DIY? Or Call TDC? ... Installing a Door Sweep for your Business

[We're beginning a new series called "DIY? Or call TDC?" this week. These posts will consist of repair and/or maintenance procedures for your business. Many of these tasks, you can do yourself. However, if you don't have time, need parts or run into problems, you can always call The Door Company at (614) 338-1414.]

A door sweep is an excellent way to prevent drafts and cold air from seeping in from underneath a door. Door sweeps can be as simple as a piece of rubber that is attached to the bottom of a door or as elaborate as an actual brush that not only prevents air from coming in from under the door, but also sweeps the area in front of the door as the door opens and closes.

Installing the Sweep:

Step 1

Purchase a door sweep that is the appropriate width for your door. Generally, door sweeps are the same width as the door. If you do not know the width of your door, then measure the door across.

Step 2

Using a power drill, attach the sweep to the bottom of the door. If you have a steel door, you will need to use a pre-drill holes with a bit designed for cutting into metal, or self-tapping screws.

Most door sweeps come with screws and holes already drilled into the sweep.

Step 3

Close the door and check to see that the sweep is preventing drafts and air from coming in under the door and that the door easily opens and closes.

If you need parts for this door sweep project, or any of the other projects we discuss in this series, give us a call at (614) 338-1414. Our headquarters at 3247 E. 11th Ave., Columbus, features a walk-in parts counter, and we can get you what you need!

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Should You Invest in Automatic Doors for Your Business?

If your business is considering a new build or perhaps even an extensive building renovation, this may be the perfect time to consider investing in installing automatic doors. Another consideration is the ability to improve the management of energy efficiency in your organization. There are many substantial benefits that lessen heating and cooling costs from both a pedestrian and industrial standpoint.

Advantages with Pedestrian Applications

Automatic doors provide numerous aesthetic and cost-effective benefits when used in pedestrian applications. The advantages start with the following:

• A measurable increase in convenience, consumer safety, and the prevention of injuries through the reduction of traffic congestion. To cite just two examples, traffic issues are common in situations involving grocery carts, and when people are dealing with young children and baby strollers.

  

  Photo courtesy: Horton Automatics

• “Hands-free” automatic doors are a tremendous help to the elderly, aging Baby Boomers, and the disabled.
• Industry research shows that automatic doors contribute to increased sales in retail environments through the creation of an enhanced and sophisticated upscale image. The doors also provide advantages when space is limited, especially in compact areas.
• During new construction or remodeling, there's a major advantage to providing barrier-free access through the use of automatic doors. It's easier and more cost-effective to install the doors at this point rather than attempting to comply with the government-mandated architectural requirements specified in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Advantages with Industrial Applications

• Enhanced corporate brand image. You've heard the saying “Perception is Reality,” which is very true with consumers. It's interesting to note that studies show consumers perceive companies with automatic doors as organizations with a commitment to a higher level of customer service than firms without automatic doors.

  

  Photo courtesy: Horton Automatics

• A reduction of traffic and congestion along with increased safety for both employees and/or visitors, by eliminating the need to lift heavy overhead doors.
• “Time and motion” studies demonstrate cost and time savings along with an increase in worker productivity due to eliminating the need for employees to manually open and close overhead doors.
• Increased safety and comfort by minimizing wide-open doors for trucks and other vehicles to enter and exit the premises. With an automatic door the doors remain closed except when someone needs to enter or exit the building.

For more information on Automatic Doors, installation, repair or even inspection of your existing doors, contact The Door Company at (614) 338-1414.

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Automatic Doors Provide Convenience and Access for Medical Centers

Medical treatment begins and ends with entrance-exit design. From patient and guest entrances to surgical suites that require hermetic integrity, automatic doors provide many benefits for health care facilities and their clients. The most common benefits include convenience, safety, lower energy and operating costs, and efficiency.

