Push/Pull
Almost every week someone asks me about the clearance behind door pulls. Many manufacturers’ catalogs show certain pulls with a symbol indicating that they are accessible, and other pulls without the symbol. About 10 years ago I called the Department of Justice (ADA), the International Code Council (CABO back then), and the Massachusetts Architectural Access […]
There are a thousand ways to screw up a door, so one of my goals with this blog is to help others avoid mistakes I’ve seen or made myself (yes, I’ve made plenty). Today’s warning involves the straight pulls that have become popular in the last few years. These pulls are often close to the full height […]
No matter how much time I spend thinking about doors and hardware (that’s so sad), there’s always someone waiting in the wings with a question or problem I haven’t thought of yet. When I worked for a hardware distributor, that usually meant that because I had never thought about that particular issue before, I had […]
I find this cool in a freaky sort of way. I was searching the internet for something completely different, and I saw this blog post about a door pull shaped like a giant pair of scissors. The blogger is in the Netherlands. Through the miracle of Google Street View, you can see the exact street […]
Someone sent me this photo of the custom door pulls made by Tice Industries for the Danner Shoe Manufacturing Company, and I thought they were so cool that I asked Scott Tice to send me more photos of their custom door pulls. They have other custom capabilities as well, so check them out! All photos […]
If you haven’t been to Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, you’re missing out on some great old hardware applications. They recently had an exhibit of antique door pulls, and as soon as my first-grader saw it he said, “Mom! I think you’re going to want to get out your camera!” 🙂 In addition to […]
I coincidentally received these two sets of photos on the same day. Who knew there was such cool hardware in Indiana?? These are from Mary Hinton of Mulhaupt’s. I’ve never seen hinges like these. Have you? And from Cory Yamaguchi of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, amazing pulls on art gallery doors. Thanks to both of […]
We were on a mini-vacation earlier in the week, which is my excuse for forgetting two things. First, my pal Zeke Wolfskehl is in search of some research that I remember hearing about but have never been able to find documentation for. Maybe it’s an urban legend, but I know that I heard/read somewhere that […]
Over the weekend I spent some time in New York with my friends, and as you can probably imagine I saw A LOT of doors of interest. Here are some of them… These bronze pulls are unusual, and a great illustration of what happens to US10B finish (oil-rubbed bronze) over time: This door made a […]
I know what you’re thinking…”When is she going to stop talking about Nashville and get on to something interesting like gasketing or clear opening width?” 😀 I just processed my last group of photos from Nashville and all but a few were from the Music City Center, so I added the other ones to my […]
Before anyone says, “Why didn’t you stop and see me??”, we were only in Savannah for a quick lunch break. 🙂 Here are some interesting doors from the River Street vicinity… I saw this door and thought – “Cool! Half-surface hinges!” Ok – that makes me sound like a weirdo but that’s really what I thought. […]
Another hotel, another fire door problem. In case you’re new to this site…this fire door needs a positive latch, and will not perform as designed and tested to protect the stairwell as a means of egress for the hotel guests if there is a fire. Unacceptable! Thank you to Logan Piburn of Dyron Murphy Architects for […]
Today’s winner of the 5th-birthday gift card is Dan Droker of CCI Automated Technologies, who sent me some great photos from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. It makes me happy to imagine some of you embarrassing your spouses and kids by taking door photos during family outings. My family has begun to automatically sense when a door piques my interest, and they make themselves scarce. Except the little one who wants to be in every picture…
Bob Larson of Builders Hardware brought up a good question the other day…what’s the best way to handle the outside trim on the exterior pairs on a school? We all have our preferences, but given the changing security…
Someone asked me last week whether a door pull operated by the user’s foot would be considered accessible. The answer seems obvious, right? How can a pull operated by someone’s foot be used for a door on an accessible route?…
This Fixed-it Friday photo was taken at an open house by JJ Normandeau of CFS Canada. I know that hardware can be difficult and confusing, but come on… (also – please help identify the access control product pictured at the bottom of this post)
The problem with this application is the lever handle that you apparently also have to turn. What’s the point of the touchfree pull when you have to touch the lever??
Most of you know that operable hardware must be mounted between 34 inches and 48 inches AFF, but does the ENTIRE piece of hardware have to be mounted within that area?
This photo showedup in my Google Alerts 3 times this week, so I had to share it. It’s from a blog post called “Fire Station 4’s cool front door”…
The application in these Fixed-it Friday photos looks like a result of poor planning to me. Thank you to Mark Kuhn of Allegion for sending them!
It’s relatively unusual to see beautiful door pulls and custom levers, so when I do see something special, it’s pretty exciting…
Wrapping up my summer road trip through Guatemala, here are a few Fixed-it Friday photos – and a question.
I answered this question a couple of years ago as part of a longer post, but people continue to ask so here goes…
“How much clearance do the accessibility standards require behind a door pull?”
Joe Prosser of LaForce, Inc., sent me a link to an article about a product called Surfaceskins, which is a “push-pad” (pulls are also available) that releases a small amount of antibacterial gel when touched…
I’m guessing this was not what the architect had in mind when he or she designed this rest area lobby with pairs of all-glass doors. Why have a vestibule at all?
