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Storefront Security Gates - Brooklyn, New York

Safety and Security Doors by Schweiss Doors

Safety and Security are a major concern for Business owners and operators during these times.

At Schweiss Doors we completely understand how important it is to protect your business and investment from vandals, intruders, and break-ins no matter where you are located.

Ranging for smaller entrances to larger industrial doors and gates, Schweiss engineers and custom builds every door to meet and exceed the security requirements for your property or premise.

Not only will you have the added protection and peace of mind a Schweiss bifold or hydraulic security door offers, your door will be attractive and match your business's chosen décor.

Pros of Security Doors:

•   Increased peace of mind

•   Deterrent from undesirables

•   Protection from harsh weather

•   Added safety to valuables

•   Defense from vandalism

•   Create the look you want

Storefront Security Doors in Brooklyn, New York provide safety and security

Storefront Security Gates - Brooklyn, New York

Schweiss custom-build Security Gates at Target protect their property

Target Security Gate

Bi-Rite Cafe has peace of mind with Schweiss Bifold Security Doors in San Francisco

Bi-Rite - San Francisco, CA

Pike Motorworks' industrial Apartment Gates in Seattle, WA specially selected to fit in with décor

Pike Motorworks - Seattle, WA

Raven Show Containers get Schweiss Liftstrap Security Doors to protect from harsh weather

Raven Show Containers - Los Angeles, CA

Security Restaurant Doors on Minnesota Fairgrounds meets look with special cladding and still meets safety requirements

The Hangar Restaurant - MN State Fairgrounds

Live Broadcast Security Doors on Minnesota Fairgrounds provides safety to valuable equipment

ABC Channel 5 Booth - MN State Fairgrounds

Bustling Restaurant gets Schweiss Straplift Security Doors to deter from vandals

Federales Restaurant - Chicago, IL

Schweiss Security Door looks meet brand's specification on storefront in Texas

Old Navy - Dallas, TX

Irish Pub has Security Doors built-to-size for kiosk's needs

Nine Fine Irishmen Pub, Las Vegas, NV

Schweiss Liftstraft Door in New York City at Yankee Stadium meets and exceeds security requirements

Yankee Stadium - New York, NY

Schweiss Security Storefront Doors protects store and still looks great

Under Armour - Baltimore, MD

Engineered Security Doors at Basketball Stadium custom built-to-size and protects event-goers from harsh weather

Golden 1 Center - Sacramento, CA

County Buildings' Schweiss Security Doors protect against vandalism and adds safety in Canada

NewMarket Operation Center - Ontario, Canada

Schweiss Straplift Security Doors on Art Gallery in Boston, MA are built-to-design and maintain attractive, chosen décor.

ICA Water Shed - Boston, MA

Irish Pub's Security Straplift Doors for Indoor/Outdoor Seating protect against the elements

Blarney Stone Pub - Fargo, ND

Cafe Security liftstrap doors in Georgia protect while giving peace of mind.

Cafe Intermezzo - Atlanta, GA

California Architectural Doors get Security Bifold Doors

California Institute of Architecture - Los Angeles, CA

Schweiss Security Doors on Restaurant Bar/Patio protect against vandals

TGIF Restaurant

Schweiss Security Doors protects merchandise at California Transit Station in Santa Monica, CA

California Bike Transit Station - Santa Monica, CA

Business owner and operators find safety and security in doors ranging from small doors to large industrial gates

Restaurant Storefront Doors

Schweiss Security Doors at Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse Portland, Oregon

Wide view of damaged Hatfield Courthouse prior to upgrading their defenses with Schweiss Security Doors

From Damage To Defense Portland's Courthouse Reinforced with Schweiss Security Doors

For over a year starting in the spring of 2020 the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon found itself in the middle of months of civil unrest. The courthouse endured millions of dollars in damages from shattered windows, graffiti, and fires.

Vandals left their mark on Hatfield Courthouse with graffiti prior to their upgraded defenses using Schweiss Doors Vandals Left Their Mark On The Building

Long after the daily protests had waned, a tall security fence surrounded the courthouse, keeping it cut off from the rest of downtown. The fence would finally come down only after 7 specially engineered bifold security doors from Schweiss Doors were installed, creating a more secure courthouse.

The doors were part of upgrades at the courthouse that followed the protests and riots. The federal government had appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars to secure the nation’s federal courthouses. Door improvements were one way to respond to that mandate.

“That courthouse got a lot of damage and they wanted to harden it,” said Theresa Brophy, president of RJK Construction, the general contractor for the project. “The government wanted to avoid all the damage that could take place. They wanted to be able to lock down the building but do it in a manner that didn’t look like a fortress at the end of the day.”

The unique structure and design of the courthouse required a creative solution. The public entry into the courthouse, on the western side of the building, is faced with several limestone pillars that direct people toward the main glass doors into the courthouse lobby. Any new security door feature would need to fit in between those pillars and be installed without requiring significant structural changes to the courthouse.

