In 1866, C.H. Campbell, a
Scotch-American veteran of the
Civil War founded a farm implement and hardware company
in the Newton Corner section of Newton, Mass. In 1924,
this company was sold to Robert W. Bell of Framingham,
Mass., another Scotch-American, who continued the
business as a retail hardware store. Gradually, as the
economics of the country changed, so did Campbell
Hardware. The company adapted to these conditions to
the point in 1958 that is was placing its emphasis on
the hardware specialty field now known as “contract
hardware.” Contract Hardware is explained simply as the
contract to furnish to the contractor a building project
all those products which are applied to doors and
frames. These products consist of hinges, locks, exit
devices, hydraulic door closers, protection plates, door
stops and holders, electromagnetic life safety devices,
key control systems, keying systems, weatherstripping,
and many other miscellaneous items. These products are
available in various types, designs, and finishes.
Robert McCabe purchased the company in 1965, and as it
was outgrowing its facility and expanding into hollow
metal frames, doors, etc., moved it down the street to
Watertown a few years later. The distributorship was
sold in 1995, so now the company is an independent
architectural hardware consulting firm with providing
detailed
specifications for all
building types with a serious emphasis interface with
access controls, building codes, and barriers
regulations.
The
area of contract hardware has been, and continues to be,
an area of “mystery” to most architects and building
contractors. It takes many years of apprenticeship and
experience to understand fully the complexity of this
field. One of the reasons for this field is the fact
that the value of hardware on any given project ranges
from .005% to .02% of the total cost of the project.
Therefore, the number of dollars assigned to this
segment of the building construction industry does not
warrant investment into the education of its
participants. In other words, hands-on experience is
the only know proven method of learning this trade.
CMI
has been recognized as one of the most knowledgeable
companies in this field by hardware manufacturers –
those with whom we deal and those with whom we do not
deal, by manufacturers’ representatives, and even by our
competitors. Architects hire us as a result of “word of
mouth advertising.”
Our consulting services include a review of the
following with the architect during the planning stages
of a building project
a.
Door and frame
materials for proper application of hardware.
b.
Openings to comply with
both model building codes, the Life Safety Code, Access
Barriers Regulations, NFPA-101, and ADA-Building Codes.
c.
Coordination of the
hardware (Section 08710) with other sections of the
building specifications, i.e. electrical, carpentry,
doors and frames.
d.
Allowances and/or
budgets for this section of the work.
e.
Assisting the
architects in evaluating shop drawings submitted.
We
have consulted with architects on projects worldwide
over the last 40 years on approximately 4000
specifications, acting as Construction Administrators on
2,000 of them. These contracts included hardware for
hospitals, public schools, colleges, universities,
government buildings, embassies, courthouses, office
buildings, banks, hotels, mental institutions, prisons,
historical buildings institution housing, housing for
the elderly, police and fire stations, libraries, and
manufacturing facilities. We are able to draw on a large
list of applications to solve almost any problem.
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