Neil ashdown

The panels could be third party certificated as part of a fire door-set, in which case the complete door-set would carry a certification scheme label or plug. But they don't have to be, working in scope of the evidence of fire resistance performance for the door is sufficient to achieve compliance to BS 8214.

Side panels and over panels for fire resisting doors can be of solid timber or glass, both are subject to a fire performance test or fire resistance assessment report. Solid timber panels would be made from the same core or blank as the door leaf - refer to the technical data for the particular door in question. With regard to glazed panels - the glass manufacturer will possess data to demonstrate fire resistance performance when used with a particular timber-based door type / door frame panel / glass retention system. This guidance document may be useful https://www.ggf.org.uk/publications/fire-resistant-glazing-publications/guide-best-practice-specification-use-fire-resistant-glazed-systems/ Currently in the UK, internal fire doors may not be CE marked.

Are smoke seals necessary given the use of the building and the location of the doors? Did any of the doors ever have smoke seals fitted? If you can identify the manufacturer of the doors to confirm their fire rating they may be able to recommend a suitable seal, otherwise you could contact a door seals specialist for advice. If smoke seals are necessary then, in my experience bat-wing seals fitted into the corner of the door frame rebate and at the corner of the astragal for double leaf doors are the most suitable, provided that there's room in the rebate to accommodate the thickness of the seal. As they are self adhesive, the surface will need to be very clean for them to adhere.

From what you say, Delboy, I am struggling to see how the fire door assessor has reached the conclusion that new doors are required. That's not to say that some upgrading wouldn't be recommended.

If you would like some fire door installation training you could 'google' "Fire door training". There are a few providers that have websites. Or if you don't require training, you could look at UKAS accredited third party certification schemes for fire door installation.

So have they given a reason why they must be replaced?

There has been no such change. I would push them about exactly why these doors do not 'comply' and what it is they do not 'comply' with.

If you are fitting a new fire door then the door leaf manufacturers installation instructions or fire performance certification will state door frame and rebate stop requirements. If you are working on old fire doors and without the possibility of checking with the manufacturer work on 12mm minimum thickness so long as intumescent strips are fitted. If intumescent strips are not fitted, my advice is to fit them. FD20/FD30 = softwood or hardwood FD60 = hardwood only You can use pins or screws, but stops must be securely fixed.

If the store rooms are small, used as cupboards and there is no self-closing device fitted to the door it must be kept locked. Fit a Fire Door Keep Locked sign to the outside face of the door. If the door is self-closing it does not need to be kept locked but must be kept shut. Fit Fire Door Keep Shut signs to both faces of the door. In Scotland the building regs state a maximum size for the cupboard for such scenarios. Guidance can be found in the document 'Code of practice: Hardware for Fire & Escape doors' at http://www.firecode.org.uk/

For metal fire doors there is no standard for this so it must be as required by the particular door manufacturer. However, generally I would work on 10mm max for a fire door and where smoke protection is required seal the gap to the floor with a threshold seal/plate combination. If it is impractical to fit a threshold seal then the gap should be 3mm max.

The floor mounted threshold plate should be at least as wide as the thickness of the door leaf. The threshold smoke seal should seal the gap along the entire length with a light even contact but not exhibit too much force and cause difficulty with the door self-closing action. If it is impractical to fit a threshold seal, the gap should not exceed 3mm at any point. For fire doors that are not required to restrict the spread of smoke the threshold gap should generally be 10mm maximum or whatever is required by the particular door manufacturer.

This can be difficult to resolve, you may need to invest in a high-power-size cam action self-closing device with an adjustable latching action. Speak to a competent architectural ironmonger or a self-closer manufacturer for advice. When adjusting the closing speed its best to set the speed to quite slow so that the air can escape more easily (reducing the vacuum) as the door closes.

The certification for the new fire door leaf will state the specification requirements for the timber door frame.

I would contact local building control on this one.

If you take the risk, one consequence could be a problem if you decide to sell the house. Another consequence could be a problem if there's a fire.

As you say, an auto-drop seal will not solve the 'soup-bowl' issue. And a static door bottom seal will either not fully seal the gap or cause the door to bind on the step. So there's a choice; fire door compliance or fire door non-compliance (BS8214). In my experience, non-compliance seems to be the popular choice.

