Jump to content

      



























Photo

Vancouver bans the doorknob


  • Please log in to reply
63 replies to this topic

#1 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 10:40 AM

In September, Vancouver council adopted new amendments to its building code, effective next March, that, among other things, will require lever handles on all doors and lever faucets in all new housing construction.

 

It is not like the doorknob will disappear entirely. Like many inventions, it will hold its own for a long, long time. There are, after all, a few people who still use typewriters instead of computers. Vancouver’s rule is not retroactive to existing homes. But over time, the effect will become magnified as housing is replaced.

 

 

http://www.vancouver...l#ixzz2kyCny2ya

 

Huh....


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#2 sebberry

sebberry

    Resident Housekeeper

  • Moderator
  • 21,503 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 26 November 2013 - 11:24 AM

I could understand if they were to adopt a policy requiring all public buildings to use levers instead of knobs, but to force this on new construction is silly.

 

Let the homeowner install the knob or lever he/she wants. 

 

When will we require all new homes to have handrails in the shower and staircases with lifts for people with arthritic ankles? 


Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network

Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams

 


#3 Sparky

Sparky

    GET OFF MY LAWN

  • Moderator
  • 13,115 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 11:56 AM

^ Actually this is a good idea. I put levers on all doors and plumbing and they work much better, especially in emergency conditions. It's all about safety. You can still open a door with your feet if you break both your arms in a fall down the stairs.

 

Interesting note that Vancouver is a "Charter" city and can have different building codes than the rest of the Province.


  • stormy likes this

#4 sebberry

sebberry

    Resident Housekeeper

  • Moderator
  • 21,503 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:01 PM

I agree that levers are more convenient than knobs.  All hell broke loose when one of our levers in the building broke and I temporarily replaced it with an old knob we had laying around.  I prefer them because I can still use them when carrying boxes or groceries. 

 

But shouldn't this be a consumer choice issue?  Maybe you have a dog named Houdini and knobs are the only way to stop him from escaping from the mudroom when you leave for the day.


Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network

Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams

 


#5 Sparky

Sparky

    GET OFF MY LAWN

  • Moderator
  • 13,115 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:07 PM

^ No problem, just change the handle on the mud room door the day after the building inspector leaves. Better yet, install a keyed passage set like I did on my bedroom door when the kids were small. :)



#6 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:26 PM

You can still open a door with your feet if you break both your arms in a fall down the stairs.

 

 

 

I practice this semi-annually (when I change the smoke alarm batteries), I can open knob-style with my feet.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#7 sebberry

sebberry

    Resident Housekeeper

  • Moderator
  • 21,503 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:27 PM

You mean I have to change the battery in the smoke alarm? :confused:


Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network

Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams

 


#8 D.L.

D.L.
  • Member
  • 7,786 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:30 PM

Some lever handles can't be pulled up, only pushed down. They should all be able to move in either direction



#9 sebberry

sebberry

    Resident Housekeeper

  • Moderator
  • 21,503 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:32 PM

I wonder if these would be banned?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odA_OaVA0PU


Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network

Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams

 


#10 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:57 PM

Those are pretty cool, but might as well just have a spring ball-bearing stiker plate thingy.  Then just whack the door anywhere.

 

mhVd_cYHtG1qSFHdgg439kw.jpg


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#11 jonny

jonny
  • Member
  • 9,211 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:17 PM

In this instance, I actually agree with the government bureaucracy. Levers are way safer. If the government can require the plethora of requirements already legislated in the building code, then certainly they can legislate this.

 

VHF you may be able to open a doorknob with your feet, but there’s no way you can argue that levers aren’t easier to do so. Personally, I have opened lever doors with my knee when my arms have been full of stuff.



#12 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:21 PM

In this instance, I actually agree with the government bureaucracy. Levers are way safer. If the government can require the plethora of requirements already legislated in the building code, then certainly they can legislate this.  

