Install a fire door if you want to fireproof your home or business passively. These doors are specially made to prevent or slow down the spread of smoke or flames in case of a fire. They are made from gypsum, aluminum, timber and steel. Sometimes they come with ceramic or borosilicate windows, which are highly fire-resistant compared to regular glass, and fitted with anti-shuttering wire mesh.
The doors are fitted with flush frames, and any gaps are sealed with a silicon fire-resistant sealant to make them even more fireproof. An intumescent strip, which expands when heated, is fitted at the base to avert smoke from leaking underneath. The doors are also fitted with smoke seals to avoid the passage of smoke during the early stages of the fire.
What’s the Importance of a Fire Door?
For starters, fire doors limit the amount of oxygen available in the event of a fire, hence slowing down smoke and fire spread for a specific period. This gives you extra time to exit the building. However, fire doors aren’t entirely fireproof.
Fire doors come in different grades. The grades are based on how long the door can withstand fire. Most doors can last up to 30 minutes (FD30), 60 minutes (FD60), 90 minutes (FD 90) or 120 minutes (FD120). FD60 and FD30 are mainly used for residential and office buildings, while FD60 protects high-value buildings such as service centers and archives.
Most people pay more attention to the element of preventing fire spread and ignore the significance of the prevention of smoke inhalation. According to statistics, most people who die in fires do so due to smoke inhalation.
Fire doors also help protect personal assets and property while the firefighters are trying to combat the fire. They also act as shields for escape routes so that people can evacuate or be evacuated quickly.
Do I Need a Fire Door In My Flat Or House?
According to the state’s regulations, if you are renovating or building a home with three floors or more, you should have a fire door. These fire doors must be fitted in any habitable room next to a stairwell. This rule also applies to a loft conversion with an extra floor added to a two-story building.
Any door leading to an integral garage from your home must also be a fire door. An FD30 door is fit for this purpose. Since fire doors reduce fire spread, they can be fitted in high-risk areas such as the kitchen, boiler rooms or other areas with combustible materials.
If you have always wanted to know about fire doors, hopefully, you have learned what you needed to know. When properly installed and maintained, fire doors play a vital role in preventing fire and smoke spread, and saving lives. They are an integral part of developing a fire protection system and a vital requirement for most premises, including public buildings, residential homes, factories, and offices. However, they are not 100% fireproof, and therefore caution should be taken when handling combustible materials at all times at home or the place of business.
Whether steel, aluminum or wood, doors to business premises are more frequently used than homestead doors. This subjects them to regular wear, tear and damage. So, if you run a business and want to operate efficiently, you are probably wondering about the common door issues that you may encounter. Here are some of the most common commercial door problems and repairs.
What Repairs Should I Expect With Commercial Doors?
Warping Doors
Heat negatively affects doors made from materials, such as aluminum, steel or wood. Extreme heat may warp doors out of their original shape. In some cases, the doors may resume their original shape once the pressure or heat is removed. But in most cases, hot weather and extended heat production cause the doors to stay warped. If you are worried about this problem, you can always replace the traditional commercial doors with warp-resistant ones. This will help to reduce damage arising from heat warping. So, how do you know if your doors are warped? The best time to check is when the heat or sun is hottest.
Damaged or Worn Springs
Torsion springs allow doors to close and open with ease by ensuring the even distribution of the door’s weight. Therefore, lifting the door off the ground can prove troublesome if the springs are in bad condition. For most springs, the average lifespan is 10,000 cycles. But commercial doors’ torsion springs tend to wear faster due to heavy use. If the wear or damage escalates, it can have dire consequences. It may put the doors out of commission, and in a worst-case scenario, the doors may come crashing down. Thus, you should conduct regular spring inspections. If you hear squeaking sounds, it’s a sure indication that the springs need lubrication or replacement.
Sections and Panels That Are Dented or Worn
Sections and panels often get damaged due to being hit by heavy objects or vehicles. Since commercial doors are a series of interconnected parts, proper operation ceases if the panels and sections are damaged. Thus, depending on the severity of the damage, you might need to replace the dented or worn panels and sections. Failure to address the issues with these door parts may lead to misalignment. Consequently, opener track systems, rollers and tracks could become damaged.
Damage Resulting From High Traffic
The operational life of a commercial door is affected by the amount of traffic that goes through it. The wear and tear on parts, such as locks, hinges, closers and latches, increases with the amount of traffic. To minimize damage to these parts, you should ensure that the quality of materials used on door parts is solid. Also, you should have a hardware and door specialty contractor inspect and maintain them regularly.
"What’s wrong with my commercial door?" If this has been a constant question in your mind, you probably need to contact a professional door maintenance or repair contractor. Neglecting small issues on your commercial doors can prove fatal, especially if they lead to the crashing of the doors.
When you’ve lost or broken your keys, you can easily get confused and make hasty decisions. One of the decisions you can make is hiring a locksmith without taking some precautions. Unfortunately, many people end up in the hands of scammers in the name of locksmiths. Probably you are reading this after asking yourself, “Did I just fall for a locksmith scam?” Below are some of the locksmith scams you need to be aware of.
Cash Only Scam
If a locksmith insists that you can only pay them by cash, they might be up to something fishy. It could be that they don’t want you to dispute the payment later after realizing that they did a shoddy job. Paying using cash makes it a bit challenging to trace someone, which is why most illegitimate locksmiths prefer it. Such locksmiths will make excuses like their credit card is not working. Additionally, they might ask for higher prices than what they quoted.
Identity Theft
Some locksmiths will actually come, do a decent job, and leave you satisfied with their work. However, they might do something you rarely think of; stealing your private information. They can use this information for their own uses or give it to a third party.
