Full Height Pulls

23 03, 2010

Full Height Pulls

By |2013-02-08T21:42:02-05:00March 23rd, 2010|Push/Pull|2 Comments

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 doors on a jobsite that were going to cost us time and money to fix.  Now that most of my work is earlier in the process (spec-writing), there's usually plenty of time to catch any coordination issues before the doors are actually fabricated.

Read More
21 03, 2010

Interlocks

By |2014-10-08T09:11:50-04:00March 21st, 2010|Electrified Hardware, Videos|3 Comments

I went to see an architect on Friday, for what I thought would be a 2-hour meeting to discuss the security requirements for a new project.  3 1/2 hours later (time flies when you're talking about hardware!) I emerged to the sunlight (and the parking ticket), after literally resorting to cheerleading to get the architect through one more floor of the building (Her: "Lori, my brain hurts."  Me: "Come on!  You can do it!!").

Read More
17 03, 2010

Spring Hinges

By |2014-01-08T23:55:59-05:00March 17th, 2010|Accessibility, Hinges & Pivots|9 Comments

After my post about the Parkside West fire, a couple of people have asked me what I have against spring hinges.  I'm not one to discriminate against hardware of any function, style, or finish, but I also like things to do what they're supposed to do.  If I could get my kids to act more like cast iron door closers, I'd be a happy camper.  I'm not picking on spring hinges here - Ives makes spring hinges and is also one of the brands that keeps a roof over my head.  They just need to be used for the right applications.

Read More
15 03, 2010

Tomb Doors

By |2016-04-05T20:31:44-04:00March 15th, 2010|Beautiful Doors|3 Comments

Last week I attended a security meeting for a new horticulture building at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  I've written hardware specs for hundreds of projects but never a building for a cemetery.  I had never been to Mt. Auburn, so I looked it up on Google Maps, my first clue that this was not your typical cemetery.

Read More
13 03, 2010

Parkside West Fire

By |2013-02-08T21:40:33-05:00March 13th, 2010|FDAI, Fire Doors, Videos|1 Comment

Last Tuesday night, approximately fifty people were left homeless by a fire at the Parkside West Apartments in New London, Connecticut, which apparently began on a stove in a 3rd-story apartment.  One of the newspaper accounts of the fire investigation reported that the fire marshal stated "in the third-floor apartment where the fire is believed to have started, a weatherstrip prevented the door from closing, allowing smoke to spread."

Read More
8 03, 2010

Museum Hardware

By |2014-11-25T23:21:47-05:00March 8th, 2010|Funky Applications|3 Comments

Two of my defining projects as a hardware consultant have been the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.  One of our other specwriters, Greg Thomson, currently has two museum projects in progress - the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard.

Read More
7 03, 2010

Help Wanted

By |2016-07-20T10:57:09-04:00March 7th, 2010|General Info|0 Comments

Someone emailed me last week to ask if Ingersoll Rand was hiring.  Good question - it's been a really long time since I've perused the want ads.  Back in 1987, I was laid off from my job as a draftsman for an aluminum storefront supplier and had to go on the hunt for a new job, but since then the jobs have usually found me.  The hardware business is very small, which is great because we all know each other, but sometimes it can be a little awkward.  About 10 years ago a recruiter called to ask if I was interested in a job, and not only did I know the person who currently held the job, he didn't know he was leaving yet!  Yikes!

Read More
4 03, 2010

Anti-Ligature Knob

By |2012-01-27T22:08:02-05:00March 4th, 2010|Locks & Keys|16 Comments

I got a call this week from a facility that needed to replace existing locksets with an anti-ligature product.  If you're not familiar with anti-ligature hardware, it's designed for use in mental health or detention facilities, to help protect patients or inmates from self-harm by minimizing the attachment points on the hardware.  Anti-ligature hardware is just one part of a safe environment for facilities with special needs, along with tamper-proof plumbing, mechanical, and electrical devices, break-away shower rods and bars, impact-resistant glass and mirrors, etc.

Read More
3 03, 2010

Photo Gallery

By |2012-01-27T22:08:02-05:00March 3rd, 2010|General Info|1 Comment

In case you haven't noticed, there's a new photo gallery tab at the top of the page.  The gallery includes thumbnails of some of the photos I've used in previous posts, and when you click on the thumbnail it will take you to the applicable post.  (If any of them take you to the wrong post, let me know!)

