Neil Ashdown MAFDI

The guidance document AnthonyB refers to (I think) is 'Timber Panelled Doors and Fire' dating back to the 1990's but still relevant.

Hi Neil, You are correct there are some misleading statements doing the rounds. The first thing to say is that there's no legal requirement for fabricators at the joiners shop to have a dedicated fire door qualification and the same goes for installers. However, clearly better results are likely to be achieved where those operatives do have adequate training. The problem with fire doors is that its easy to fall foul of the requirements and finish up with a non-compliant fire door. Many certificated fire doors have strict trim allowances and so are only suitable to be used in their standard sizes, so fire rated door blanks may be a better option where openings are non-standard. Although of course where new fire door frames are to be installed it may be possible to add to the door frame thickness to suit standard size door leaves. The bottom line is that the fabrication and assembly works must be compliant with the fire performance test report for that particular fire door leaf, and requirements may vary from fire door leaf to fire door leaf. The correct and compatible hardware must be fitted and the installation works must again be in accordance with the requirements of the fire test report. Most door leaf manufacturers provide installation instructions, data sheets and technical manuals but the quality of detail within those documents does vary. Start by selecting a fire door leaf that not only is suitable in terms of fire rating but also in terms of durability and resistance to heavy use. Then obtain the technical manual/product data sheet for that fire door leaf. Follow the information therein being careful to observe the requirements in terms of fabrication, selection of compatible door frame, seals and ironmongery as well installation. Be careful to use the correct product for fire stopping between the door frame and the surrounding wall, some fire foams do not have test evidence for timber based fire doors. Also, be careful where air transfer grilles are required as these products do not offer cold smoke protection. You should provide a copy of the technical manual/data sheet for the door leaf and all other components that make up the fire door assembly for the client O&M manual. Furthermore in support of the fabrication/assembly/installation works it would be good practice to provide photographic evidence that the work has been done in accordance with the product data and installation requirements. Also, be careful to make sure you adhere to the requirements for cold smoke protection. The most important thing is that fire doors are fabricated, assembled and installed compliant to the evidence of fire performance so if you can demonstrate that's been done then your client should be happy. Ultimately, though your client may have there own requirements such as inspection and sign-off by an inspector or that products and installation works is third party certificated. In my experience, though, third party certification of some products and installation works is no guarantee of quality. Please don't be put off, go for it and provide a quality service for your client. We need more competent and diligent fire door contractors. Useful and important resources: Product technical manual/data sheet for the fire door leaf and all other components of the fire door assembly. BS 8214:2018 Timber Based Fire Doors, Code of Practice. Code of Practice: Hardware for Fire & Escape Doors. Information sheets about intumescent fire/smoke seals https://www.ifsa.org.uk/documents/ Hope this helps.

Yes the threshold can be carpet. However, if the door is required to restrict the spread of cold smoke (most fire doors will be) the gap between the door bottom edge and the floor covering should not exceed 3mm (reference BS 8214 and BS 9999) so it would be better to fit a threshold plate. This would make it easier for the correct threshold gap to be maintained.

Is it likely that the door will be subject to the weather or changes in humidity levels?

Hi Sam, There are various options. Google 'Fire Door Training' and search for details. And if you'd like to discuss please feel free to contact me direct via www.firedoorscomplete.com Regards, Neil.

Hi Tom, Clearly, using hardwood for the threshold plate allows you to 'plane-in' to achieve a better degree of gap accuracy. Other aluminium threshold plates are available and compliant to Part M Access Regulations. It is advisable to risk assess TRIP hazard vs SMOKE hazard before fitting a threshold plate to the floor.

Maximum gap under a timber based fire door should be 8mm to 10mm. If the gap is more than that then a threshold plate is required to reduce the gap to 10mm or below. Where the door is required to restrict spread of cold smoke (which will be the case with a flat entrance door) the maximum gap should be 3mm. Where the 3mm max gap cannot be achieved a threshold smoke seal should be fitted. Therefore the upgrading contractor should reduce the gap to 10mm before fitting a threshold smoke seal.

