Everybody loves stainless steel – it’s durable, it’s easy to clean, it fits in just about anywhere, and it looks great. But the best part about stainless steel is its extreme versatility.

Not only can these doors be fire rated for up to three hours, but their aesthetic appeal is practically limitless. For instance, Ambico’s stainless steel doors and frames can be chemically colored to appear bronze or brass (along with a variety of other colors), which is perfect for an architect who is trying to uphold the integrity of an historic site while still needing a tough and durable door.

On the other hand, a shiny mirror finish on an office building door can add a touch of sleek sophistication for the more cutting edge or modern application.

And to really charge up the imagination, Ambico’s variety of steel alloy, finish, color, and pattern options can be combined in order to seamlessly match a pre-existing site or push the bounds of the imagination on something brand new.

Stainless steel is the perfect answer for aesthetics and durability – not to mention good old fashioned creativity.

Acoustic doors have always been a little finicky – any tiny problem or change during installation, even something you may never have noticed, can drop their performance level.

AMBICO’s acoustic doors, on the other hand, come as complete operable acoustic packages, which eliminates that margin of error that can be so frustrating in acoustic applications. Because they’re tested and supplied as a complete package, they work just as well in the field as they did during testing in the lab.

They also come in different styles, including both wood and steel, can be fire rated, are available in STC ratings ranging from STC 33 – STC 64, and come with an industry leading 5-year warranty.

In other words, AMBICO has taken the finicky out of acoustic doors – they’re going to have a high performance level without any guesswork, and they’re going to look good while they do it.

There was a time when heavy duty doors weren’t as beautiful as they were functional. Those times, thankfully, have changed.

And now Special-Lite has even come out with a new Fire Door that combines looks with functionality and durability – the SL-23 Fire-Rated Sandstone Textured FRP Door.

Available in any of our Sandstone-FRP through colors or in custom colors, the SL-23 is also fire-rated up to 60 minutes for both interior and exterior applications. It’s been tested in accordance with UBC 7-2, NFPA 252, UL 10C, has passed the 1 hour positive pressure test and the hose stream test, and has passed 250 degree temperature rise tests to achieve Warnock Hershey listing for fire-rated U.S. doors.

Put simply, it’s a top notch Fire Door that looks good too. Because really, why should you have to sacrifice looks for service?

There are infinite applications that call for tough doors. We talk a lot about schools, as high traffic and high abuse areas that need both durability and security in a door.

But lately we’ve been installing Special-Lite doors in another application that’s probably even tougher.
Hospital doors not only need stamina and durability to deal with massive amounts of traffic and use, but they also have to be automated and fire rated, both of which call for a tougher, stronger, and more dependable door.

Special-Lite doors fit these qualifications, and we’ve recently installed them in two Memphis area hospitals, one of which is already ordering more.

Baptist Memorial Hospital in Southaven, Miss. initially installed Special-Lite’s SL-17 doors in its loading dock, and is now ordering SL-21 fire rated doors for use in the Hospital Supply Area. Both sets of doors have automatic operators and SELECT Products heavy duty continuous geared hinges, and the interior doors include fire rated vision lites and electrified exit devices for fire safety.

Similarly, Methodist LeBonheur Germantown Hospital in Germantown, Tenn. has installed Special-Lite’s double egress SL-21 fire rated doors for use as Cross Corridor Fire Doors. These doors also include SELECT Products heavy duty continuous geared hinges, automatic operators, fire rated vision lites and electrified exit devices.

Hospitals are a tough environment, and Special-Lite makes tough door. Sounds like a match to me.

I’ve been talking a lot lately about the future of our industry. How we might see more “going green,” and more money from the government that funds environmentally friendly building and construction.

But how do we get there?

“Going green” isn’t just something that you do once and never think about again. If this is to be our industry’s future, and if we’re serious about it, then “going green” is a change in our mindset, the way we view our jobs from the ground up.
And it’s not just about us – our clients, manufacturers, and the general public has to understand the concept of “going green” as well. Of course none of this is easy to do. It’s hard work to shift our own ways of thinking, and even harder work to change the public’s view of what we do. We need to find a way to work together.

That’s why we’ve launched Sustain Alabama, www.sustainala.com, a new social online community for architects, builders, and others in the construction industry to interact both with one another and with the general public in order to promote environmentally friendly construction. People can log on, ask questions, gain information, and work together to find “green” solutions to their building and constructing needs. In other words, we can learn from each other, and we can learn together. And maybe even find a few new clients in the process.

