Moving to the Gateway

I have been slowly spreading the word that I will be moving from Tampa to St. Louis mid-July to start an exciting new job with Hager Companies. I am lucky enough to have been offered a job that merges my knowledge of the door and hardware industry with my passion for social media. 

I have been selling Hager products for the entire 20 years I have been in the industry. It started with hinges and as Hager branched out to locks and closers, I did too. I found that both the locks and closers were great products, at a reasonable cost and with lifetime warranties.  That beat any other product that I could offer. My customers have been satisfied with Hager products.  And by satisfied I mean I never have any complaints about the products! I feel I have grabbed the brass ring to have this opportunity to be a part of the Hager Team!

As excited as I am about my new opportunity I am sad to leave my home for the last 17 years and most especially the friends that I have made here. I have been blessed to have lived in an amazing neighborhood called Seminole Heights and have never experienced anything like it. People care in this community. People share in this community. I will miss the many yappy hours, yoga parties and game days. I will miss the sore muscles that come with constant belly laughs when we gather together. I will miss my new Relay For Life crew members that I have had the joy of working with over the past 9 months.

I know the friendships will survive the new distance and we will become familiar with Skype and Facetime.  I also know I will be back to visit though I am sad the dogs probably won’t see their girls, Trixie and Carsen, again.

In the meantime I am working on downsizing my belongings. That alone might be an entire blog post!  The house currently has a contract on it. Again, amazingly blessed that neighbors were ready to upsize with their growing family and thought my house, with its big backyard, would be perfect. 

The only less than bright spot has been trying to find housing in St. Louis.  I think I have it settled now.  If this is “the place” I can’t wait to share it with you!  Waiting for a lease to be emailed to me so I can sign and send a deposit!

July 12^th is my last day with a-fabco and I roll out of Tampa on July 19^th. 

Getting the Grade

http://www.ryancompanies.com/

I attended one of my favorite customer’s 75^th anniversary party last week. While mingling I met an architect and the conversation drifted to hardware.  As always when I meet an architect the question I ask is what frustrates you most about hardware?

In this case the answer was the different grades of locksets. The architect went on to explain that he primarily uses mortise locksets but he knows they are the "top of the line" and sometimes his clients prefer something less so.

 

As I was explaining the different grades and how he might be able to value engineer I thought this information might make a good blog post.  Aren’t bloggers always thinking that!

The Builder’s Hardware Association (BHMA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) developed grading requirements for cylindrical and mortise locksets to ensure quality and performance from builders hardware.

Strength, performance, and construction are all included in defining the three grades of locks.

Hager Grade 1 3400 Lock

Grade 1 is the highest performing rating. A Grade 1 lock must be capable of performing through 800,000 latches and unlatches without failure. It must withstand 700 lbs of force per inch for lever locks.

Grade 2 is a medium grade and capable of operating through 400,000 cycles while withstanding 450 lbs of force per inch for lever locks.

Grade 3 is the lowest grade. It must operate for a minimum of 200,000 cycles and withstand 225 lbs of force per inch for lever locks.

In my opinion how to choose what Grade of lock is appropriate is less about the building and more about each individual door opening. After reviewing specifications for 19 years I know Grade 1 is the most popular choice.  These locks should be used on exterior openings that don’t require an exit device and any interior opening that gets heavy traffic but there are other less used openings in a building that a Grade 2 lock may be used and in turn save the owner money. I haven’t yet used a Grade 3 lock in a commercial application.

A couple of examples:

Locksets at schools get a lot of abuse! Every exterior opening should have Grade 1 hardware both for security and abuse factors.  Any interior openings at middle and high school that kids use should also have Grade 1 hardware. What kids can do to a lock never ceases to amaze me. However at a single bathroom in the teacher’s lounge a Grade 2 might be acceptable.  

In another scenario a Grade 1 lock at the entry doors into a tenant space in an office building is a smart choice for security. The offices, bathrooms and storage rooms, depending upon the tenant employee/visitor numbers, a Grade 2 would be a good choice.  

Manufacturers typically offer the same lever & rose styles for both Grade 1 and 2 locksets so all the locksets will be uniformed even when mixing different Grades.

There is a lot more information available but hopefully this provides a basic outline for you.

Thanks!