WWYD? Courtyard Doors
In this school it appears that by preventing access to the courtyard, the school is not required to provide free egress from the courtyard...
8
08, 2017
7
08, 2017
QQ: Selected Reentry
What is "selected reentry" and when can it be used?
4
08, 2017
FF: Public Restroom
I'm in Guatemala! I'm on the hunt for some beautiful and/or interesting Guatemalan doors to share with you, but until then, here are some doors from a recent trip to Phoenix...
3
08, 2017
Sneak Peek
I told you we were going to have fun this week, right? Well, what could be more fun than a quiz to help you learn about codes? :D But first, I have to tell you something...
2
08, 2017
WW: School Asks 100 Graffiti Artists To Paint It Before Renovation…
This is amazing. Really. You can see ALL of the beautiful photos and read the story here on Bored Panda, but these are a few of my favorite door-related images from the article...
1
08, 2017
Happy Birthday to Me!
As I mentioned yesterday, today is my 50th birthday. It seems like a day that I should spend reflecting on my life so far, and planning what to do with the next 50 years. And eating cake...
31
07, 2017
Logan the Locksmith
Tomorrow is my birthday. Not just any birthday - my 50th! The other day someone said to me, "Don't worry! 50 is the new 70!!!" What???
28
07, 2017
FF: Deadbolt Retrofit
These photos, from Kelly Reese of Allegion, qualify for the double-whammy - Wordless Wednesday AND Fixed-it Friday. But don't worry...it is indeed Friday! Have a great weekend!
27
07, 2017
Sensor Bars for Egress
Last week a code official contacted me because he had seen some egress doors in a school that were equipped with sensor bars used to release electromagnetic locks...
26
07, 2017
WW: Mall Exit
Why is it that when something goes wrong with the existing hardware, some facilities use the hardware equivalent of a band-aid rather than repairing or replacing the hardware?
25
07, 2017
Honolulu High-Rise Fire
Last week, 3 lives were lost in a fire that occurred in a residential high-rise in Honolulu, Hawaii. Although the cause is not yet known...
24
07, 2017
NFPA 101 Appeals and Testimony
As I've mentioned in previous posts, shortly after the NFPA Technical Meeting on June 7th, two appeals were filed. These appeals were submitted in favor of keeping the proposed changes to NFPA 101 that would allow 2 releasing operations instead of 1...
21
07, 2017
FF: Sharpie Seal
Ian Baren of Katonah Architectural Hardware sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo. This mortise lock is on a very fancy clothing store, and apparently it was an aesthetic problem for someone that the gasketing did not continue down the lock face. So they drew it in with a Sharpie! You'd think that if they were going to go to the trouble, they would have used a straight-edge!
20
07, 2017
Why two-operation release is not an option – Joseph Hendry Jr., PSP, CLEE
Joseph Hendry Jr., PSP, CLEE has written the guest blog post below, to share his experience in law enforcement regarding human behavior in an emergency. This relates directly to the question of whether NFPA 101 should continue to limit egress doors to one releasing operation or should allow two operations to release the latch.
19
07, 2017
WW: Essence Superlounge
"At around 8:45 p.m., Captain Michael Flot of the New Orleans Fire Department faced an angry crowd of hundreds outside of the Essence Superlounge to tell them they would not be able to see Xscape that night. 'This is the worst I've ever seen it,' Flot said."
18
07, 2017
WWYD? Single Restroom with Automatic Operator
Imagine this...you have a single restroom where the property manager wants to install an automatic operator for easier access to the restroom (or to overcome a maneuvering clearance problem)...
17
07, 2017
Take us with you!
It's that time of year again, when lots of people go on vacation - remember the road trips I used to drag all of you on? This summer I'm taking the kids to Guatemala, so I don't know how many interesting doors we'll see...
14
07, 2017
FF: “Please help – I’m stuck in here.”
This is why doors are required to provide free egress. Even doors used by very few people, leading to tiny rooms that may need more security than the average closet.
13
07, 2017
Federal lawmakers pressed to make real changes in K-12 security
From Security InfoWatch, an article on a recent congressional briefing by advocates for safe and secure schools...
12
07, 2017
WW: Party Prep
Rich McKie sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo of a high school lobby, which was being prepared for a "Dry Grad" overnight graduation party coordinated by a parent committee...
11
07, 2017
Change is Good
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of change; I like predictability. I know that might surprise some of you, but I’m more apt to live by the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In case some of you are change-averse like me, I want to tell you about a change that is happening today.
10
07, 2017
NYC – Greenwich Lock & Safe
Some of you may remember the blog post below, which I first published in 2011. Time flies! When I visited Greenwich Lock & Safe and met locksmith and artist Phil Mortillaro, he told me that there was a documentary in progress about him. The documentary is now available on PBS.org!
