Hotels, large 1.00 to 1.5
Hotels, small 1.50 to 2.0
Apartment houses 1.50 to 2.0
Office buildings 1.00 to 2.0
Office buildings, fireproof .50 to 1.5
Public buildings 1.50 to 2.0
Libraries .75 to 1.5
Hospitals .50 to 1.0
Residences, city 1.50 to 3.0
Residences, country 2.00 to 4.0
=145. Taking Off Hardware.=—The compilation of the estimate schedule
of finishing hardware for a building must be made from the architect’s
plans and specifications. Therefore, where possible, this work should
be done by a hardware expert or salesman, or by some person who has
the ability to read drawings easily and accurately and who is capable
of exercising thoroughness in every detail of the work. The first step
should be to study the specifications relating to the general work,
and especially that portion relating to hardware and carpenter work,
to see whether the latter embodies facts that affect the hardware. If
such is the case, notes should be made of the fact, and in many cases,
by following this rule, miscellaneous information can be gathered that
will be invaluable to the contractor and will prevent much doubt as to
requirements. The drawings should then be examined, to gain familiarity
with the building, the arrangement of the interior, and other details.
Having thus acquired a general understanding of the whole subject, the
compilation of the quantities may begin.
=146.= The list of hardware should be compiled in a systematic manner,
beginning at a definite point in the building and progressing through
the several rooms and floors in a definite order. This will insure the
inclusion of every part of the building and the careful consideration
of every opening or other place where hardware is required. For
example, in the case of a residence, it is customary to commence at
the front entrance, including the front and vestibule doors, passing
thence to the hall, taking each room on the first floor in due order,
passing to the second floor and taking each room on it in like order,
and so on until each floor is covered. The attic and basement are
usually left until last, because they require a simpler class of goods.
The same general system can be followed in the case of hotels, office
buildings, apartment houses, etc., the essential point being that an
orderly method be followed. The rooms should always be taken in natural
sequence, and all openings of similar character totaled and again
counted on the drawing, so that the chances of omission are minimized.
=147.= In the case of doors, it is necessary to make note of the size
and thickness, the hand, and the bevel, or rabbet, as required, using
in all cases three butts on all exterior doors, and also three butts on
all interior doors 7 feet or more high. The size of the butts should
in all instances be sufficient to cause the door to clear the trim.
The width of stiles and the general construction of the doors should
be noted, paying particular attention to the front-entrance doors, as
architects sometimes design these regardless of the hardware that is
to be used on them. Frequently, a careful scaling and scrutinizing of
elaborately designed doors will show a shelf effect returning back to
the lock stile, covering nearly half its width, just about where the
lock should be placed. Such defects can be remedied easily, if observed
in time, by directing the architect’s attention to them.
In the case of sliding-doors, it should be noted whether they are
single or double, what is to be the character of the hanger, or
rail, and the length of the run, and whether the door has a flat or
a half-round astragal. The width of the stile and the size of the
friction strip should also be noted, so that the hardware will not
conflict with the woodwork, molding, etc., as, where necessary, special
backsets can be procured on sliding-door locks to overcome this trouble.
Where double-acting doors are shown, always take note of the
thickness, width, and height, also of the width of the lock stile
and the height of the bottom rail, so that, if push plates or kick
plates are required, the suitable dimensions for them can readily be
estimated. The dead locks for these doors should be ordered with oval
fronts for single doors and oval fronts and strikes for double doors,
to allow for neat fitting to the rounded edge of the doors. Where kick
plates are required for double doors of this character, flush bolts
should be mortised into the edge of the door, so that the lower bolt
will not interfere with the kick plates.
=148.= In stating the information for windows, full details are needed
as to whether they are single- or double-hung, French casement,
stationary, or ordinary casement. Double-hung windows 20 inches or
less in width require only one sash lift. Extra-wide windows, such as
those over 36 inches, should have either bar lifts or two extra-heavy
hook sash lifts. The window stops should be studied in detail, so as to
estimate the number of screws that will be required for each window.
In the case of French windows, it is well to determine the height,
the width of the stile, whether the joints are rabbeted, beveled,
or flat, the hand, and whether the windows swing in or out; detail
cross-sections through head-jambs, casing, and lock stiles should
also be procured if possible. In casement sash, the pivoting should
be noted, so as to determine whether it is vertical or horizontal;
the swing should also be observed, and if the sash are to be hinged,
determine whether the hinges should be placed at the top, the bottom,
or the sides. As in the consideration of doors, the thicknesses and
sizes of all casements should always be noted. Sections through the
jambs, trim, and stiles should be taken at the points where the
hardware is to be applied.
=149.= In order to determine the kind and length of the lifters to
be used on the transoms, it is necessary to note the distance from
the floor to the center of each transom, also whether they are to be
pivoted or hinged from the bottom or the top, and how they are to
swing. The cross-section through side jambs and casings should always
be ascertained, in order to see that the hardware will be suitable to
meet the conditions of the trim.
=150.= It is necessary to learn all details of the pantry, including
the thickness and height of doors, whether they are double or single,
and the number of each kind. Note all drawers; those under 20 inches
in width require only one pull. The details of the flour bins should
be examined to determine whether they are to be hinged at the bottom
and are to tilt, or whether they are to be curved on plan and are to be
hinged at the side, as each condition requires different hardware.
