As of July 1st, 2011, a revised California law (AB 211, Article 8.5) requires classrooms and rooms with an occupant load of more than 5 people to be equipped with classroom security locks.* This pertains to all new construction projects submitted to the Division of the State Architect, which oversees K-12 schools and community colleges in the state of California.
This is on the front door of the elementary school where my kids have their summer program. I guess they don't know about the Quiet Doorman.
I spent last weekend in Stowe, Vermont with one of my BFFs and we stayed at an "inn," which seems to mean bigger than a bed and breakfast but not as modern as a hotel. As my friend said, "I got the keys...they're real keys - how quaint!" I won't get into how the lock on our room had to be unlocked with the thumbturn before you could turn the knob for egress, but I will share the completely inadequate mini-closer on the exterior door adjacent to our room. The door never closed and latched, and the kitchen staff hung out on the landing smoking butts (not the hinge kind). Good thing we had the high-security privacy chain on our room door.
I've obviously been slacking because this video was posted a month ago. It's a follow-up to a report about the flawed fire safety system at the Staples Center, including problems with their fire doors. Here's a link, in case you missed it too.
Picture this. You wait by the mailbox for your brand spanking new iPad 2 to arrive. You carefully open the box and breathe in the intoxicating scent of Apple, then plug in the cable, sync your iPad with your iTunes account, and settle back to watch a movie. A few minutes into Despicable Me, the screen goes black. AAHH!!! You pack up your iPad, take it to the Apple store, and find out that it's not an Apple iPad after all - it's a KNOCKOFF!!!
Over the last year, I've really started to understand the valuable communication tool that social media has become. Every time I write a blog post, a notification of the post is immediately seen by at least 1500 people. If any of those connections comments, tweets, or "likes" the post, it is then shared with their network of connections. One of my recent tweets was retweeted to over 4,000 people - not a big deal in comparison to celebrity twitterers, but we're talking about doors here!
These photos were taken by Ted Wightman of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, at a fishing lodge in a remote area of Ontario, Canada. I wonder who they were trying to keep out...the bears?
Back in the early 90's when the ADA was the newest focus of the door and hardware industry, delayed action closers were often specified and installed due to the assumption that they were required by the accessibility standards. Delayed action is a feature available on many door closers, which delays the closing cycle for up to a minute (or more depending on the manufacturer) from the maximum degree of opening to approximately 70 degrees. The delay is controlled by an additional valve which slows the flow of fluid for that initial period in the closing cycle. This feature can be helpful in some applications, but it is not required by code. The other segments of the closing cycle, the main speed and the latch speed, are also controlled by valves (see diagram below).
I was at a security meeting for one of my projects recently, and I heard the security consultant refer to the "secured side of the door," meaning the inside - the area that is protected by the security system.
This is a very unusual door - stone clad and an exterior opening only about 100 feet from the ocean. The door and panic hardware were installed by Entry Systems Ltd., the stone, mag-lock, and wood surround were added by someone else. The photos were sent to me by Eyal Bedrik of Entry Systems Ltd., in Israel (Thanks Eyal!). If you have any questions about this opening, just leave them in the comments section and I'm sure Eyal will be happy to fill us in.
I have a special place in my heart for locksmiths. Maybe it's because I've been "saved" a few times...like the time I locked myself out of my apartment in my PJs at 6 a.m. Or maybe it's because I like the mechanics of what they do. I always loved helping our in-house locksmith with masterkeying, and I've been told by an experienced locksmith that I'm a natural at shimming cylinders. How many people can say that?!
I swear, I didn't send him the camo underwear. :-)
I love this building - Flint Memorial Hall. It was built in 1875 as "the largest, most elegant, and most modern building North Reading had ever seen."
I got a Tweet today from @GinnyPowell, who was attending a Von Duprin training. She was surprised that the fire truck video is still around, and once she mentioned it I just had to go back and watch it again. It's a classic! I love the fire test engineer..."I am now checking the device..." I wonder who came up with this idea.
It's not often you find the variety of egress-related news stories that I've seen lately, so I compiled a few here for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Today my oldest daughter and I participated along with some of my coworkers and some of our compañeros from Trane, in the Quannapowitt Take the Lake 5K. It was a beautiful morning and we walked/ran in honor of some of our friends and coworkers who have battled cancer or are still fighting.
We only spent a brief segment of our road trip in Lexington, but it was long enough to spot a couple of doors of interest. Our hotel was originally a single family residence and it's on the Register of Historic Places. We checked in pretty late at night but I immediately noticed the mess they had made of the lock on their front door. Creative, yes...purty, no.
We're on the last leg of our road trip and will be home today, so here's a quick post to tide you over. I have lots more photos to share and the fact that they won't be chronologically presented offends my orderly side, but so be it.
I saw this church from the highway on our way into Roanoke, Virginia last week - it's St. Andrews Catholic Church, and I just knew it would have some nice doors. As soon as I approached the building from the parking lot, I spotted the meeting stile gasketing. Most people would probably see the building as a whole, or maybe the beautiful pulls, but I couldn't get past the gasketing.
I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday weekend...I have to admit it was really nice to take some time off. I've been in Grassy Cove, Tennessee since Friday and there aren't a whole lot of doors here, but luckily I've got some saved up from last week. We're headed toward home tomorrow so I'll be on the lookout for doors of interest.
Today I had the pleasure of visiting the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. My trusty guide for the tour was Rachel Smith of Karpen Steel, who suggested the Biltmore as a stop on my road trip and then arranged for the visit to the estate.
