Fire Doors and Accessories

Hello, I’m a surveyor, I’ve been recently tasked with surveying a lot of doors in and around London and keep coming up against the same problem which is the bottom of the doors have a gap greater than 8mm, as this is not ideal my clients have been ordered to reduce the gap, before becoming a surveyor I was a carpenter with 22 years experience and have always cut and lipped (with hardwood) my own fire doors whether it be to reduce or in some cases extend the door, I am now being told that this is no longer the case, so my question is can we still cut and lip fire doors ? Thanks

Hello, Last year I purchased a second floor apartment which was purpose built in 2003. The main door from the communal area into the apartment is a fire door with multipoint locking system. The springs in the door mechanism are no longer working and so I was looking to replace either the gearbox within it, or the old unsprung door handles with new sprung ones. As this is a fire door, am I right in thinking that all the fittings also have to be fire rated as I am unable to find any that are. Thanks

Hi, I work in a supported housing unit for the elderly which have self closing fire doors in the main corridors. The unit is only staffed during the hours of 8am until 10pm and these doors are kept open during these hours. I have been advised to now not close the fire doors at the end of my shift and to keep the fire doors open all night when the unit is unstaffed. I would have thought it was a legal requirement to close these doors during the night and have concerns that the correct procedure is not being followed. Can you advise?

Hi I'm about to replace a standard door closer with a Geofire Agrippa acoustically operated one. The template for drilling the holes for the closer arm partially overlaps where the existing closer was mounted and this was bodged slightly so I'm going to have to drill out the old screw. Horizontal positioning presumably whilst important is not as critical as vertical, so would it matter if I moved the closer arm (and therefore main unit) a couple of inches either way? Thanks David

I am secretary of the residents’ association for a block of 57 retirement flats. Each flat has a 30min fire door onto the access corridor. One of the results of a recent fire and safety inspection was the instruction that the simple magnetic door catches, that have been fitted, by residents, on the entrance doors to some of the flats, must be removed. His reason for this instruction was as they could prevent the doors fulfilling their purpose as fire doors. This instruction was not well received by our residents, who enjoy the privacy of their own homes and, as such, do not leave their doors wide open at all times. The magnetic catches allow residents to hold…

I'll be fitting a fire door along with appropriate FD30 hardware (hinges, latch, and handle) to a boiler cupboard in a residential property. The door is being supplied with pre-fitted intumescent air transfer grilles and seals. The boiler cupboard is located in the ground floor hallway, so opens out into an escape route. My question is this - is a door closer required? Or would it be suitable to fix a 'Fire Door Keep Closed' sign instead? I'm aware that fire doors generally require some form of automatic closer, but I am unsure whether this applies to fire doors that open into a utility cupboard such as this. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated. …

I need to upgrade some of the internal doors of my flat to FD30 doors. However, it looks like it will be difficult to remove the original frames due to how they are integrated into the wall. Are there any provisions or measures that can be taken that will allow us to use the original frames and just replace the doors? Note, the original doors are not fire doors and the partitions that the doors are set into are only 80mm wide (though I believe that the partitions are plastered brick rather than timber stud). Many thanks Charlie

I was wondering if somebody could offer me any advice on the entrance door into my flat? I've found the blue plug in the attached picture on the door which i believe means it is an FD30 fire door. If this is the case, does that mean I would just need to get a carpenter to fit a closer and intumescent smoke strips? I'd appreciate any advice anyone could offer at all. - Thanks in advance,

Hi , I have purchased an old fish and chip shop, do I need self closing fire doors leading from the frying area at the front of the shop leading into the kitchen at the back ?

Does anyone know of a manufacturer/website that can supply an angled fire door for the understairs cupboard?

Having googled and searched this forum to no avail I'm hoping someone here can help... A site has FD30's fitted with 25mm door stops. I'm in the process of fitting maglocks to them and on one door I have to mount it vertically on the side (the door has a curved top), in order to stop it sticking out further than necessary I was wondering if I could cut out a 20cm section of the doorstop and fit it there? Google only seems to mention gaps in the intumescent strips and nothing about a continuous door stop. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Can someone tell me if a fire door designed to be kept locked shut requires a door closer to be fitted such as in a small laundry room in an educational establishment which is occasionally used by educational sraff but kept locked the majority of the time when not used to prevent children accessing the room.

Hello, I live in block of flats and the landlord asked me to change my external door for a fire door. However, 2 years ago someone told me my door IS a fire door. I have no labels on my door. How do I find out if my door is a fire door and who can give me a certificate for it if possible? My door's width is 45mm. Thank you.

