Neil ashdown

The contractor doing the remedial work to the fire doors does not have to possess any particular certification or qualifications BUT they must be COMPETENT. Refer to Article 17 and article 18 of the fire safety order. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/article/17/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/article/18/made

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Yes! When inspecting the self-closing function of a fire door, the inspector should check that the door self-closes from any opening angle.......fully-open to only-just-open. Suitable self-closing devices will have adjustment for latching action as well as closing speed. Any binding of the door on the floor covering, door frame, seals or latch strike plate etc. should be resolved before adjusting the controls of the self-closing device. For the self-closing device to function correctly it is necessary to install the closer-body at the correct position in relation to the door leaf for the required power-size (minimum size 3 for a fire resisting door) and install the closing-arm assembly in the correct location and arm configuration. This might be useful from 'Code of Pactice: Hardware for Fire & escape Doors' at http://www.firecode.org.uk/Code_of_Practice_hardware_for_fire_and_escape_doors.pdf

Hi Adam, A drop seal will not be a substitute for a hardwood door lipping, in most cases. If you are installing a new fire door the installation instructions will state the maximum gap allowed at the threshold. This is usually somewhere between 6mm and 10mm from the bottom edge (the timber edge not the seal) of the door to the floor surface or threshold plate. It is necessary to comply to maintain the door's fire rating. Most fire doors are also required to provide smoke protection (at ambient temperature), in which case the maximum threshold gap is 3mm. If 3mm cannot be achieved due to floor conditions, then a static threshold seal or drop-seal will be required to close the gap, but the gap between the door bottom edge and the floor surface must still not exceed the door manufacturers requirements (eg. 6mm to 10mm). If the door is not new and the specific gap requirement unknown, work on a maximum gap of 10mm for a timber-based fire door and 3mm where smoke protection is required. If the gap is more than 10mm use a floor mounted threshold plate or suitably lip the door bottom edge with hardwood to reduce the gap accordingly. Then add a suitable threshold seal to provide smoke protection where necessary. See image below...............

Hi Andrey, Is this similar to the layout for your flat? But with just two bedrooms, one living room and one kitchen?

Reference to the document 'Fire Safety in Purpose Built Blocks of Flats' at https://www.local.gov.uk/fire-safety-purpose-built-flats will enable you to decide on the fire rating requirements for your internal doors. The requirement for the flat entrance door will be FD30(s) minimum and must be fitted with a suitable self-closing device.

In order for the doors to be installed as compliant, its better to replace the door frame for a number of reasons. A major one being that some timber-based fire doors have very limited scope for trimming the edges to fit existing frames.

If the door is an entrance door to your flat and opens onto a common area inside the building, its most likely that the door you need will be rated FD30(s).

Just to add that, there is a requirement that the lock-set is fire rated and installed in accordance with the fire door manufacturer's requirements.

Use this search facility to find a fire door inspector https://fdis.co.uk/find-an-inspector-2/ Enter your post code to find local fire door inspectors.

It is acceptable to router a groove in the top and vertical edges of the timber-based fire door leaf or leaves. The groove should be central to the leaf thickness except at the meeting edges of double door leaves where two offset seals may be a requirement. Do not fit a seal to a slave leaf that has flush bolts at its meeting edge, fit the seal to the main leaf instead. The groove must be only just large enough to accept the seals as a tight fit. Take care to make sure the groove is only just deep enough to suit the seal thickness as the seal must be flush with the door leaf edge. If you can find a BWF Certifire label (see below) on the door leaf you can refer to the CF certification data sheet for details about the type, configuration and size of seals required. If the groove will damage the BWF Certifire label, carefully remove it and reposition it alongside the groove.

The standard for timber-based fire doors is BS 8214 and section 9.5.2 says: "Failure of fire resisting doors under test is very often due to burn-through at the operating gap between the door leaf edge and the door frame. A typical gap to achieve good fire performance is between 2mm and 4mm". So the question is: can you justify acceptance of gaps of slightly more than 4mm? 1) Are you happy to make a note in your Fire Risk Assessment that the fire doors have been inspected and that some of the gaps are non-compliant, but that you find this acceptable in certain circumstances? 2) Has the C.O.W. checked that the cold smoke seals are effective? An excessive gap will affect the smoke restriction performance of some types of cold smoke seal. 3) Could such non-compliancies have any impact on the safety of persons at the building in a fire? Post-Grenfell some flat entrance doors were tested by the Government and found to fail at 15 minutes rather than the required 30 minutes. This non-compliance was considered sufficient for the government to require that some fire door manufacturers cease production until further investigations were completed.

The requirements to comply with Building Regulations can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832633/Approved_Document_B__fire_safety__volume_2_-_2019_edition.pdf Appendix C deals with fire doors and states that they must meet the required fire resistance requirement when tested to BS 476 - 22 or EN 1634 - 1. Therefore, as I understand the requirements, your bespoke design will need to be supported by documentary evidence. Fire door manufacturers will be able to provide you with maximum leaf dimensions and suitable configurations but I am not aware of a single leaf door that meets your specification. https://www.eclisse.co.uk/classic-double-fire-rated-pocket-door-system/

Clearly, keyless egress is a useful life protection measure in an emergency scenario. If you need to open the door in an emergency and the key is not to hand that could increase the risk to life safety. However, my understanding is that in England & Wales, the Fire Safety Order 2005 does not apply inside your own private home. Check at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made and you could check Building Regs at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b Or you could retain the keyless egress but use a security chain to help restrict the door being opened, when it shouldn't.

I would advise you to consult a local building regulations expert on this matter. In the meantime, this may be useful? https://www2.gov.scot/resource/buildingstandards/2016Domestic/chunks/ch03.html But check for recent updates!