=151.= Where unavoidable interferences are discovered, or where the
plans and specifications are obscure or defective, a note of the facts
should be made, and when all such matters have been collected, they
should be submitted to the architect for his decision as a basis for
final determination.
=152. Application of Hardware.=—Owing to the fact that hardware has
become more intricate in its manufacture and therefore more complicated
in its construction, it is found that the proper amount of intelligence
is not always exercised in its application. Frequently it is applied
so carelessly that the hardware practically loses its most essential
features. In the case of mortise-lock sets, all of the better grades
are made with easy springs, so that the door will close gently and
surely. However, this one feature alone is sometimes obliterated by
careless application. The trouble in this direction is principally
caused by the carpenter fitting the lock into the door untrue, and then
screwing the escutcheons to the doors out of plumb and alinement. This
causes the knob shanks, when rotated, to bind, or stick, in the sleeve,
or collar, of the escutcheon, thereby holding back the latch bolt after
the latch is withdrawn into the lock case. It is also found that proper
adjustment is seldom given to the knobs and spindles passing through
the escutcheons. In many cases when the hardware is applied carelessly,
the owner, not knowing the real cause of the trouble, condemns the best
hardware as being cheap and unsatisfactory.
In the application of cylinder locks for either front doors or office
doors, it is found that a great amount of inexperience is shown by
the average mechanic. In some cases, the locks are inverted, with
the cylinder below the knobs, when it is designed to be above; also,
sometimes, in reversing a front-door lock with night work, good
judgment is not always used.
=153.= Such troubles as those just described can be easily overcome,
and if the methods of applying hardware that follow are strictly
adhered to, satisfactory operation will be assured.
Reversing the ordinary mortise, or rim, lock requires no special
ability on the part of the workman, as the operation consists of merely
taking off the cap and turning over the latch bolt. Where, however, a
mortise lock is to be applied, care must be exercised so that it will
work properly. First fit the lock into the door at the proper height
from the floor, making the mortise large enough for the lock to enter
easily. Bore the holes for the knob and the key, and insert the screws
in the lock face and drive them home. Now take the escutcheons, or
roses, and knobs and apply them to the door, carefully adjusting the
knobs and spindles so that there is only slight play in the length.
Then true up both escutcheons, by holding one with the thumb and the
other with the fingers. When this much is accomplished, turn the knobs
right and left to see whether they work properly; if they bind in the
collar, adjust the escutcheons a trifle, vertically or horizontally,
until the knobs rotate back to the original position in both directions
without binding. By using a scratch awl and punch carefully, the exact
center of each screw hole may be located, and by holding the awl
perfectly true the screws will be started true. The escutcheons may now
be released and the screws driven home. If this method is carefully
followed, workmen will find that the latch bolt will work properly
in almost every case. Always try the knob, when the application is
completed, by rotating both to the right and to the left, and if found
to bind, always make the proper adjustment before leaving the work.
=154.= In fitting strikes to the jambs, it is suggested that the
workman locate them as low as possible, to conform to the locks,
leaving the margin in the strike below the lock bolts. Doors in new
buildings are liable to sag slightly, and if proper allowance is not
made, the strikes may have to be readjusted, sometimes even before the
contract is completed.
It is also necessary for the carpenter or superintendent to caution
the painters not to paint or varnish any hardware, especially the lock
faces, as this will also retard the operation of the latch bolt. As
previously stated, the hardware should be fitted to the work and then
replaced in the original packages, so as to protect it from abuse and
damage, applying it permanently only after the painting is completed.
=155.= In applying cylinder, or front-door, locks, the conditions are
still more difficult to overcome. When reversing cylinder locks that
have swivel spindles, unscrew the cap and reverse the latch bolt; also,
reverse the hubs, that is, the parts of the lock through which the
spindles pass. Cylinder locks should always be mortised into the door
at the proper height from the floor, and the holes for the cylinders
and knob spindles then made. Insert the lock into the mortise, but do
not put screws into the face; then apply the escutcheons and adjust
the knob, taking care that the swivel of the spindle centers at the
joint in the split hub. Now proceed to screw in the cylinder to its
full extent, so that the cylinder collar is held rigidly between the
cylinder and the escutcheon, and the cylinder is perfectly vertical.
Then set the cylinder adjusting screw, and insert the wooden screws in
lock face and drive them home with the screwdriver. Hold and adjust the
escutcheon so that the knob will rotate back and forth automatically
without friction, starting the screw holes with an awl. If the doors
are made of hardwood, an automatic drill will have to be used to bore
the screw holes. In such a case, follow the directions just given
regarding escutcheons; then start the holes with a scratch awl while
still holding the escutcheons, and enlarge the holes with the drill.
Screws that are off center, when driven home into the countersinking,
will surely draw the escutcheon so that the knobs will bind and thus
destroy the most desirable feature of the lock.
=156.= Mechanics will find that the better the grade of the hardware,
the more care must be taken in its application. Hardware for fine
buildings is generally furnished with high, or bracket-bearing, collars
on escutcheons and screwless knobs for adjustment without washers.
These are fitted and turned carefully, so that there is very little
play between knob shanks and collars, and for this reason they bind
more readily when improperly applied. The mechanic should try the
lock in every possible way before leaving the work. He should set the
stop in the lock face, to be sure that swivel spindles are adjusted
properly, and also insert the key in the cylinder, to see whether it
operates smoothly while operating both bolts.