Special-Lite.com
800.821.6531
info@special-lite.com
Special-Lite Headquarters
860 S. Williams Street
Decatur, MI 49045
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Research Proves
Special-Lite Doors Perform
As the Government of Canada’s premier research and technology organization, the National Research Council (NRC) is uniquely qualified to evaluate the merits of any product or technology, and the validity of any claims made about it. With over 50 specialized laboratory, testing, and office buildings to maintain in a sprawling campus in Ottawa, Ontario, they have learned a thing or two about doors that didn’t live up to their billing.
To evaluate Special-Lite Doors, which were relatively new to the Canadian market at the time, NRC was offered a pair of promotional doors to try on a busy employee entrance that had been prompting service calls on a regular basis. The problem opening was updated with a pair of Special-Lite SL-15 monumental doors and aluminum tube frame, and has been operating trouble-free ever since. Based on NRC’s experience with that opening, they tried some Special-Lite SL-17 doors. Now, when exterior doors are replaced on NRC buildings, they are Special-Lite doors!
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An Entrance that Brands
a building– and Endures
Many Peoples Bank locations feature an entrance with a nearly identical design, a circular shape and arched framing. This entrance, however, is the first to feature Special-Lite products. According to Mike Nolan at The Lazzaro Companies, the original drawings called for aluminum-clad residential doors to achieve the overall look the designer wanted. However, Mike advised the bank that Special-Lite was the way to go for this opening, since he had experience using Special-Lite doors in the past. He understood that residential doors do not accept commercial hardware well and are certainly not as durable as commercial entrance systems. With support from the contractor, Mike worked with Special-Lite to come up with the opening you see in the photo.
Every entrance product at Special-Lite is made-to-order. This enables us to make a one-of-a-kind entrance that communicates a company’s brand and leaves a lasting impression on all who enter.
Creating a Lakeside Dining Experience, One Door at a Time
The owners of the Landing Restaurant decided to create a delightful lakeside dining experience. They accomplished this by making wise product selections, one door at a time, that would enhance the surrounding ambiance of this favored destination.On the main entrance and lakeside side entrances, The Landing chose a painted white aluminum stile and rail door with a mid-rail. The painted aluminum surface is easy to clean and offers protection from corrosion in a wet environment. For the service entrance and restroom doors, they chose a wood grain textured FRP/Aluminum hybrid door for the natural look of wood without all the disadvantages of a wood door. They went one step further and asked Special-Lite to ‘plank’ the surface for a beachy feel.
“We knew that the location, being near the water with the humidity, could be corrosive and harsh on the building products we used. We also believed the level of activity we generated would place a significant demand on the architecture and facility. These reasons are exactly why we chose Special-Lite for our building entries and other framing and partitioning solutions," Preston Parish, the owner of The Landing explained.
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The 50-page booklet measures only
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Speak the language of doors with fluency with this pocket-sized Glossary.
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From historic to modern, religious facilities serve a higher purpose. Their architecture often speaks to this elevated view. Special-Lite offers custom door panels, custom lite kits, and made-to-order entrance systems that seamlessly blend into your architectural vision for these facilities.
Beyond the door, these entrance systems can include sidelites, divided lites, transoms and more in aluminum or fiberglass. Anodized or painted framing and painted, stained, or through-color door panels ensure an exact match to the owner’s desire.
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From waste water treatment plants to data centers, these facilities perform critical functions with requisite security measures in place. Doors in this arena often must provide exceptional performance. From standard products to fire doors, ballistic-rated doors, hurricane-rated doors, and doors that fare well in corrosive or wet environments, Special-Lite addresses the needs of this market. Even such mundane matters as our ASHRAE-compliant thermal performance seems to matter here.
Bottom line: if it’s a critical facility, choose a critically strategic partner like Special-Lite.
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Your clients who own and manage commercial facilities know that certain architectural products can enhance the space and contribute to such goals as visitor experience, occupancy rate, tenant satisfaction and retention, energy efficiency, sustainability, and resale value. In turn, that means that researching and selecting products based on their specific objectives is an imperative.
But that task doesn’t have to be tedious when it comes to entrance systems, exterior and interior doors, and interior framing and glass walls. For these and other facilities, Special-Lite products create lasting value and enhance the space while contributing to owner objectives.
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Facilities in the public sector present real challenges in design, operations, and maintenance. These buildings must comply with rigid codes that often go above and beyond those in the private sector. They must provide for the safety and security of occupants and visitors. They must set the example in terms of energy performance, sustainability practices, and green building certifications. And, where appropriate, they must preserve their historical integrity.
In an era of tight O&M budgets, the proper upfront selection of building products, including interior and exterior doors, becomes essential.
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Like all the diagnostic and treatment tools used in this arena, the healthcare facility can contribute to the care, recovery, and safety of staff and patients. The design and operating practices of hospital and related buildings can enhance the patient experience and influence employee productivity. And yes, even interior and exterior doors have a role to play in this experience.
Special-Lite interior and exterior doors can help alleviate some of the major concerns in healthcare facilities, including environmental infection control, ADA compliance, energy consumption and maintenance and
repair costs.
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The top facility issue for your clients here is functional and visual appeal. Let’s face it, their entrances and interior doors work hard. But they can also contribute to, or detract from, the guest experience. All Special-Lite doors, from our full fiberglass doors, our FRP and aluminum hybrids, and our aluminum stile and rail doors, were engineered for high use and even abuse.