Several ideas were discussed, including installing roll down or sliding doors. It was the project’s architect, Soderstrom Architects, who had the idea of installing steel covered bifold doors between the pillars. The doors could then be lowered to completely block off the entrance into the courthouse.

View from the left of damaged Hatfield Courthouse prior to upgrading their defenses with Schweiss Doors Before
View from the left of repaired Hatfield Courthouse after upgrading their defenses with Schweiss Doors After

“It was just a unique idea that it went with the architecture of the building, and we could configure the Schweiss doors to fit,” Brophy said.

Schweiss Doors was chosen as the door manufacture. Yet this wouldn't be your run of the mill door project. First the door had to prove it could withstand extensive testing including three 30-minute force entry test and a one hour long simulated break in. Working with KPFF, a structural engineering firm, RJK Construction and Schweiss Doors designed and engineered the steel framework of the door to hold up to all sorts of abuse.

Simulated break-ins were performed on security doors from Schweiss, and the doors passed with flying colors Simulated Break-Ins Were Performed To Ensure The
Doors Would Keep
Bad Boys Out!

“We established how we could clad and reinforce the Schweiss Doors in order to get that 30-minute force entry rating,” Brophy said.

A test door was sent to Intertek in Baltimore, a quality assurance firm. The Intertek group tested the door frame and the special made steel plate brackets by Schweiss Doors, along with the steel sheeting created by Hanset Stainless that would cover the door and other areas of the courthouse entrance. The complete door package went through a battery of tests that included being beat with sledgehammers, stabbed with chisels and cut into by axes. It took a few tweaks to the design, but the door and cladding passed the test.

“This is not your typical airplane hangar door, there is something more to this door,” Brophy said.

Once it passed the force entry test, 7 of the exclusively designed Schweiss lift strap bifold doors, with the automatic strap latch were ordered for the project by Overhead Door Company of Portland, who were hired to install the doors.

“It was a unique project for us, we actually had never done this style of security door before,” said Ryan Stumpf, president of Overhead Door Company of Portland.

Six of the doors were 12-foot-8-inches by 13-foot-9.5-inches and the final door was 10-foot 7.25 inches by 13-foot-9.5 inches, perfectly sized to fit between the limestone pillars. The doors also included several safety features including top override switches, electric photo eye sensors, warning lights and horns and emergency back-up hand cranks in case the power goes out. The doors are able to open or close in 47 seconds.

Another interesting aspect of the doors was the weight. Since they had to be constructed to withstand a lot of force, they were manufactured with heavier gauge tubing than a standard bifold door frame.

View from the right of damaged Hatfield Courthouse prior to upgrading their defenses with Schweiss Doors Before
View from the right of repaired Hatfield Courthouse after upgrading their defenses with Schweiss Doors After

“Just one of them weighed as much as doors Schweiss as done that were four times the size. That is kind of mind blowing when you think about it,” Stumpf said.

An install supervisor from Schweiss Doors traveled to Portland to assist the team from Overhead Door. He was there to make sure the doors were installed correctly so they would work as designed. It took about four days to mount all the doors.

Schweiss security door in preparation to be mounted on Hatfield Courthouse - built to handle what others can't Built To Handle
What Others Can't!

“The Schweiss Doors install supervisor really helped get us off on the right foot. He helped us get the first four installed and then we took it from there,” Stumpf said.

A challenge the install crews had to work around was the site itself. There wasn’t a lot of space to move people and equipment, especially with the security fence still up, and the limestone pillars of the courthouse required a steady hand when moving the door frames into place. “It took a lot of pre-planning on the safety side and a lot of people communicating with one another,” Stumpf said.

Both Brophy and Stumpf said Schweiss Doors was a great partner in the whole endeavor, starting from the earliest days as the doors were being designed.

“We worked directly with Schweiss Doors quite a bit. The team over there was great. We had all these very specific things that had to fit together to make this work,” Brophy said.

Stumpf hopes that this will be the first of many projects he gets to do with Schweiss Doors. “Working with Schweiss was wonderful. I think the ordering process was great and a lot of heavy lifting was done by the Schweiss Doors team. It wasn’t a standard turnaround time design wise and drawings wise because they had to meet these new specifications,” Stumpf said. Now that the project is complete and the chain link security fence has been removed, visitors to the Mark O. Hatfield US Courthouse can get a close look at these special Schweiss bifold doors.

Interior view of the new Schweiss security doors installed on Hatfield Courthouse - when it has to work, it has to be Schweiss When It Has To Work,
It Has To Be Schweiss!

During the day the doors are open, providing access to the courthouse, but each night they are closed, creating a secure barrier. But it is a barrier that melds with the contemporary design of the courthouse and doesn’t look out of place.

“This was a very unique project for the Schweiss Doors team and for the RJK Construction team,” Brophy said. “We are so pleased that it all came together.”

“The bifold doors definitely gives the building a really unique look, I think it looks really good,” Stumpf said. “It is a prominent building in our city and one that is known. Anytime you do something like this, you want it to look good and it does.”

Strength You Can See, Dependability You Can Feel!

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