glass doors

Glass Doors with Electric Strikes

I'm currently working on several projects that have glass doors in walls that are acting as 1-hour fire barriers with closely-spaced sprinkler heads above the glass.  The problem with this application from a hardware standpoint is that the Blumcraft, CR Laurence, and Dorma Glas panic hardware that is typically used on glass doors does not have active trim (like a lever handle) to retract the latch from the secure side.  To unlock these doors, you would typically use the dogging feature of the panic device to leave the doors in a push/pull condition, but because they require positive latching, dogging is not an option.  I have searched the world over for a solution to this problem, but the only possibility I've found so far is using fail secure electric strikes to release the latches.  Unfortunately, this application is extremely noisy, as illustrated by the video below.  If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear from you.

By |2020-12-01T14:39:10-05:00April 2nd, 2009|Glass, Videos|10 Comments

Blumcraft Center Housing

I am running into more and more all-glass doors on my projects, and in the words of one of the contractors I'm working with, "Doors are being asked to do things they've never done before."  I've had large glass panels pivoting at the center, glass doors acting as opening protectives in fire-rated walls, and glass doors with all types of electrified hardware applications - all with invisible wires, of course.  Given the limited options available for glass door hardware, it's often a real challenge to specify hardware that meets the functional and aesthetic requirements for the project.  On one project I specified Schlage mortise locks installed in Blumcraft center housings and it was a great solution.  The glass door manufacturer had no problem accommodating them, the architect was happy with the way they looked, and I had the full range of lock functions to choose from.

By |2014-05-23T22:04:19-04:00March 27th, 2009|Glass, Panic Hardware|0 Comments
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