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Posts Tagged ‘Door’

Barn door hardware is a type of movement hardware for your doors that allows the door to slide back and forth instead of swing out and back like hinges. Unlike pocket doors, this hardware keeps the door on the outside of the wall. Homeowners are loving it because it is easy to install, easy to use, extremely durable and reliable, and additionally lets them see their door whether it is in the closed or open position.

A standard flat track hardware system typically includes several basic components. They are the following:Track lengths depend on your needs and usually range between 5′-8′, but virtually any length is available. The track comes with spacers for the mounting hardware. The amount of spacers depends on overall track length

Standard track hangers are curved like a candy cane with flat squared-off ends. Specialty hangers are available such as “U” shaped, “Square” shaped, and “Arrowhead” shaped hangers.

Two hangers are standard with a system; two are needed per door. Two door stops are included and are placed at either end of the track for obvious reasons.

A nylon door glide for the floor is also included. This helps prevent the door from swinging out away from the wall and keeps it flat against the wall when the door is in movement. The door glide typically is placed right next to the bottom of the door frame.  Anti-jump blocks are attached to the track hangers on the non-visible side and sit between the door and the track. These help prevent the door from being jarred and potentially popping off of the track.

Interior hospital doors, including those on patient rooms, operating rooms, secured storage areas and x-ray rooms have particular hardware requirements. In addition to being able to withstand high usage, the hardware often needs to offer a high level of security and/or ease of access.

Some features to look for in hospital door hardware include:

Push pull latches that allow easy egress for low occupancy rooms
Pull or push only latches to restrict access
Reverse latches in which the bolt is thrown only when the push handle is activated and held (good for psychiatric wards)
Low profile latches for doors that need to open wide or close to a wall
Double acting pivot assemblies which allow the door to swing both directions for easy access to patients in an emergency
Emergency door stops that quickly switch a single action door to a double action door for easy access to patients in an emergency
Double lipped strike plates that protect the door frame regardless of which direction the door is swinging

Hardware specifically designed for hospital or other medical facility usage offers both safety and ease of use.

In an emergency, you don’t want personnel fumbling with a door knob or an awkwardly hung door. On any door that is not covered by fire code regulations, one of the varying styles of push pull latches is usually preferred. Companies such as Stanley even make a push pull latch that installs easily to retrofit an old lever style latch. In addition, hospital specific hardware is designed to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Whenever faced with double doors, one faces a secondary important question: how does one lock them? How does one keep them safe? That is when we are forced to choose between conventional locking systems and Double Door Panic Hardware. Conventional locking systems are cheaper but far less secure, but since double doors face the problems of a split surface with two weak surfaces on either side (the door) instead of such robust surfaces as walls, one realizes there is a significant problem. Double Door Panic Hardware can reinforce both of these weak surfaces making it difficult to break them open, but if Double Door Panic Hardware can be opened with a coat hanger or something else that fits in through the slit but can still manipulate the latch handle on the other side, what is the point of all that expense for such a hardware system?

This is why there are advanced Double Door Panic Hardware innovations that have been introduced in the market.

For one, they have done away with a pure reliance on outward locks and the new improved system has concealed locks that can also be underground or above the two doors, giving more split-security. So it becomes more and more difficult or rather near impossible to split one of these doors even with sophisticated equipment. The other alternative now is to slip something into the slit and manipulate the latch from the inside. The best way to do this is work out a special locking system by which there are a number of minor gears that interact in the split in your panic hardware. Can’t get it? Let me explain.  Read more...