School Security Follow-Up

11 02, 2013

School Security Follow-Up

By |2016-11-23T20:17:50-05:00February 11th, 2013|Fire Doors, Locks & Keys, Means of Egress|14 Comments

In the months since the tragedy at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been renewed efforts on the part of many schools to improve their security and better protect students, staff, and visitors.  While I'm very glad to see the focus on these improvements, I'm also very concerned about some well-meaning but misguided efforts that I've come across.  This post is not meant as an attack on any particular product or idea, but a reminder that as we secure these facilities, we must not forget about the other codes affecting the same doors that are being addressed.

8 02, 2013

The Tampa Bay Hotel (Interior) – Tampa, Florida

By |2015-12-30T09:44:39-05:00February 8th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Road Trips|7 Comments

I'm back in the snowy north, hunkered down while the snow piles up.  This is my last post from my trip to Tampa.  For next week I'm working on another post about glass (yes, there's more!), as well as a post about school security - particularly the "creative" and often non-code-compliant methods I've seen a lot of lately.  If you've run into any interesting security modifications for schools, send them along!  Have a great weekend all!

5 02, 2013

The Tampa Theatre – Tampa, Florida

By |2014-11-25T23:27:35-05:00February 5th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Road Trips|6 Comments

This is a travel week for me - I'm in Tampa, Florida for the winter meeting of the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA - check out their new website!).  I have more posts in the works on school security and wired glass, but while I'm on the road, you know that I like to share the cool doors that I see with all of you.  I'll get back to the code-related posts next week.

28 01, 2013

More Wired Glass in the News

By |2013-01-28T15:22:41-05:00January 28th, 2013|Glass|2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I started a series of blog posts about the hazards of traditional wired glass.  I showed you some examples of traditional wired glass installed where it shouldn't be, and linked to some news reports which described incidents involving traditional wired glass.  In case those didn't convince you that we have a problem, here are a couple more:

26 01, 2013

Kiss Nightclub – Santa Maria, Brazil

By |2016-03-16T10:29:52-04:00January 26th, 2013|News, Panic Hardware|13 Comments

I woke up this morning to yet another nightclub tragedy - this time in Santa Maria, Brazil.  This fire shared common issues with many of the past nightclub fires - a high occupant load, ignition of flammable foam or decorations, no working sprinklers, insufficient or unmarked exits, and a heartbreakingly-high loss of life.  The death toll currently stands at 233.  I can't help but imagine the bodies of the young people lined up in the make-shift morgue, with their cell phones ringing and ringing as their friends and family search for them.

22 01, 2013

Bok Tower Brass Door – Lake Wales, Florida

By |2013-08-01T15:25:59-04:00January 22nd, 2013|Beautiful Doors|5 Comments

On my way back from Bradenton to Orlando, I had to stop and see the gorgeous door at the Bok Tower Gardens.  The gardens have to be one of the most beautiful and tranquil places I've visited...luckily I was there early, before the families started arriving or it may have been less tranquil.  The 50-acre garden was established in 1929, by Edward W. Bok as a gift to the American people, and was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.

19 01, 2013

Architectural Salvage

By |2013-01-19T23:19:08-05:00January 19th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Means of Egress|8 Comments

Sorry for the interruption in my series on wired glass - I will continue it shortly.  But this is a travel week for me, and I couldn't fly to sunny Florida without a quick trip to see my mom.  Today I dragged her to an architectural salvage company to see if they had any interesting old doors and hardware.  They had A LOT of doors - some really ornate and huge, and a room full of hardware...

4 01, 2013

Recent Announcement from Ingersoll Rand

By |2013-01-04T07:02:50-05:00January 4th, 2013|General Info|4 Comments

A few weeks ago, Ingersoll Rand announced plans to spin off the combined commercial and residential security businesses into a new standalone publicly held company.  I immediately started getting calls and emails from blog readers asking what this meant to me and to our other employees, the brands, and this website.  One hardware distributor said, “I can’t imagine the hardware business without Schlage, LCN, and Von Duprin in it!”  I was very touched by the concern for our people and products.

3 01, 2013

WWYD? Gate Operator

By |2013-02-13T18:46:26-05:00January 3rd, 2013|Gates, WWYD?|10 Comments

This is a tough one.  It's for a project currently nearing occupancy, so I would love any comments or thoughts you have on a solution.  An automatic operator is required because of maneuvering clearance / level landing issues.  The gate is already in place.  A low energy operator is preferred.  The gate is exposed to the weather.  Any ideas?  If you need more information, ask away!

