"Every friend that I have was shocked," said Mr. Martinez, a designer of architectural hardware.

Thereafter, the company started producing architectural and furniture hardware during postwar period.

Her father, a lawyer, is the corporate secretary of Esstar Inc., a producer of architectural hardware in New Haven.

The same applies to architectural hardware.

Replacing contemporary architectural hardware is relatively easy because most large home centers stock of variety of common styles.

Replacing historic architectural hardware is considerably more difficult, especially if it was manufactured in the last century.

Most architectural hardware is made from brass, bronze, iron or steel.

There are basically three sources for architectural hardware: antique and salvage dealers, reproduction manufacturers and neo-traditional outlets.

To find dealers who stock architectural hardware, look in the Yellow Pages and in the classified ads of antique and restoration magazines.

Ingersoll-Rand, a maker of construction equipment and architectural hardware, also issued a profit warning, and its shares fell $4.06, to $35.69.