 

... and houses with no windows, other than the bedrooms (for egress) are much more energy-efficient than homes with lots of windows (even when accounting for daytime lighting needs).  Should the government legislate that?  Or mandatory alarms and monitoring, or banning swimming pools at homes without a lifeguard etc.  Where did personal choice go, even if it's a "safety" issue as you suggest jonny.  Banning candles, or cooking after 10pm, would prevent a lot more deaths than insisting on door levers.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#13 sebberry

sebberry

    Resident Housekeeper

  • Moderator
  • 21,503 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:29 PM

Little children might poke their eye out on the lever, but it appears a Japanese company is already working on a solution:

 

handles.jpg


Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network

Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams

 


#14 jonny

jonny
  • Member
  • 9,211 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:39 PM

... and houses with no windows, other than the bedrooms (for egress) are much more energy-efficient than homes with lots of windows (even when accounting for daytime lighting needs).  Should the government legislate that?  Or mandatory alarms and monitoring, or banning swimming pools at homes without a lifeguard etc.  Where did personal choice go, even if it's a "safety" issue as you suggest jonny.  Banning candles, or cooking after 10pm, would prevent a lot more deaths than insisting on door levers.

 

Personal choice around building and construction codes went out the window a long time there VHF. I don't know how you missed it!

 

What about plumbing codes? So what if I want my toilet water to flow out of a tube out of the side of my house. It's my property and my personal choice god damnit!

 

Electrical schmelectrical codes? My home has knob and tube wiring and I'll be damned if the government will tell me otherwise!

 

Fire alarms and egress signage in multi-tenant buildings? Over my dead body! My building my rules.



#15 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:43 PM

^ Can you find me a story where a person died because they could not grasp the door knob?  I can find you lots where there was shoddy electrical etc.  I mean, having a "dead-man" switch* on your stovetop would save hundreds of lives in North Amercia every year, and that would be easy for stove manufacturers to build in, a tiny bit of software/hardware.

 

* ie. you must attend to it (they can use a sensor like in a bathroom towel dispenser, knows you are standing before it) every 5 minutes or it switches off.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#16 jonny

jonny
  • Member
  • 9,211 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:48 PM

^ Can you find me a story where a person died because they could not grasp the door knob?  I can find you lots where there was shoddy electrical etc.

 

I honestly don't care about arguing with you today. I would guess the burnt up dead person would have a hard time explaining why they couldn't escape. On the other hand, pinpointing the cause of fires seems to be pretty routine.

 

IMO this is a small, common sense change in a building code that is constantly updated that will not negatively impact a single person's life in a material way. Most new construction I have seen lately has door levers in lieu of door knobs anyway.



#17 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 01:51 PM

IMO this is a small, common sense change in a building code that is constantly updated that will not negatively impact a single person's life in a material way. Most new construction I have seen lately has door levers in lieu of door knobs anyway.

 

Good, then why legislate it?  It ain't saving significant lives, my suggestion will.

 

I've always said reducing highway speeds to 50kmh would save thousands of lives every yea, but we ain't doing that either.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#18 D.L.

D.L.
  • Member
  • 7,786 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 02:09 PM

Anyone ever get a belt loop on their pants stuck on a lever handle?

#19 Bingo

Bingo
  • Member
  • 16,666 posts

Posted 26 November 2013 - 03:59 PM

Some lever handles can't be pulled up, only pushed down. They should all be able to move in either direction

 

That might work if you install the handle upside down and put the hardware on the same side of the door as the hinges.  



#20 sebberry

sebberry

    Resident Housekeeper

  • Moderator
  • 21,503 posts
  • LocationVictoria

Posted 26 November 2013 - 04:02 PM

Anyone ever get a belt loop on their pants stuck on a lever handle?

 

Yes, actually.  And I'm pretty sure I've ripped at least one piece of clothing on the damn things too.


Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network

Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams

 


You're not quite at the end of this discussion topic!

Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
 



0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users