Judging this in isolation. This defect appears to have been caused by the fixing screw being inserted without sufficient piloting. Fortunately, the split in the hardwood lipping appears to be slight. If the this is a new door installation, then the defect should not be accepted. The door should be repaired by re-lipping in accordance with its certification (if its a fire door). If the door is existing and say been there since the building was built, then ask yourself how long has it been like this? Let's say the answer is two years. Has the defect got worse in those two years? YES or NO From the picture, it looks like the answer could be no, so you could justify filling with acrylic wood filler and monitoring the defect.

Ha Ha......This is fire doors we are talking about. Thanks.

Table C1 at page 138 of Approved Document B of the Building Regulations deals with requirements for fire resisting doors in dwelling houses with loft conversion https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937931/ADB_Vol1_Dwellings_2019_edition_inc_2020_amendments.pdf For information about hardware / ironmongery for fire doors, consult the guidance document 'Code of Practice -Hardware for Fire & Escape Doors' at http://www.firecode.org.uk/

Metal fire doors do not have the same inherent properties of insultation and char behaviour as timber fire doors, therefore thickness alone is not necessarily a guide to fire performance. Contact the DHF https://www.dhfonline.org.uk/ for a copy of the guidance documents 'Metal Fire Door-set Verification' and ' Metal fire doors Code of Practice'

Carry out a risk assessment (RAMS). Is the door small or large / light or heavy?

My advice would be to not fit a full length mirror to a wooden door due to the weight of the mirror and its effect on the hinges and fixings as well as the shape (tendency to bow/twist) of the door over-time. In terms of it being a fire door, clearly where the weight of the mirror does have such an effect this could mean that in a fire the door could lose its stability (eg. warp, twist or bow) and cause the door to fail prematurely.

The decision would depend on the following factors: 1) How critical are the fire doors to life safety? 2) How critical are the fire doors to asset protection, where this is an important requirement? 3) Are the doors of historical importance or can they be replaced? 4) What level of competence is available in terms of the knowledge and skills of the maintainer/repairer? It is important to understand that repairs to fire doors can sometimes void the product certification for the fire performance of the door. However, the door should be maintained in accordance with the requirements of Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 so the maintainer/repairer should justify the decisions they make in terms of any repairs they undertake. Where the decision is made to replace rather than repair, a suitable fire door should be selected to avoid replacement with an inferior door.

The intumescent strip is best fitted in the door frame jambs and head so that it opposes the edge of the door leaf in the closed position. It should oppose at the mid point of the door leaf's thickness. Alternatively, the strip may be fitted at mid thickness to the vertical and top edges of the door leaf. Sometimes, if the doors have a higher fire rating there are two seals instead of one and on some double leaf doors there is sometimes a seal on both leaves at the meeting edge, but fitted offset rather than the seals opposing each other. A fire door leaf or fire door frame should not be grooved for a seal if one is not to be fitted. This is because it could potentially affect the fire performance of the seal fitted opposing the unoccupied groove. A fire door leaf should be a good fit in it's frame and should not rattle in it's frame in the closed/latched/locked position. Where a client has doubts about a newly installed fire door they should raise this with the installer. If necessary they could engage a competent fire door inspector to advise as a third party.

Fire door inspectors and fire risk assessors will be looking for a CE mark and a minimum durability grade 11 when they inspect the hinges of fire doors. This is because CE marking of construction products that have harmonised standards became a legal requirement from 2013. Therefore since that date manufacturers have been required to apply a CE mark to hinges that are used on fire doors. However, current building regulations require that hinges are: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937931/ADB_Vol1_Dwellings_2019_edition_inc_2020_amendments.pdf So if your fire door is a new one the hinges should carry the CE mark. However, it may be that your fire door was installed before the date when CE marking became a requirement, in which case the hinges may not be marked. What is important is that the hinges on your fire door meet the requirements of the door leaf manufacturers installation data sheet. This is because when installing a fire door it is important to replicate what was tested in the furnace. Here is a typical manufacturer's requirement for an older fire door: And here is one for a modern fire door: Clearly, when replacing hinges you should replace them all at the same time with the latest (therefore CE or UKCA marked) version of those hinges. There's more information in the Code of practice: Hardware for Fire & Escape Doors at https://docplayer.net/22285424-Code-of-practice-hardware-for-fire-and-escape-doors.html