You can add a hardwood lipping to the bottom edge of the door. But if the floor is not level the hardwood lipping my need to be 'planed-in' to suit, also the door may bind on the floor due to uneven floor levels. I would start by checking floor levels and would first consider fitting a threshold strip to the floor and then deal with any remaining issues with the door leaf bottom edge.

Any competent person working on fire door repairs, maintenance, upgrades or installation should have sufficient understanding of fire and smoke separation issues. I would expect that person to, at the very least, have experience working on fire doors, be familiar with 'BS 8214 the code of practice for timber fire door assemblies' and the 'code of practice for Hardware for Fire & Escape Doors'.

Matty, Are you referring to intumescent gasket material? This material is fitted around the lock-case / latch-case and behind the forend and keep. It is commonly required for use with timber based FD60 doors but not always for FD30 doors depending on the door's test evidence and the lock case size. You should consult the door's data sheet with regard to permitted latch/lock and any requirement for intumescent gaskets.

Generally smoke seals may be interrupted at locks, latches, keeps and hinges. However, where extra large items of hardware have been fitted such as self-closers concealed at the top of the door/head of the door frame or large mortice locks, alternative type smoke seals should be used. Other types of smoke seals are available, such as compression seals fitted in the door frame rebate or blades in a carrier that can be fitted on top of the rebate stop to contact the face of the door, so there's no reason not to have sufficient smoke sealing. Also, don't forget the threshold. Clearly, double swing doors are more challenging in terms of smoke seals. For more info try the Intumescent Fire Seals Association at www.ifsa.org.uk

Hi Michael, Because gap sizes can vary so much you may have to use more than one fire stopping method. First of all, I should say that this subject is dealt with in detail by 'BS 8214:2016 Timber based fire door assemblies Code of practice'. Generally, for gaps up to 15mm you should completely fill the gap to the full depth of the door frame with tightly packed mineral wool. Make allowance though for a 10mm deep capping of intumescent acryilic sealant on both sides. The sealant should cap the mineral wool for a 10mm depth between the frame and the wall and not just to cover the surface of the gap. Intumescents are gap fillers and need surfaces to expand against under pressure, if applied to just a flat open surface they will just foam and fall away so they need to be inside the gap. This should be done all around the door frame to wall gap on both sides. Where the gap is up to 20mm, follow the same method as above but use tightly fitted 15mm timber or MDF architraves to overlap both frame and wall by at least 15mm. For small gaps such as 3mm to 6mm where use of mineral wool is impractical you should fill the gap as deep as is practically possible with intumescent acrylic sealant. For especially large gaps line the opening with continuous solid timber and fill any remaining gaps as above. Blue 60 is a new-ish product specially for timber fire door frames but minimum and maximum gaps apply to its use and the dedicated packers supplied with the foam must be used. So use in accordance with the product data sheet. Hope this helps.

Hi Giovitta, If you need to fit fire resisting doors and you need them to open as you describe then they will need to specified as double leaf, double action. This will make them quite costly because the timber door leaves will need to be suitable for that configuration and the correct pivot hinges and self-closing device will be necessary. My advice would be to think carefully about whether the doors need to be fire rated and if so whether the door leaves need to open in opposite directions. If its yes and yes, seek advice on a specific specification from a fire door specialist. The following document may be useful for reference purposes 'Fire safety in purpose built blocks of flats' https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fire-safety-purpose-built-04b.pdf

A coat hook fixed to a fire door using small gauge short screws would be OK.

