Archive for the ‘School Doors’ Category

As kids prepare their return to the school building, Alabama architects and builders face a law affecting building codes for new schools.

Effective July 1, House Bill 459 states that all new Alabama public schools must include a Building Commission approved tornado safe space or hallway in accordance with the ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters (ICC 500-2008).

Of course this means that materials for this safe space or hallway must also comply with tornado resistant standards, including doors.

Ambico tornado-resistant doors and frames look identical to their standard hollow metal and pressed steel counterparts, but comply with ICC 500 and FEMA #361 “Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters.” They’ve been tested as large as 8”x 8”, an industry leader, come in singles and pairs, may be fire rated in accordance with NFPA-80, and are supplied with a variety of locking options.

When tornado resistance is the law, top notch products are key – and Ambico’s products are leading the industry.

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

This video created by Joe Swaika, Associate Architect at Herrington Architects, illustrates another application of the in-door proximity reader installation mentioned in the December 21 entry on The Door Blog.

As you can see, when a person holds his prox card to the surface of the door on the right with the prox reader in it, an automatic operator is triggered on the opposite door and it opens to let the person in.  This application is perfect for accommodating persons in wheelchairs or with disabilities.

Recently Dillard Door & Entrance Control in Memphis posted an interesting YouTube video about long-lasting school doors. Titled Doors With More Life, it features their “try me free” promotion for school systems in their area.