When St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church needed a way to secure pairs of 14-foot tall bronze doors in its new church, it found the answer in exit devices with the Von Duprin® Concealed Vertical Cable (CVC) system from Allegion...
Decoded Quick-Tips: Delayed Egress
Today is the second webinar in the series for access control integrators, so here is my second list of Quick-Tips (the first list can be downloaded here). There have been some changes in the 2015 edition of the IBC, so it's worth a review...
FF: Fire Exit Hardware
I can't count how many times I've been asked for help when a label from a listing laboratory has been removed by the painter/cleaner/installer/meddling kid from the door/frame/armor plate/fire exit hardware. Unfortunately, I'm not much help...I can't send you a new label to stick on. That's what makes these Fixed-it Friday photos so sad...
6 Accessibility Changes to Watch Out For (November 2014)
The 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design went into effect in March of 2012, but there are several requirements that continue to surprise architects and specifiers as well as door and hardware suppliers. These issues can be costly to resolve if they’re discovered after the doors and hardware are on-site, so it’s important to stay current on the requirements...
WW: School Security
These are egress doors in an occupied school gym. Luckily they are going to be replaced shortly, but meanwhile, I'm Wordless.
FF: Thru-Bolts, Who Needs ‘Em?
It's my 20th anniversary with the company, my site has had more than 1 million pageviews, and I just received one of my favorite photos EVER! Check it out...
Access to Panic Hardware
I'm sure you've seen panic hardware with some sort of guard or protection above, below, or around the panic. Should the codes define a certain area of free space around the panic hardware, ensuring that the actuating portion is obvious and readily available to someone using the exit? How much clear space is needed?
Assembly Doors with Mag-Locks
In a recent discussion about code change proposals, there was a question about whether electromagnetic locks should be an acceptable alternative to panic hardware, on doors serving Assembly occupancies - essentially the application shown in the photos below. If approved, a door serving an assembly space, and perhaps even Educational occupancies depending on how the proposal was written, could have mag-locks released by a sensor, and no panic hardware - no latching device at all...
Back-2-Basics: Handing 101
I have been asked about door handing SO MANY TIMES over the years...hopefully with your help we can address the questions once and for all. Leave me a comment if I forgot anything!
FF: Rod Guards
Products installed as part of a fire door assembly must be listed or labeled for that purpose. Components that are not listed or labeled must not be attached to the fire door and may void the label. In two recent cases I have seen non-listed protective guards for hardware as well as blinds installed on fire doors...