We're currently on our Summer 2011 Road Trip and I'm on the hunt for doors of interest, but so far I'm seeing more sights like this:
Wow! Feast your eyes on this retrofit 994L lever trim for a Von Duprin 98/99 device. It was made by Cirecast, for the Kansas Statehouse. Gorgeous!
I originally published the post below in May 0f 2009, but I'm trying to gather some information so I've pulled it up to the front again. Please take a moment to answer the quick survey about lever return in your area. Thanks!Click here to take a quick survey.//
Here's the latest batch of reader photos...don't forget to send me any interesting doors you see on your summer vacations!
I first saw this door a few weeks ago but I was late for a meeting, so I hunted it down again. It's the rear exit from a Chinese restaurant - I didn't go inside to check out the situation, but even if it's just an exit from the kitchen it still doesn't meet the requirements for single operation egress.
Every time I specify hardware for a door that swings into a pocket, a little alarm sounds in my head because at least 50% of the time there will be a problem that urgently needs to be fixed at the end of the job. This application requires coordination between the architect designing the pocket, the contractor building the pocket, and the distributor supplying the doors and hardware, and that's a lot harder than it sounds. The other problem is that when one pair on a project goes south, in most cases ALL of the pairs are a problem.
Is it me, or are those some really big butts on pretty small doors? This post should bring in some interesting stats...like the guy who Googled "naked ladies with no cover-ups" and was sent to my blog post on naked closers with snap-on covers. :-)
I have always loved Rocky Mountain Hardware, so when I received an invitation to visit their manufacturing facility I was really excited! Unfortunately, I don't have plans to go to Idaho any time soon, but the good news is that RMH has a video on their website that details their manufacturing process. It's almost like being there!
We headed to Ogunquit, Maine for Father's Day...Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!
Today is the 39th anniversary of the fire at the Hotel Vendome, in which 9 firefighters lost their lives when the building unexpectedly collapsed during mop-up operations. Stephanie Schorow, author of 4 books about Boston, spoke about the Hotel Vendome fire, the Cocoanut Grove fire, and the Great Boston Fire of 1872 in this video made in conjunction with the NFPA. There was also an article in the May/June 2011 issue of the NFPA Journal - "The Boston Fire Trail - A walkable guide to the city's fire and disaster history."
I saw this keypad lockset in a rest area on the Jersey Turnpike recently. Can you identify it?
Some interesting stats...if your state isn't in the Top 10, tell your friends to come visit iDigHardware!
I've been in the door and hardware business for a long time - almost 25 years. While I'm still passionate about the products, the industry, and our customers, there are some days when I'm not quite as excited as I once was. It's kind of like the old, "I love you but I'm not in love with you," line. I'm sure you can relate...we all have those days.
This photo of a door in a city hall came from another blog, A Firefighter's Own Worst Enemy. The blog is written by Jason Hoevelmann, a Deputy Fire Chief / Fire Marshal with the Sullivan Protection District. Jason and the firefighters who frequent his site have a totally different perspective on doors than we do, but it's really interesting to read. Firefighters need to be able to get through a door during a fire, and do it safely. Imagine a firefighter with limited visibility forcing this door open from the other side. The results could be tragic.
<--- You know what that's a photo of??? Rain - torrential rain, at our Relay for Life event this weekend. It rained on and off for most of the relay, but it was REALLY bad at night. Even the die-hard high school kids in the campsite next to ours ended up sleeping in a friend's living room (all 24 of them!!). Because we didn't sleep overnight in our soaking wet tent, there were a couple of hours that we didn't have someone walking the track, but I think we had people walking for more hours than any other team. There were several hours that our team was almost alone on the track. Yes, we're crazy! :-)
Update: Relay for Life is tomorrow, so if you would like to make a donation, today's the day! Luminarias in honor, memory, or support of a loved one are available for $10 by following the link below. I'm a little over $100 away from my goal. I appreciate your help!
I received these photos a couple of weeks ago and we've been trying to determine whether this is a door closer, or possibly a lever-action shock for an old car. It was being used in an underwater application and needs to be replaced. Does it look familiar to you? If you know someone who might recognize it, please forward!
This post was printed in the June 2011 issue of Doors and Hardware
You just never know what's going to show up in my inbox. Last week I received the clipping below from Jim Bystry of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. Jim said he received it from Sue Shapiro of Bell Hardware in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I'm guessing Jim's had it laying around for a while because it's dated February 14th, 2005.
I was pleasantly surprised to open my June issue of the Construction Specifier this morning, and find an article called "Architectural Hardware Specifications," by Joseph D. Calvert, CSI, CDT, AHC of Calvert Independent Hardware Specifications. The article does a great job of explaining the value of an AHC. Joe describes the coordination that we manage between various trades, the complex hardware sets and riser diagrams that we produce for openings with electrified hardware, and the detailed analysis that we perform when creating the hardware sets and reviewing the submittal - including the required function, durability, codes, and aesthetic requirements.
Last week I posted a photo of a deadlock on a pair with panic hardware, and I included a poll to find out what you all thought should be done about the problem. I received some photos yesterday that gave me the idea to make this a regular feature of the blog - "What Would You Do?" (WWYD). Check out the photos, the code excerpts, and scroll all the way down to vote in the poll.
All of today's reader photos came from my compañeros at Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies:
Still plagued by problems: Nearly a year after new ownership, troubled city apartment buildings remain in bad state
I hope you are all enjoying a safe Memorial Day weekend.
OMG - I LOVE this video. Maybe I'll get inspired to do a series of "Hardware Gal" videos. :-)
Jon Dudley of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me these photos of a school in West Virginia, where apparently this was not a mistake - it's the way the school wanted them. For the life of me I can't figure out why. Any ideas?