Yet, we also set aesthetic trends by creating doors that brand and by partnering with identity hardware manufacturers. From the front entrance system to the highly abused kitchen or delivery door, we offer the solution that this market requires.
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We’re the original “school door” company. Since 1971, architects who specialize in the educational arena have relied on us for their projects. Our interior and exterior doors and frames and our bathroom partitions are specifically engineered for high-cycle, high-abuse applications and will always outlive the bond that funded their purchase.
Students are rough on doors. They are full of energy and most times have their hands full of books, sporting equipment, or their phones. Coming or going they’re always in a hurry and give little thought to the treatment of building products. Such scenarios would challenge a lesser door—but not a Special-Lite door.
Religious Facilities
Critical Facilities
Office Buildings
Public / Government Buildings
Healthcare Facilities
Restaurants & Retail Establishments
Educational Institutions
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Our custom fabrication capabilities make Special-Lite Entrances ideal for many applications, including:
Markets we serve best
FR Series
SL-23
SL-22
SL-21
Click here to view our full range of options.
Color options are practically limitless! We have many combinations of colors and textures to choose from.
Rollover the swatches to view just a select few samples of what we have to offer!
We offer two types of fire door construction, each with a mineral core: pultruded fiberglass framing (FR Series) and fiberglass face sheets in stainless steel casing (SL Series).
FR Series products are available in fire ratings from 20 to 90 minutes. The SL Series are available in fire ratings from 30 to 90 minutes.
COLOR OPTIONS
CONSTRUCTION
RATINGS
Fire Doors
(SL-21, SL-22, SL-23, FR series)
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gallery
Product Options
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SPECS
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LITERATURE
specs & literature
AF-200, AF-217, AF-219-1, AF-220
AF-100
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Color options are practically limitless! We have many combinations of colors and textures to choose from.
Rollover the swatches to view just a select few samples of what we have to offer!
These products feature a tough layer of pultruded fiberglass over flexible cores including closed-cell foam, lighter-weight EPS, honeycomb polystyrene, and ballistic or blast rated fiberglass material.
The versatility of fiberglass is demonstrated in these finish options: AF-100 and AF-200 = glass smooth; AF-217 = pebble grain texture; AF-220 = sandstone texture; AF-219-1 = contemporary woodgrain.
COLOR OPTIONS
CORE OPTIONS
FINISHES
Fiberglass Doors
(AF-100, AF-200, AF-217, AF-219-1, AF-220)
Product Options
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SPECS
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LITERATURE
specs & literature
gallery
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SL-20
SL-19 & SL-19-1
SL-18
SL-17
LITES
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Color options are practically limitless! We have many combinations of colors and textures to choose from.
Rollover the swatches to view just a select few samples of what we have to offer!
We offer standard rectangular and circular lite kits and intrusion-resistant framing—all made to a requested size. But you can think of the face sheets of these door as your canvas. If you envision a custom lite, we can bring your vision into focused reality.
Door construction facilitates unequalled versatility. Consider the aluminum casing, fiber reinforced face sheets, closed-cell foam core and integrated lock and closer reinforcements. These doors can accommodate virtually any common or specialty hardware—factory or field installed.
COLOR OPTIONS
HARDWARE
FRP / Aluminum Hybrid Doors
(SL-17, SL-18, SL-19, SL-19-1, SL-20)
gallery
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Product Options
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SPECS
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LITERATURE
specs & literature
gallery
click to view
Click here to view our full range of options.
Color options are practically limitless! We have many combinations of colors and textures to choose from.
Rollover the swatches to view just a select few samples of what we have to offer!
We offer standard rectangular and circular lite kits and intrusion-resistant framing—all made to a requested size. But you can think of the aluminum face sheet of this door as your canvas. If you envision a custom lite, we can bring your vision into focused reality.
The SL-16 is the most versatile aluminum flush door imaginable. It can accommodate virtually any common or specialty hardware, including identity hardware. Special-Lite can install any hardware as part of the order or it may be field installed.
COLOR OPTIONS
LITES
HARDWARE
Aluminum Flush Doors
(SL-16)
Product Options
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SPECS
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LITERATURE
specs & literature
gallery
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Aluminum Stile & Rail Doors
(SL-14, SL-15)
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Color options are practically limitless! We have many combinations of colors and textures to choose from.
Rollover the swatches to view just a select few samples of what we have to offer!
The SL-14 offers a medium stile width of 3.5” and 6.5” (165mm) top and bottom rails. The SL-15 is our wide stile model with 4.75” (121mm) stiles and 6.5” (165mm) top and bottom rails. Each offers an ADA-compliant bottom rail (10” or 254mm).
These doors can accomodate any common and specialty hardware associated with monumental doors. In addition, our exclusive mid-panel can provide for flush pulls, hidden proximity sensors, as well as identity branding.
COLOR OPTIONS
STILE WIDTH
HARDWARE
Product Options
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SPECS
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LITERATURE
specs & literature
Fire Doors
(+Ballistic / Blast Related Models)
Fiberglass Doors
FRP / Aluminum Hybrid Doors
Aluminum Flush Doors
Aluminum Stile & Rail Doors
What can we help you build?
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Every opening is unique...
as is every door
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& Entrance Systems
Non-Residential Doors
