Benji Bolick 🗝️🤓 The Door Dork

It’s crucial to know how to identify and resolve violations that could impede a safe exit.
Although doors and hardware make up only a small portion of the means of egress, they’re where code violations typically are found. #Doorks in this industry might be familiar with some of the more common violations, but as we’ve learned, a correct means of egress can mean life or death. This article will address the basics of egress code and walk you through a process to identify violations and how to… Show more

It’s crucial to know how to identify and resolve violations that could impede a safe exit.
Although doors and hardware make up only a small portion of the means of egress, they’re where code violations typically are found. #Doorks in this industry might be familiar with some of the more common violations, but as we’ve learned, a correct means of egress can mean life or death. This article will address the basics of egress code and walk you through a process to identify violations and how to resolve them. Let’s get started with the “mean” means of egress.

Accessing Egress
Anywhere you go, you can find exit signs that direct you toward the nearest escape. Most of us have practiced exit drills since kindergarten, but that wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until after New York City’s deadliest industrial fire broke out that policies, codes and laws started to be implemented.

On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. factory, a 10-story building in the heart of Manhattan. The main reason that 146 lives were lost that day was that workers didn’t have a way to escape. As the sweatshop workers flooded stairwells to escape the flames, they became trapped in the stairwell, inches from safety but blocked by a locked door. They didn’t have a means of egress.

Out of the ashes of that fire came change that eventually led to creation of the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) and the building, fire and life-safety codes we use today. Show less

Different types of the underappreciated, but necessary, hardware are useful depending on your goals for the door.

Hinges often are overlooked in the door hardware industry, but the quality of the opening hangs literally on the quality of a door’s hinges. I’d argue that with regard to an opening, the hinges are just as important, if not moreso, than the lockset.

Hinges are all around us, from holding our car door open while we pile in our kids, to holding the refrigerator door open… Show more

Different types of the underappreciated, but necessary, hardware are useful depending on your goals for the door.

Hinges often are overlooked in the door hardware industry, but the quality of the opening hangs literally on the quality of a door’s hinges. I’d argue that with regard to an opening, the hinges are just as important, if not moreso, than the lockset.

Hinges are all around us, from holding our car door open while we pile in our kids, to holding the refrigerator door open while we stare into it trying to decide what to eat. Think about all the times you walked through a door. Hinges always have been there for you.

Because hinges are often forgotten, they can be the root of many problems you might have with your openings. A hinge failure can contribute to the liability that comes with security risks and potential life-safety code violations.

Let’s “swing” into this article and learn more about five hinge applications you might not be aware of. Show less

Nowadays, most people use panic devices without thinking about it. People push, kick, bump or back up through these openings every day. If you’re a Door Dork like I am, you likely pay a bit more attention to what exit devices you service and supply. You also most likely have a fair understanding of the codes that regulate the use of exit devices. But are you aware of all of the security vulnerabilities that exist with exit devices? Perhaps not.

Let’s dive into the three main threats to… Show more

Nowadays, most people use panic devices without thinking about it. People push, kick, bump or back up through these openings every day. If you’re a Door Dork like I am, you likely pay a bit more attention to what exit devices you service and supply. You also most likely have a fair understanding of the codes that regulate the use of exit devices. But are you aware of all of the security vulnerabilities that exist with exit devices? Perhaps not.

Let’s dive into the three main threats to exit devices and how you can mitigate them. Along the way, I’ll explain how I broke into a building using nothing but a wire hanger (with permission, of course). Show less