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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.

The introduction of Special-Lite’s SL-17 Fiberglass Reinforced Polyester (FRP) door revolutionized the world of heavy-duty doors nearly 40 years ago and has yet to be matched for its strength and resilience. Since that time, Special-Lite has expanded its series of composite doors, each sharing an unbeatably strong and durable physical structure, but differing in stylistic choice and exterior skin.

One constant question we get, as clients search for that perfect combination of strength with style, is “what’s the difference?”

Each of this series of composite doors has a poured-in-place polyurethane core, rendering the doors 30% lighter than comparably sized steel doors. Reduced mass and monolithic construction translates into significantly less wear and tear on the door’s individual components while enhancing the door’s strength by carrying operating loads through the door skins.

While the SL-17 Series doors are a favorite in the schools and universities for their strength and durability, Special-Lite offers a variety of aesthetic choices to allow for a greater client choice and to meet individual needs. Although all of Special-Lite’s foam core doors share the poured-in-place foam composite structure, some stylistic choices include:

SL-16: Aluminum skin painted or anodized for enhanced architectural beauty

SL-17: Flagship FRP door, durable pebble-grain surface is tough and easy to clean

SL-18: Acrylic Modified Polyester (AMP) skin, 6-panel Colonial style door available in wood grain or smooth surface

SL-19: AMP skin, flush door with wood texture

SL-20: FRP skin with a Sandstone texture, handsomer than SL 17, and nearly as tough

More businesses than ever are seeing a need for secure facilities, which in turn creates a need for top level security doors, and Mayer Door can provide doors that meet a wide range of security specifications. After all, a door represents the front line of security and provides the entryway into any facility.  Doors are especially important when entry should be restricted, and when high security standards are a must.

The DCID, or Director of Central Intelligence Directive, has a comprehensive list of base level physical requirements for SCIFs, or Secure Compartmented Information Facilities, and we at Mayer Door can both meet and exceed those standards in our secure doors. Most facilities’ needs, of course, are less extreme than those of the CIA, and we represent products to meet those as well.

Energy efficiency is a top driver behind sustainable design across all industries. And improving the heating and cooling of buildings with thermally efficient components can save you money in the peak of winter and summer. So for your next project, consider using Special-Lite’s flush doors for their thermally efficient components.

Though your doors make up a small point of surface area on a structure, they play an important part in the energy efficiency of your building. When selecting exterior doors, pay attention to the components that limit the exchange of heat from one side of the door to the other. For example, the Special-Lite SL-17 FRP doors have a poured-in-place urethane core with a minimum five pounds per cubic foot density, which ensures thermal insulation.

Special-Lite has tested its FRP Flush Doors for thermal efficiency. The U-value shows how well a material allows heat to pass and is generally listed between zero and one for doors. The lower the number, the better. The R-value is the reciprocal of the U-value and shows how well a material resists the flow of heat through it. This higher this number, the better.

Other important aspects of thermal doors include:

• Properly sealed construction
• Proper insulation
• Thermally improved framing

Also note that adding lites to doors can significantly reduce the effectiveness of thermal doors because glass provides hot and cold air to pass through easier. Flush doors and insulated side panels are ideal for thermal efficiency.

Check out Special-Lite’s white paper about how to select a green door, which includes information about thermal doors by clicking here.

When creating sustainable buildings, many builders, architects and project managers look to the LEED green-building rating system. But because the credit-based system doesn’t have explicit specifications for entrances, decision makers must rely on general recommendations for sustainable doors and entrances.

One major requirement of a sustainable component is that the product be used in a way that prevents premature failure and unplanned maintenance and replacement. Other factors that work in tandem include:

Doors. The ideal door should efficiently distribute the stressful forces of motion by being rigid enough to keep the building secure. It should not be too heavy and rigid, but rather lightweight and flexible, so as not to quickly wear out the hardware. Doors will also need to be durable enough to withstand everyday abuses (kicks, shoves, bumps, etc.) as well as focused attempts to damage or breach the door.

Framing and Hardware. Keep in mind that the framing and hardware are just as important to sustainability as the door is. If the framing components and hardware wear out, the door may get out of alignment and fail to latch properly. This could create leaks that can affect weather resistance and thermal efficiency.

Thermal Efficiency. Exterior doors play an important role in the overall energy efficiency of a building, so be sure to select components that limit thermal exchange. Proper thermal doors will keep warm air in during winter and out during summer.

Glass. Though it is nice to incorporate into the facade, glass is not the most efficient thermal material. It does not limit thermal exchange (the transfer of heat from one side of the door to the other) very well. If you must use glass in doors, make sure it is insulated and at least one inch thick. You’ll be glad when the power bill comes!

VOCs. You may not think of exterior doors affecting indoor air quality, but part of every exterior door faces into the building. So choose products that have earned indoor air quality accreditations from a third-party verifier such as GREENGUARD or Scientific Certification Systems. By reducing formaldehydes, phthalates, VOCs and other pollutant emissions you’re helping to improve indoor air quality that can affect worker productivity and health.

Special-Lite’s doors are perfect for your next project because of their exclusive design. The FRP doors are manufactured from aluminum alloy, sized and configured for maximum strength without unnecessary, non-functional bulk. The result is a durable door able to withstand everyday abuses without excess weight on the hardware.

The doors also come with a poured-in-place urethane core that ensures impact resistance, flexural strength and thermal insulation. And if you want one with lites in it, Special-Lite offers 1/4″, 1/2″ or 1″ custom glazing.

As for improving indoor air quality, Special-Lite’s entire product line has earned the GREENGUARD Certification, including the stringent Children & Schools standard. This means any of the company’s doors, frames and panels can help buildings qualify for the low-emitting materials LEED credit for Indoor Environmental Quality under the Materials and Resources section. Click here for more information about Special-Lite’s certification.

I’m proud to announce that C.R. Mayer has been renamed and re-branded as Mayer Door. Our web site is now located at www.mayerdoor.com, and my e-mail address is now chris@mayerdoor.com. Don’t worry – the old web address will be forwarded to the new one, and email to the old address will still get to me (though you may get an automatic reminder than it has changed).

Why the change? There are several reasons:

• While we have, over the years, represented a variety of products over the years, doors have always been at the core of our business. And today, we have the best selection of quality doors and related products ever, Special-Lite, TruStile, SELECT Products and Ambico. We wanted to be able to more effectively communicate that.

• The venerable C.R. Mayer brand has been good to us, and it’s well known among our customers. However, it says nothing about the business itself. The new name carries the Mayer name forward but includes something about what we sell.

• From a visibility standpoint, www.mayerdoor.com will be much easier for prospective customers to find.

When you’ve been in the door business as long as I have, people begin to look to you for a perspective on current trends and products. And of course, I’m always glad to help. This newsletter is one way I’m able to help friends and customers stay on top of the business and make better choices.

And now, I’ve introduced The Door Blog (www.thedoorblog.com), which will enable me to offer suggestions on doors, hinges and related products in a format that people can easily reference. We’ll be including content from The Portal, including some from recent issues. (You can also access The Door Blog at blog.mayerdoor.com.).

For your convenience, I’m also sending out tweets with links when we post a new article. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/mayerdoor.