Read More
1 03, 2010

100 Countries, and Counting!

By |2012-01-27T22:08:02-05:00March 1st, 2010|General Info|2 Comments

It still amazes me when I see visitors from countries who haven't visited the site before, and the fact that we are now over 100 countries is so exciting!  Here are the most recent countries, which pushed us over the 100-country mark:

Read More
27 02, 2010

Full Surface Hinge

By |2012-01-27T22:08:02-05:00February 27th, 2010|Fire Doors, Funky Applications, Reader Photos|1 Comment

I've been writing a lot about fire doors lately, and specifically about what bad condition many existing fire doors are in.  The codes have always required fire doors to be kept in good working order, but with the specific requirement for the annual inspection of fire doors it will hopefully bring more of these deficiencies to light.

Read More
15 02, 2010

Costa Rican Security

By |2012-01-27T22:08:03-05:00February 15th, 2010|Costa Rica, Gates|0 Comments

The picture at right has nothing to do with this post, but isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!  I had no idea that I had captured this sloth so well until I was putting a photo book together for my daughter's preschool class over the weekend.  I took the picture in Caño Negro, and the sloth was waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy up in a tree, but he must have put his face into the sunbeam just as I took the photo.  I love it!

Read More
12 02, 2010

More Costa Rican Egress

By |2012-01-27T22:08:03-05:00February 12th, 2010|Costa Rica, Means of Egress|2 Comments

When we drove through Santa Elena, we noticed a restaurant with a tree growing up through the middle of it.  It looked pretty cool, so we headed there for lunch after our 3-hour morning hike in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and before our afternoon hike at the Selvatura Hanging Bridges. (On the verge of passing out from exhaustion later that evening, we realized that it was only 7:16 p.m.!)

Read More
10 02, 2010

Costa Rican Egress / Fire Protection

By |2024-06-06T11:59:17-04:00February 10th, 2010|Costa Rica, Fire Doors, Means of Egress|2 Comments

The hotel with the treacherous handicap ramp (see previous post) was actually a very nice little hotel, but it had some other code-related issues.  I think all of the issues stem from the lack of stringent building codes in Costa Rica, but they're still a little scary for travelers who happen to be door hardware consultants.

Read More
7 02, 2010

Caño Negro

By |2012-01-27T22:08:03-05:00February 7th, 2010|Beautiful Doors, Costa Rica, My Photos|2 Comments

Yesterday we went to Caño Negro, a wildlife refuge near the Nicaraguan border.  I saw no doors of note, but I did see a mother sloth with her baby, which was SO COOL!! We saw tons of other animals including iguanas and other lizards, caymans, white-faced and howler monkeys, at least 20 different kinds of birds, and 3 other sloths.  It was a really great day.

Read More
7 02, 2010

La Fortuna

By |2012-01-27T22:08:03-05:00February 7th, 2010|Costa Rica, My Photos|0 Comments

I don't really like to fly. I know about all of the airline safety statistics, but I just don't like being confined and especially tens of thousands of feet up in the sky. I don't like turbulence, even if it IS just bumpy air. I'm not buying it.

Read More
4 02, 2010

Come Here Often?

By |2012-01-27T22:08:03-05:00February 4th, 2010|Costa Rica|2 Comments

If you visit this blog on a regular basis, you've probably noticed that there's been a brief lull in posts. I could blame technical difficulties, illness, writer's block, or a natural disaster, but the reality is that I've been preparing to go on vacation. A real vacation where my cell phone doesn't work. Hard to believe, I know. Those of you who are getting ready to point out that it's not a real vacation if I take my netbook with me can just hush.

Read More
22 01, 2010

Survey SAYS…

By |2012-01-27T22:08:04-05:00January 22nd, 2010|FDAI, Fire Doors|1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago I posted a survey to find out what people know about fire doors.  The purpose was to test my theory that the reason fire doors are improperly modified and damaged hardware is left unrepaired is because people don't realize a) which doors are fire doors or b) what can or can't be done to a fire door.  I originally developed this theory while I was creating a presentation about fire door inspection, and I wanted to have data to support it.

Read More
22 01, 2010

"Welcoming ‘Chip’ to the Library"

By |2012-01-27T22:08:04-05:00January 22nd, 2010|Chip Falcon Road Trip|4 Comments

If you're new to this blog, you have a little catching up to do.  If you've been a loyal reader for a while, you know about "Chip Falcon."  In a nutshell, I had to take a Falcon 24/25 series exit device on my family's annual summer road trip last year.  During our travels the exit device became known as "Chip," and I posted about the trip almost daily.  To my surprise, people really seemed to enjoy reading about Chip's adventures.

Read More
20 01, 2010

Construction Label

By |2013-03-08T09:42:02-05:00January 20th, 2010|Fire Doors|8 Comments

Last week I was on a conference call for one of my projects in Washington DC, because of a problem with the specified concealed closer and the fire-rated wood door and wood frame.  The door manufacturer suggested a "construction label," and most of the call participants needed an explanation of what that was.  I thought posting a description here might help others who are wandering the web seeking information about construction labels.  (Don't laugh...you wouldn't believe how many people come to this site wondering what a Cush arm is.)