7
07, 2017
FF: You Get What You Pay For
I have run out of words. Is this the best we can do to secure our classrooms? :(
6
07, 2017
Decoded: Code Requirements for Electromagnetic Locks
This post was published in the August 2017 issue of Doors & Hardware
5
07, 2017
WW: Kool-Aid Follow-Up
Last week I posted a photo of the egress side of a "door" through some sheetrock that had been scored. Jonathan Mathew Taylor just sent me this photo of the other side...
2
07, 2017
Mysterious Hardware
This was posted by Lawrence Waters on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page, and it was also sent to me by a door hardware consultant / firefighter friend. Anybody know what it is?
30
06, 2017
FF: Double-Strength Holding Power
When Deputy Jeff Tock of Allegion sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo of double kick-down holders, I knew what you would ask...
29
06, 2017
Stairwell Reentry Update
Are locks on stair doors required to be hard-wired locks which unlock upon power failure?
28
06, 2017
WW: Hey Kool-Aid!!!
I don't remember seeing anything in the model codes that supports a Kool Aid Man egress model. Do you?
27
06, 2017
QQ: Fire Doors in Load-Bearing Walls
Do load-bearing walls within a dwelling unit require fire doors?
26
06, 2017
Cost Savings vs. Life Safety
Promising to cut "red tape," business-friendly politicians evidently judged that cost concerns outweighed the risks of allowing flammable materials to be used in facades...sound familiar?
23
06, 2017
FF: Upside-Down
I have seen this many times with mechanical lever trim for panic hardware, but I have never seen this...
22
06, 2017
Stack Pressure (video)
Have you run into problems with the effects of building stack pressure on the operation of doors? Here's a new whiteboard animation video that explains the basics of stack pressure...
21
06, 2017
WW: (Don’t-)Pull Station
Leo Lebovits of M&D Door & Hardware sent me this Wordless Wednesday photo. I'm not an expert on pull stations, but this just doesn't look right to me...
20
06, 2017
Code Requirements for Electromagnetic Locks
I'm working on another whiteboard animation video to help explain the different code sections that apply to mag-locks. Did I forget anything?
19
06, 2017
Grenfell Tower Fire, London
While the exterior cladding on the building is being investigated for its contribution to the blaze, there are also news reports where witnesses are quoted as saying that the door leading to the apartment of fire origin was left open. This undoubtedly impacted the egress routes...
16
06, 2017
FF: Count the Fire Door Problems
Even if this jurisdiction is not yet enforcing fire door assembly inspections for schools, the school is required to keep their fire doors code-compliant and to repair them in a manner that is acceptable to NFPA 80...
15
06, 2017
The Story Behind Von Duprin
Many of you have heard this story before, but this video is terrific! See if you can catch the original price of panic hardware in the catalog shown in the video! :)
14
06, 2017
WW: Guest House Egress
This signage designates the egress path from rooms in a small hotel / guest house in a city on the east coast. Note the exit sign over the window inside of one of the (locked) rooms, and instructions to break out the panel in the door...
13
06, 2017
New Code Changes for Classroom Doors
Now that the NFPA 101 vote has passed, the 2018 model codes will be pretty consistent with regard to classroom security. I pulled together information from the IBC, IFC, and NFPA 101 for this article...
12
06, 2017
Martin Pierce
It's relatively unusual to see beautiful door pulls and custom levers, so when I do see something special, it's pretty exciting...
9
06, 2017
FF: Electric Strike Prep
For today's Fixed-it Friday photo, how about a little before-and-after action from Jimmy Resedean Jr. of A Better Door and Window Co.?
8
06, 2017
NFPA 101 – The Votes Are In
As many of you know, yesterday was the NFPA Technical Meeting where NFPA members voted to decide whether NFPA 101 should allow two releasing operations for classroom doors, or continue to require one releasing operation to unlatch the door for egress...
7
06, 2017
WW: Double Labels
Can someone explain this please?
6
06, 2017
QQ/WWYD? Excessive Clearance on Fire Doors
The rapidly-approaching deadline for fire door inspections in health care facilities is resulting in LOTS of questions about fire door assemblies. The most FAQ in the last few weeks has been...
5
06, 2017
A Tale of Two Schools
I read the two news stories below on the same day, which struck me as ironic. When it comes to security and safety, you can take the easy, fast, and cheap approach, or take the time to carefully consider the issues and alternatives and invest in a suitable solution...
2
06, 2017
FF: Custom Rod Guide
This Fixed-it Friday photo is from Paul Goldense of Goldense Building Products. Paul will be teaching a fire door class with Jeff Batick of Allegion at the NFPA conference next week...
1
06, 2017
Vote for Life Safety
NASFM is certainly aware of the need to protect our schools and businesses from senseless acts of violence, however we feel strongly we must carefully consider the solutions being proposed...
31
05, 2017
WW: Mall Exit
What do you think? Is this Wordless Wednesday exit visible enough?
30
05, 2017
WWYD? Bottom Gap on Fire-Rated Frames
The application is in a building where the floors are out of level, and the fire door frames are installed with one jamb flush with the floor, leaving the other jamb with a gap...