2 01, 2013

Starry Night

By |2016-11-23T20:17:40-05:00January 2nd, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Locks & Keys|10 Comments

I think this is the longest I've gone without posting!  I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve!  I figured I could get some good relaxation time in during the holiday week, then I promptly injured a ligament in my ankle, which led to a major bout of sciatica that flattened me for days.  I'm hoping 2013 gets better!

24 12, 2012

Early Christmas Present

By |2012-12-24T17:53:39-05:00December 24th, 2012|Fire Doors, Means of Egress|25 Comments

I'm pretty sure I asked for a PAIR of boots for Christmas, but Santa must have misunderstood.  I ended up with one walking boot after falling off of running fountain while trying to take the perfect photo of a door for y'all.  OK...actually I stepped off a little lip in a walkway while checking into our hotel in the dark and did some ligament damage.  We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down.  BUT - I did get a photo.

14 12, 2012

Happy Holidays

By |2013-12-04T23:49:42-05:00December 14th, 2012|Door Closers, Videos|5 Comments

For the last 8 years, I have coordinated a holiday gift drive along with my coworkers, family, and friends for the residents of our local family shelter and other families in need.  This year we provided gifts for 75 kids and parents!  When I went to the shelter with a load to drop off, I saw the sign below.  I asked the director if they had a close call and she said, with a very grave look in her eyes, "more than one."

30 11, 2012

A Closed Door – The Best Ally in a Home Fire

By |2016-08-31T10:59:52-04:00November 30th, 2012|Fire Doors, News|2 Comments

I know I just posted some news stories a few days ago, but Zeke Wolfskehl sent another one that I have to share.  It appeared in the New York Times on November 27th.  Considering how difficult it is to make people understand the value of their fire doors and why they should be kept in working order, I think this article does a great job of illustrating the importance.

8 11, 2012

Boston’s Old City Hall

By |2017-11-11T17:30:24-05:00November 8th, 2012|Beautiful Doors, Historical|2 Comments

This week I've been spending some time with Karina Guadencio, an Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies specwriter from Brazil.  In addition to lots of discussion in the office, we've been to a Boston Chapter CSI meeting, had lunch with the master specwriting team at Kalin Associates, conducted a punch list at Harvard Law School, and visited Columbus Door (thanks everyone!).  It's been a whirlwind tour!  Add the cold and last night's snow, and I think she's ready to head south (especially since she's having dinner with my family tonight! :D).

6 11, 2012

WWYD? Sliding Door

By |2012-11-06T16:52:15-05:00November 6th, 2012|Sliding and Folding Doors, WWYD?|11 Comments

I've stayed at several hotels lately that had a sliding door on the bathroom within the hotel room.  This solves some coordination issues involving the door swing and the method of stopping the door, but creates questions of its own.  What type of sliding door hardware do you prefer for a solid core sliding door?  And what type of latch do you use for privacy?

4 11, 2012

Los Sostenedores de la Puerta

By |2013-02-14T14:45:33-05:00November 4th, 2012|Road Trips, Signage, Stops|5 Comments

I'm getting ready to head home from Arc-US in San Diego (which has been a fabulous conference!), and wondering how long it will be before someone tweets a photo of me singing on stage with the Dueling Pianomen.  Until then, here's some signage the likes of which I've never seen before.  I'm in favor of signage to prevent door abuse.  Save the doors!

2 11, 2012

WWYD? Secure Pair

By |2013-02-14T14:46:04-05:00November 2nd, 2012|Electrified Hardware, WWYD?|15 Comments

I recently visited a facility where security is their top priority.  Many of the doors are set to sound an alarm if they are left open for more than 6 seconds.  This presents a challenge when carts are being moved through the opening, because the doors need to stay open long enough for the carts, but need to close before the 6-second mark.  There are 10,000 employees on-site during a typical day, and leaving a door unsecure / not locked or latched can result in termination of their jobs.  Many of the doors are fire doors, which adds some extra complexity to the issue.  Almost all of the doors have access-control.

23 10, 2012

Mag-Locks – Security Impact

By |2014-11-25T23:22:07-05:00October 23rd, 2012|Electrified Hardware, News|11 Comments

For the second time in two months, a news story came across my desk that involved the impact of mag-locks on security.  For some involved in the security industry, mag-locks are perceived to be an easy way to retrofit a high level of protection, because the field preparation is limited and the manufacturers' literature shows holding force specifications which seem like more than enough to keep out the average burglar.

18 10, 2012

Closer Pressure Equalizer

By |2013-02-14T14:46:21-05:00October 18th, 2012|Doors & Frames, Fire Doors|11 Comments

Today I was able to spend some time on the trade show floor at CoNEXTions 2012, the Door & Hardware Institute conference.  It was great to see so many old friends and some new products.  My pal and code aficionado, Steve Bettge, tracked me down and escorted me to a booth where there was a product that was right up my alley.

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