Hi, could you tell me do linen cupboards in care homes, need to have fire doors, I should say that most of them do open on to escape routes. Thanks

Our building is two storey dwelling connected with another two storey dwelling. Each dwelling have two flats. I live on the top first floor and when open the doors there is a landing outside with length of around 4metres. It connects further to stairs landing we share with the other top flat. Our doors are old wooden with large window and not fire doors. I would like to replace it. Do I need to fit fire doors? Is the landing/balcony like/ a communal area if we are the only one using it? I understand the stairs are communal but it’s far from my doors. …

Dear fire door experts ... I live in a block of flats and someone is trying to persuade us that all the flat's front doors need replacing, but I'm not convinced. The block was purpose built in 1985 with 6 floors and 20 flats. It has a single stairwell, and on each floor there are two fire doors separating the stairwell from the landing. On each landing there are either 3 or 4 flats and AOV windows. I mentioned the AOV windows and the layout only because the impression I get is the block was built with consideration for fire safety. All the staircase and front doors are original. All the front doors have concealed door closers and a 1" door stop. In fact all th…

Hi I have a 3 storey house which is being renovated, new roof, rear extension, bathrooms etc. It's an old Victorian house and has always been 3 storey. Part of the renovation involves moving the two staircases which lead from the 1st to 2nd floors. Are we required to fit fire doors to all habitable rooms leading off the exit route from the house? Thanks

Hi, I live in a three storey building in HAckney. My landlord is a housing association. We had the building painted about 9 months ago and the painters removed signs on the doors in the middle of the long corridors on each floor that read "fire doors". These doors have magnetic attachments to close them. The painters did not reattach the "fire door" signs on these doors; the are half way down the corridor and lead to the fire exit at the rear of the building; I have complained to the property manager that these were previously marked as fire doors and need to be closed to comparmentalise a fire, if one happens and protect access to the fire exit. She is now saying that it…

I'm just enquiring if it is a legal requirement for me to have fire doors in my home . I live on the 1st floor of a maisonette, there are already fire doors on every room, 2 of which need replacing as the handles had gone and due to the council not repairing them they are now broken where my children have shut themselves in. The council have made me wait at least 6 months as they keep sending people out to measure for the doors and then cancelling the appointments. I got cross with them today and have now been told that it's not a legal requirement to have firedoors. I'm confused. Oh, there is no fire escape on my property either. I hope you can help

Hi, I'd like to know if there are restrictions on the sort of handle I can use on a fire door. The handle in question is screwed on, and made of aluminium. Also, can I bolt the handle on? ie. drill through the door for the bolts, the bolts would be covered by an existing brass plate on the inside of the door (restaurant kitchen - door leads to hallway). Thanks

Hi can you help please. I work in the care industry as a property manager and wish to confirm the protocols for a subsequent fit of spy glass in a client's bedroom door. So long as these are fire rated can these be self fit or do they require professional fit and certification. I would have thought the latter. Can you also confirm the max base gap allowed under a fire door.....Can it be up to 10mm. regards Kevin

Hi I live in a retirement home with my wife. We have a ground floor 1 bedroom flat with 3hr fire doors with closures fitted. Our front door opens onto a corridor. My only concern is the patio doors. These open into the gardens but the doors open inward. My worry is if there is a fire or accident and fall in front of these doors. People will not be able to open them. The block of flats are about 18 years old. Is there any rule stating which way the patios should open

Good afternoon all, in a small office building I wish to change the layout slightly and add another fire door. My question is, with the existing door near to the corner and this opening up against the wall where I want to install my new door, is there a minimum distance they need to be apart, so as to function correctly and so that people leaving through the doors don’t bump into each other. Does it make a difference what way the doors open. I realise the new door would have to be at least clear of the existing opening door leaf but does it need to be further.If there is, where is the measurement taken from/to. Hope that makes sense.Many thanks.

Good morning, In a small office block there is a fire door leading onto a stairwell. This door opens out and is located towards the corner of the stairwell. If I want to rejig the layout of the floor and put another door in the wall where the existing door opens onto, what is the minimum distance along that wall from the existing door will the new one have to be. Many thanks

I live I a converted building containg 3 flats. One of the leaseholders advised he has had a fire door fitted but it appears to be a second-hand door with a piece added (around 4 inches) to the bottom of the door! It us very obvious as the top/original door is painted with the addition being bare wood. I am assuming this cannot be done?