Unlatched fire doors are common place especially in corridor situations where a latch would be an unnecessary hindrance. Check with the door manufacturers' installation instructions / data sheet that the door has suitable evidence of fire performance 'unlatched'. Similarly, make sure the self-closing device has evidence of fire performance for use with an unlatched fire door. The usual fire rated BS EN 1935 good quality butt hinges are suitable for unlatched fire doors. Section 3 of 'The Code of Practice: Fire & Escape Doors' at http://firecode.org.uk/Code of Practice 2009 Issue 3.pdf provides further information.

Hi YanS, The trim allowance depends on the type of fire door and this information is usually included on the installation instructions that come with each door. If you can find a label on the top edge of the door you should be able to trace the manufacturer and data sheet to find out the maximum trim allowances. Where it is necessary to trim doors excessively fire door blanks are available for this purpose. The threshold gap should be 3mm maximum for a fire door that is required to restrict cold smoke spread (this will apply to most fire doors) or where restricted cold smoke spread is not a requirement you should refer to the installation instructions or data sheet. It is not necessary to use intumescent paint, usual water based or solvent based paints are OK to use.

The contractor should have installed in accordance with the Standard and/or the door leaf (or door-set) manufacturers instructions.

That seems a big ask. Don't know how far you've got with this but suggest talking to International Fire Consultants to ask if they know of such a product. FD120 doors details at https://www.warringtoncertification.com/certifire/timber-door/fd120.html and at https://www.warringtoncertification.com/certifire/fire-doors.html suggest talking to manufacturers to what's possible.

Yes. If they are short fixing holes they can be filled with acrylic wood filler then sanded and painted over. Make sure the self-closer is suitable for use on that side of the door leaf, some closers aren't suitable for the push side.

If you are installing a new 27" wide fire door, the door leaf should come with manufacturers installation instructions. These instructions should include details about the frame and will normally state minimum sectional size (such as 32mm thick x 75mm wide) and the material its made from (such softwood or hardwood). So if you need to add a 20mm thick piece of softwood (or hardwood if it's FD60) continuous along the outside of the door frame jamb, then that's OK so long as the continuous joint between the two pieces is tight with no gap. If you are using the existing door frame you first need to make sure that the frame meets the specification stated in the door leaf installation instructions. Assuming that it does, you may add a continuous piece of 20mm thick softwood (or hardwood if necessary) to the inside of the door frame jamb so long as the piece is the same full width as the existing door frame jamb and the joint between the two surfaces is tight without any gaps. Use sufficient fixings just as you would if you were fixing the jamb to the wall. When fixing the hinges to the hanging jamb I would advise using longer screws to ensure a good fixing through the 20mm thick added lining and into the existing jamb. But not so long that they pass right through the combined thickness of the lining and jamb.

Fire door installation and maintenance contractors should be following the door manufacturers installation instructions as well as the recognised guidance documents 'Timber based fire door assemblies. Code of practice' from https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030332501 and 'Hardware for fire & escape doors. Code of practice' from http://www.firecode.org.uk/

Guidance documents may provide assistance https://www.thefpa.co.uk//index.cfm?originalUrl=advice--guidance/advice--guidance_detail.fire-risk-assessment-for-small-businesses.html&_tkn=CB6A295D-2DCD-4B28-945E3904FE96D915 and https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-risk-assessments

Hi Engineer, You say the door needs new glass so I am assuming its already glazed but that the glass is damaged. If so make sure the new glass is suitably fire resistant and that the repair work is completed using the correct gasket materials, hardwood bevelled glazing beads with pins/screws of the correct dimensions at the correct centres and angled towards the centre of the door core thickness. This document may be useful to you https://www.ggf.org.uk/publications/fire-resistant-glazing-publications/guide-best-practice-specification-use-fire-resistant-glazed-systems/ Do not attempt to cut an aperture for glazing to a fire door without first seeking expert advice.

Get advice from your local certificated fire door inspector at www.fdis.co.uk/inspector

The guidance document 'Fire Safety at Purpose Built Blocks of Flats' will be useful to you at https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fire-safety-purpose-built-04b.pdf