Efficiency

Photo Courtesy: Horton Automatics

Delivering emergent care relies on shaving seconds off transport times. Struggling to open and close doors while navigating narrow hallways and openings with oversized gurneys and wheelchairs is inefficient and creates potential for patient discomfort, or worse. Touch-free access to treatment areas is instrumental for all medical care providers working with non-ambulatory individuals.

Architectural Elements

Sliders and telescopic automatic doors maximize available space and control traffic in compact passageways.

In addition to space-saving features, automatic doors work with every architectural genre. Curved glass styles accommodate extra wide, extra tall openings; tinted and frosted glass provide privacy while reducing energy costs and framed models are suited to high-traffic environments, including retrofit buildings and new construction.

Hygiene Considerations

For cleanrooms and other health care areas that require heightened sanitation measures, hermetic sliding doors provide hands-free entrance and exit. Available styles include pocket-installation and framed doorway models to fit building design -- reducing installation expenses and limiting disruption time during construction.

Hospitals have access to bi-fold and single-panel designs with manual and computer controls for precise management. Perimeter seal mechanisms ensure a tight, secure closure to protect the environment from unnecessary contamination in surgical suites, laboratories and testing facilities.

Photo Courtesy: Horton Automatics

Decorating with Doors

The primary function of automatic doors is to provide security and comfort while controlling access; however, a side benefit includes positive visual impact. Incorporating soothing colors on solid panels, semitransparent glass for added privacy and curves to create an elegant impression are only a few of the design options for medical care facilities.

Cost effective designs allow medical care facilities and ancillary service providers to control entrance and egress to individual rooms, hazard containment areas and reception rooms. Maintaining higher levels of security and efficiency with automatic door systems also improves patient comfort and satisfaction.

For more information on Automatic Doors, installation, repair or even inspection of your existing doors, contact The Door Company at (614) 338-1414.

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PRESS ROOM: The Door Company Announces Statewide Distribution Deal with Boon Edam

The Door Company of Ohio is pleased to announce a partnership with global industry leader Boon Edam, to become the manufacturer’s authorized factory distribution, sales and service center for the state of Ohio.

The deal makes The Door Company a statewide solution for sales, installation and service for Boon Edam’s line of manual and automated door systems and security access technologies. The move expands The Door Company’s reach beyond the Central Ohio market, offering round-the-clock, front-to-back service year round for manual and automatic entrance solutions.
Since developing its first revolving door over 100 years ago, Boon Edam has become the worldwide market leader in revolving door production. However, Boon Edam also offers an unmatched variety of turnstile entrances, including automatic optical turnstiles, high security doors and portals and other sophisticated security entrance solutions. Boon Edam has factories in the U.S., China and The Netherlands; subsidiaries in 17 countries and authorized distributors in 60 other countries.

Founded in 1993 in Columbus, Ohio, The Door Company offers sales, installation, service and code inspection of all commercial door options, including automatic, revolving, overhead and other commercial doors. In addition, the company provides custom hollow metal door fabrication on site, an online parts catalog and a walk-in parts counter, and is a Designated Labeled Shop for the production and labeling of commercial fire doors.

For more information, contact The Door Company at (614) 338-1414, or visit www.tdoorco.com.

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PRESS ROOM: The Door Company Established As Central Ohio Distributor of Horton Automatic Doors

The Door Company has announced a partnership with Horton Automatics, Inc., that will make the Columbus, Ohio-based business a distributor for Horton automatic doors in central Ohio.

The agreement makes The Door Company a distributor and installer for Horton’s extensive line of doors. The agreement strengthens the company’s foothold in the commercial door industry as a leader in installation and service of all commercial doors offering Front-2-Back Service 24/7/365.

Founded in 1960, Horton Automatics pioneered a brand-new industry with the creation of the first commercial automatic sliding door in America. Since then, it has been an industry leader in producing automatic doors for commercial, industrial and institutional locations. Horton doors meet or exceed every major door code in America, and provide compliance for the Americans with Disabilities Act and Metro-Dade.

The Door Company was founded in 1993, and offers sales, installation, service and code inspection of all commercial door options, including automatic, revolving, overhead and other commercial doors. The company also provides custom hollow metal door fabrication on site, along with an online parts catalog and a walk-in parts counter.

