Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Exit Signs and Other Ugly Things

[Katie Henry (katie-henry]

I think cast aluminum exit signs would look better than the standard white 
plastic. 


     http://www.exitsignwarehouse.com/category/cast-aluminum-exit-signs.html

I did some shopping for replacement exit signs and emergency lights to replace 
failed equipment, and they were all equally ugly. For the replacement emergency 
lights, I made a mistake in buying units that were smaller than the originals. 
There was damage to the wall from the original mounting brackets that was not 
covered by the new lights, plus the walls had been painted after the original 
lights had been installed and I didn't have touch-up paint, so the new lights 
had a circle of the old paint color around the base.

In defense of architects, it's pretty common for the fire marshal to come in 
very late in the process, sometimes right before occupancy, and require 
additional safety measures that may involve extensive electrical and plumbing 
work. I saw that at my former community. For example, the fire marshal decided 
that there should be a separate dry (non-freezing) sprinkler system on the 
roof, 
in addition to the wet system covering the building interior. I also saw him 
require hard-wired exit signs and emergency lights to be added or moved in 
office spaces after they'd been completely built out. He also required 
emergency 
lighting on the roof (in an urban area with enough ambient light to perform 
brain surgery outdoors at midnight). This is why architects and contractors 
dread the fire marshal's inspection. Sometimes there are legitimate safety 
issues that the fire marshal can see in person in a completed building that 
couldn't be identified on the plans. Other times, the fire marshal doesn't like 
your face and wants to make you suffer. You will never see more butt-kissing 
than when the fire marshal arrives for an inspection.