We can “go green” together.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of our industry. Obviously, we’ve all suffered some major setbacks and disappointments in light of the economic downturn, and we know that change is coming. So I came to the conclusion a few weeks back that the future of our industry might be a lot greener, and I don’t just mean more money.

It seems to me that the future might see a need and a desire for enhanced energy efficiency and buildings that are friendlier to the environment. It won’t apply just to new construction, but to existing buildings and structures as well.

This week, I came across an interesting report that gave credence to this idea.

According to Van Ness Feldman’s legal analysis, “Using Executive Authority to Achieve Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers to Enhance Sustainability and Efficiency in Multifamily Housing and Commercial Buildings,” the Obama administration apparently has a current store of $72 billion that could be used to increase energy efficiency in commercial buildings and multifamily housing.

What’s more amazing to me is that this $72 billion is available right this minute, without going through Congress or the long process of approval. And it’s earmarked for energy efficiency, which could very well mark the future of our industry, and the start of its comeback.

Until now, anti-ligature tips, also known as “hospital” tips, were not available on full-surface gear hinges. Well, here’s a great new idea from SELECT Products Limited: the SELECT Tipit hospital tip for SL-57 and SL-21 full-surface geared hinges. The tip deters patients or inmates from harming themselves by hanging objects from hinges.
- Made from durable high-tech polymer
- Securely attaches to door frame header
- Works for retrofit or new applications
- Use in Hospitals, Detention Facilities, etc.

If you don’t know what to look for, it’s easy to specify or install a door that ends up with serious corrosion problems. That’s why I now offer a new seminar on Specifying Doors for Corrosive Environments. The free one-hour seminar provides one AIA/CES Learning Unit credit and covers such topics as:

• Applications of exterior-grade commercial doors that most commonly create corrosion problems.
• Corrosive chemical agents at work in corrosive applications.
• Causes and types of corrosion that harm doors.
• How door design, fabrication and maintenance affect  corrosion resistance and service life.
• Finish and material options available.
• What to look for when evaluating doors for corrosive environments.

For more information on this and other seminars available, give me a call at 205 988-4326.

We live in a world where everything is getting smaller, sleeker, and more efficient.  Our TVs, phones, computers, and MP3 players are all smaller, lighter and more powerful than ever.

So why do we still think that the only way to have a good, solid, durable door is for it to be as thick and as heavy as possible?

Special-Lite’s Fiberglass Reinforced Polyester (FRP) doors have challenged that old notion. These FRP doors are sleek and lightweight, thin and attractive, and even more efficient and durable than traditional doors.

Because of their low mass, Special-Lite’s FRP doors require less force to open and close, resulting in less wear and tear on their hardware and frames.  Because of their high compliance and elasticity, these doors have flexural strength, which allows them to absorb and bounce back from forces that might damage more rigid doors.

The proof, however, is in the testing.  Special-Lite has put these doors through rigorous tests in order to prove their strength and durability, including tests for endurance over several life spans, tests for endurance under hard and abusive conditions, and even tests for resilience and stamina under hurricane winds and explosive forces.  Under all of these conditions, Special-Lite’s FRP doors remained strong and functional, and only against a blast force of over 18,000 pounds within milliseconds did these doors sustain any damage at all.

Think of them as having heavyweight toughness without the weight.

Here’s a good article on the topic from Doors & Hardware.

Doors and school security go hand in hand, as every teacher, administrator, and PTA parent knows. Doors must be strong, durable, and reliable in order to keep schools physically safe, and Special-Lite doors have long met these key requirements. But Special-Lite goes a step further by manufacturing doors that protect students from the unseen risk of harmful emission.

For instance, Special-Lite doors were the first exterior entrance products to be GreenGuard Certified through the Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI), which means they were the first to seriously address the impact that doors can have on indoor air quality.

Because doors can emit volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde and phthalates, Special-Lite took action and eliminated the issue with its GreenGuard Certified doors. Special-Lite doors have stood up to rigorous testing, including GEI’s Children & Schools Standard, and have created a product that is safe for all, and especially for children. Special-Lite’s attention to safety, in every sense of the word, makes it a great choice for schools.