For more information, contact The Door Company at (614) 338-1414, or visit www.tdoorco.com.

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The Most Common Flaws in Swinging Fire Door Assemblies

We have discussed before how the fire doors of a building are critical to the safety and security of any building. Because of this fact, an annual inspection of those fire doors and the accompanying hardware are equally critical to your building’s policies and procedures.

A fire door inspector typically pays a visit under a couple different circumstances – either by request of a building owner as a matter of policy, or after the State Fire Marshal issues an order for the building owner to call one. Either way, there are some deficiencies that are all too common when an inspector is checking out your fire doors.

1)      The label is painted or missing. The Fire Door’s label shows the purpose of the door (essentially, that it is a certified Fire Door), and bears the Warnock Hersey seal, along with the door’s rating (anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours). This label is almost always on the hinge edge of the door, just below the top hinge, although some assemblies have the label along the top edge. Making sure that label is there is extremely important. If you have to look twice because that label happens to be painted over, that is just as bad as not having a label at all; both are violations.

2)      Lack of clearance when the door is closed. A facility’s Fire Door must have clearance, whether it is opening into a room or hallway, the door’s function cannot be obstructed by furniture, equipment, or any kinds of items or clutter.


3)      Blockage that keeps a fire door open. Just as above, any sort of equipment or obstacle used to hold a fire door open is a code violation. Even something as simple as a kick-down door holder on a Fire Door goes against code.

4)      Broken, defective or missing hardware items. A Fire Door’s function in the event of a fire is extremely important. The door itself must withstand intense pressure from fire and heat, and the hardware involved has to serve its purpose as well. If there are bolts or plates that are missing or damaged, that is a violation that has to be addressed.

5)      Fire exit hardware on doors that are not labeled for use with that hardware. A fire door is not a fire door unless it is labeled as such. Because of the function that door is expected to perform, there is no room for compromise when it comes to the material and components of the door itself. Fire exit hardware does not make any door a Fire Door.

For more information on Fire Door Inspections and labeling, or to schedule an appointment with a Warnock Hersey Certified Door Inspector, call DCI at (614) 634-1976.

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What Do Fire Door Ratings Mean?

Fire Doors serve two purposes in a commercial building. They provide safe passage out of the building in the case of a fire, and they help keep a fire from spreading to other parts of the building, and help reduce smoke hazards that can stop those inside from leaving the building.

The labels on fire doors include a rating – ranging from 20 minutes to three hours – which indicates how long that door can withstand fire and heat under test conditions.

So one might ask, “Why are there different ratings? Wouldn’t I want three-hour Fire Doors everywhere?” It’s not that simple.

The ratings on Fire Doors are based on what the door’s purpose is, and where they are installed – and each level serves a specific purpose in helping people inside a building to escape:

1)      Three-Hour – You will find a three-hour fire door installed in a wall that separates two buildings. However, in larger buildings, a three-hour door may also be used to provide access among smaller areas within the building.

2)      90-Minute – The two most common areas where you will find a 90-minute door are on an exterior wall where there may be severe fire exposure on the outside of the building; or in stairwells, where people may be trying to escape from upper floors. Think of the signs you see that say to use the stairs in case of fire. That is because they are very well protected from fire outside of those doors.

3)      One-Hour – These fire doors are typically found between rooms within the same building.

4)      45-Minute – Fire Doors rated for 45 minutes are typically found in walls that serve as room partitions, as well as corridor walls. Some exterior fire doors where there may be moderate fire exposure outside may also carry this rating.

5)      20-Minute – These fire doors are mostly found in hallways, and serve the primary purpose of controlling smoke and drafts while people make their way out of the building.

A Warnock Hersey Certified Door Inspector can offer more insights on the proper ratings for Fire Doors, and also ensure that they are labeled properly and in good working order. For more information on Fire Door labeling, call the Door Code Inspection Service at (614) 634-1976.

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