Read More
14 01, 2010

<90 Degrees

By |2012-01-27T22:08:04-05:00January 14th, 2010|Accessibility, Means of Egress|0 Comments

I haven't posted for a few days because I've been working on my new FDAI presentation and various other things, but I'm kind of excited about this post because it answers a question that has been floating around for years.  Ok...maybe "excited" is the wrong word, but I really enjoy crossing things off the "grey list."

Read More
9 01, 2010

Fire Door Survey

By |2016-11-14T11:32:57-05:00January 9th, 2010|FDAI, Fire Doors|3 Comments

In 2007, the annual inspection of fire door assemblies became a code requirement that is gradually being adopted across the U.S. Given the enormous quantity of fire doors and the relatively small number of qualified fire door inspectors, implementation of this change has been challenging, but because of the appalling condition of the fire doors I see daily, I am determined to increase awareness of this requirement and use it to improve the safety of buildings.

Read More
7 01, 2010

Let's Celebrate!!

By |2012-01-27T22:08:04-05:00January 7th, 2010|General Info|0 Comments

It's been a while since I've given anything away, but it's a new year and I feel the need to celebrate the upcoming 1-year anniversary of this site and the approaching milestone of hosting visitors from 100 COUNTRIES! It still amazes me that hardware haters (and hardware lovers) worldwide are using this site as a resource!!  I look at the stats daily to see what people are searching for when they arrive on the site, and I can see the countries of origin for many of the IP addresses.  There are also quite a few IP addresses with "unknown" countries, so I'm sure there are other countries who have visited, but so far I've counted 95 different countries.

Read More
1 01, 2010

Happy New Year!

By |2012-01-27T22:08:05-05:00January 1st, 2010|General Info|0 Comments

After I posted some pics of my kids during Chip Falcon's Road Trip, many blog readers commented or emailed me about them. I finally finished our electronic "Happy New Year" card, so feel free to take a look if you want to. If not, come back tomorrow and I'll post about something more door-like. :-)

Read More
1 01, 2010

Low Voltage License

By |2017-05-25T15:39:21-04:00January 1st, 2010|Electrified Hardware|7 Comments

Someone recently asked me whether a low voltage license is required for wiring electrified hardware in Massachusetts.  I asked my Panel of Experts and did some research on the Mass.gov website, and (regardless of what actually happens out in the field on a daily basis) a license IS required for connecting wires to electrified hardware in Massachusetts (actually two licenses - read on).

Read More
30 12, 2009

Interesting Place for an ASA Strike

By |2012-01-27T22:08:05-05:00December 30th, 2009|FDAI, Funky Applications|1 Comment

I have heard from some code officials that annual fire door assembly inspections aren't feasible because there are too many fire doors, or aren't necessary because the building inspectors and fire marshals already have it covered.  The application below caught my eye on the way into my hotel the other other night.  It's the fire door that separates the wing my room is in from the lobby and the other three wings. The door is in rough shape, most likely because the panic device has been replaced several times and there's nothing left in the door to attach it to.  Someone decided that an ASA strike is just the ticket...they used it kind of like a giant washer.  Not to mention that the replacement panic is not fire exit hardware and is equipped with dogging which allows the latch to be held retracted.

Read More
29 12, 2009

Stainless Steel

By |2012-01-27T22:08:05-05:00December 29th, 2009|Funky Applications|11 Comments

Last week I was able to squeeze in one last visit to the Museum of Fine Arts before security became so tight that I wouldn't be allowed inside until I could enter as a paying customer sometime in 2010.  After working on this project for almost 5 years, it gave me a thrill to see art arriving in crates and in multiple pieces.

Read More
28 12, 2009

Incognito

By |2012-01-27T22:08:05-05:00December 28th, 2009|Doors & Frames, Funky Applications|0 Comments

I'm having a couple of days of R & R in Burlington, Vermont, but the Doors of Burlington post will have to wait for a day when the weather is less inclement, or at least when I have a designated driver so I can hunt for doors from a moving vehicle. It has been tough to go door hunting when I'm on my own with three kids, a dog, and our two new Christmas kittens. In other words, I've got my hands full and I'm headed off the deep end (in my case, R & R does NOT stand for rest and relaxation!).

Read More
17 12, 2009

Team Effort

By |2012-01-27T22:08:05-05:00December 17th, 2009|General Info|0 Comments

It's been a slow week for posts and I apologize for that, but I've got a good excuse.  For the 5th straight year, my coworkers, family and friends have provided Christmas gifts for the local family shelter - 48 kids and their parents this year!  We also provided some new items for the shelter's rewards program.

Read More
Go to Top