Fake Websites
Some illegitimate locksmiths create websites and use the names of legitimate locksmiths. These websites look real and even appear on top of search engines. When you contact them, you will get a response from someone not even anywhere near where you live. Actually, a locksmith will come to offer you their services and end up overcharging you or doing a shoddy job. This leaves you frustrated and ruins the reputation of legitimate locksmith businesses.
No Contact After Services
If you can’t contact a locksmith after their services, they are probably scammers. Once such locksmiths finish their work, you might never be able to talk to them again. If you contact the company where you got the locksmith, you might be told that they fired the technician who worked for you.
Low Advertised Prices
Some locksmiths will advertise incredibly low prices for their services. However, they ask for extra money after the work is done. Some may even come up with excuses that something unexpected happened as they tried to unlock your door, just to extort more money from you. That’s why you should be very careful with locksmiths who advertise unreasonably low prices for their services since most of them are on the lookout for unsuspecting people to scam.
Replacement Scam
Some locksmiths will make excuses such as your handle, or another part of the door, is damaged and needs replacement. They end up selling you the replacement part at exaggerated prices. Some say that the lock is a high-security type and can only be drilled. They then suggest that you replace the lock, which they sell to you. The new lock is probably of low quality and expensive. A good and legitimate locksmith is highly skilled, experienced, and can work on any lock without drilling.
What locksmith scams should I be aware of? Hopefully, now you have the answer. There are several legitimate locksmiths, but there are still illegitimate ones. You need to be aware of some of the locksmith scams to avoid falling into the traps of scammers.
Panic doors are a style of security door that has been around for a long time. They first went into production in the early 1900s and have made their way to just about every fast-food establishment, grocery store back door, and more. You may be curious about how to lock and unlock panic doors. Here is some information that will help you achieve that if you need to:
Why Did Panic Bars Come From?
The concept of the panic bar originated in 1911 in response to a crisis that involved people dying inside buildings. They were dying in fires because the design of the inward-opening doors somehow prevented them from exiting the building to save their lives. The panic bar manufacturer wanted to make it much easier for people to protect themselves, and that’s what the panic bar accomplished.
Why You Need to Keep You Panic Bar Unlocked
Keeping the panic bar unlocked is essential for safety reasons and because of certain mandates. Specific mandates state that panic doors should be easily opened with nothing but horizontal force on the crossbar. The idea is to have it so that people can exit the building quickly without needing extensive knowledge of doors and their mechanisms. Simplicity is the key here, and it saves lives in this case.
How Do You Lock and Unlock a Panic Bar?
Unlocking a push bar door is the easiest thing you can do. It does not require experience or education. The door has a flat bar attached to the inside. Pushing on that flat bar will cause it to retract the latch mechanism and unlock the door. You can then use the door for a quick exit in the case of an emergency. Safety codes and regulations mandate that the release mechanism be activated in the push bar.
There is a way to lock the panic door with a unique key. This key is a hex-shaped key. You can also use a mortise cylinder key to do the job. Turning the key will cause the locking mechanism to work.
The proper way to lock the door is to put the key in the hole and turn it. You must lock the door from the outside as well. Whoever locks the door should check to ensure that it is indeed locked. That’s the best way to keep the premises safe and ensure that everything is and was done properly.
There’s nothing much else to locking an unlocked door with a panic bar. The most important thing is hiring only a reliable company to install a panic door for you. Ensure that you check the business’s credentials, other work, work experience, and the like. You have the right to choose the best provider so that you can ensure that people inside your facility are safe.
You should now fully understand how panic bars work and what you’ll need to do to lock or unlock one. You can feel safe and secure if you have a door with a panic bar at your home or establishment.
Many people think a locksmith can only unlock doors, but locksmiths have many more responsibilities — and they give you peace of mind when the unexpected happens. Ultimately, locksmiths help to maintain our safety and security. Locksmiths keep all of our valuables secure, and they provide specific services.
Why Should I Hire a Local Locksmith?
Key cutting: Keys would always have to be replaced if you did not have the service of a locksmith.
Putting secure locks on windows: Many intruders look to break into homes and businesses through windows. Locksmiths help make all possible entries safe and secure.
Opening locked doors: It’s inconvenient and possibly an emergency. Locksmiths can help you get into any locked door.
Installing safes: You likely have valuables in your home or office, such as jewelry and money. You’ll be able to speak with a local locksmith about the best locations for your safe.
How Can I Benefit From Hiring a Local Locksmith?
There’s no doubt that hiring a local locksmith is the best choice. Some benefits include:
Fast response. Local locksmiths can get out to you quickly should you get locked out. These trained professionals can save you time and headaches.
Experience. Local locksmiths often have years of training and experience serving the area. You’ll have confidence that your job will be completed at a reasonable price and done professionally.
Availability. Many local locksmiths offer round-the-clock services. Whether it’s the middle of the night or during the day, local locksmiths are there to help.
Safety. Local locksmiths have the trust of and partnership with the community. Trusted local locksmiths have a positive reputation and reviews from others in the area.
Specialty services. Some brands of locks require special services. Various types of local locksmiths specialize in different areas.
Mobile Locksmiths
Another option to consider is hiring a mobile locksmith. They can respond to your problem quickly, often within minutes. Mobile locksmiths also specialize in changing locks. They can change your locks and provide you with new keys so that you can get on with your day.
Mobile locksmiths can also cut keys on the spot. You can have the keys cut for you on-site instead of waiting at a shop. Many local and mobile locksmiths have the equipment to complete the job immediately.
Many locksmiths are also trained to install security systems. They are an added layer of security to keep your family and belongings safe.
