Justin Brady of Door Tek of Nashua removes the door to Concord City Hall on Monday morning, September 12, 2022. Brady and his team was able to replace the door before the rain came on Tuesday.
Justin Brady of Door Tek of Nashua removes the door to Concord City Hall on Monday morning, September 12, 2022. Brady and his team was able to replace the door before the rain came on Tuesday. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER

There’s a new set of doors on Concord City Hall that are easier to open, lose less energy, and aren’t as dilapidated as the old ones.

That’s well and good but there’s one bit of bad news for traditionalists: The mail slot is gone.

“We’re not going to put in that mail slot. That defeats the energy efficiency,” said Jay Burgess, public properties superintendent for the city.  Documents that need to be dropped off are now placed in a mailbox out front.

The $19,841 replacement of the old wooden doors – Burgess wasn’t sure exactly when they were installed – was prompted by the installation of a new system for swiping security cards to gain access after-hours, which couldn’t easily be done with the dilapidated existing doors.

The new insulated steel doors are custom-made to resemble the old wooden ones and will require less force to open to meet ADA standards.

David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor.com. Sign up for his Granite Geek weekly email newsletter at granitegeek.org.