Mike North

It is not a fire door, it’s a final exit door. Provided the door still opens, it is no worse than it was before.

Fire doors needing wholesale replacement at 18 years of age is a bit of an overreach. · What has the survey said about the individual doors? · When was the survey conducted? · When was the last inspection carried out? Fire doors should be inspected by a competent person every · Residential >11m 3 months · Residential <11m 6 months Fact sheet: Fire doors (regulation 10) States However, there is no requirement to replace a fire door simply because it does not meet the current standard under building regulations if the door remains in full working order from a fire safety point of view. Fact sheet: Fire doors (regulation 10) - GOV.UK

Although a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) can be undertaken for an unoccupied building, the assessment may no longer remain valid once the premises are occupied, as occupancy can materially alter the building’s risk profile and operational conditions. The Regulation 38 fire safety information should be reviewed prior to occupation, and a pre-occupation inspection of the premises should be carried out to identify any obvious omissions, defects, or non-compliances. Any identified issues should be referred back to the contractor for rectification before the building is brought into use. A full FRA should then be undertaken after a short period of occupation, once the use of the premises, occupant behaviours, and management arrangements can be properly observed and assessed.

Personally, I wouldn’t be too interested in a couple of coats of varnish. The problem is when they are revarnished multiple times. Check the certificate Do not paint or varnish over intumescent seals, smoke seals, hinges, self-closers, labels/certification marks, or other fire-rated hardware

In England and Wales, the answer is generally no: a private single-family house used as a family residence or holiday home does not automatically become subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) simply because domestic staff are employed there. Key points: The FSO applies to workplaces and certain other non-domestic premises. GOV.UK describes the FSO as applying to “all workplaces and the common parts of buildings containing 2 or more domestic premises.” [gov.uk] Ordinary domestic premises are generally outside the scope of the FSO. The purpose of the Order is not to regulate fire safety inside a private family dwelling in the same way it regulates workplaces and commercial premises. [legislation.gov.uk] However, the presence of staff introduces an important qualification: If parts of the property constitute a workplace for employees (e.g., butlers, nannies, chefs, cleaners, security staff), the enforcing authority could regard those workplace areas and activities as falling within the scope of the FSO, even though the building is principally a private home. The fact that staff work there does not necessarily mean the entire house becomes subject to a full FSO fire risk assessment as if it were a hotel, care home, or commercial premises. The legal position depends on whether the premises are considered a workplace for the purposes of the Order and how the domestic-premises exclusion applies to the particular circumstances. On the facts you describe: Single-family private residence/holiday home. No staff sleeping in the house. Staff present only to support the family and household. Those facts point strongly toward the property remaining primarily a private domestic dwelling, and there is no clear rule that the employment of domestic staff alone creates a legal requirement for a Fire Risk Assessment under the FSO for the whole house. That said, there may still be duties under: General health and safety law as an employer. Employment law obligations toward staff. Insurance requirements, which often require some form of fire-risk review regardless of statutory FSO applicability. Because the boundary between a purely domestic dwelling and a workplace can be fact-sensitive, if this concerns a high-value estate with multiple employees, I would recommend obtaining a fire-law opinion from a specialist fire safety consultant or solicitor. The precise issue is not simply whether staff are employed, but whether the premises (or parts of them) are treated in law as a workplace under the FSO.

Check the doors burn certificate, BS 8214 requires that fire doors must be installed in accordance with the test evidence. But i doubt that you will find one that states "fit a door stop to reduce threshold gap" ADB states "Fire doors should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions and relevant product standards." BM Trada stated "The doorset must be installed exactly as tested and detailed in the manufacturer’s installation instructions."

If there are 3 or more unrelated people then the property is a house of multiple occupancy, and the HMO regs come into force In the UK, the key regulations governing fire doors in HMOs include: The Housing Act 2004 The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 Local Authority HMO Licensing Conditions Building Regulations: Approved Document B

Fire-rated front doors are required in terraced housing under three specific circumstances: Flats or Apartments: If the terraced house has been converted into separate flats, any front door opening onto a shared communal corridor or internal stairwell must be a certified fire door (usually FD30S Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs): If the terraced property is rented out to three or more unrelated people who share facilities, it faces strict fire safety laws. The main entrance door and individual bedroom doors must be fire-rated. Mixed-Use Buildings: If the terraced property contains a shop, office, or commercial business on the ground floor with a residential home above it, a fire-rated door is required to separate the two zones. For a standard, single-family terraced home, there is no legal requirement for the external front door to be fire-rated, as it leads directly outside to safety rather than into an enclosed shared escape route. As for the 1.8m this requirement applies only when the external route is a designated escape route under Building Regulations — typically: a protected route serving multiple dwellings a route that forms part of a building’s formal means of escape a walkway or path that must remain tenable during evacuation It does not apply to: ordinary pavements shared front gardens the public street the gap between two neighbouring front doors in a terrace. The 1.0m rule — but it applies in very specific circumstances: It applies when: A building is being constructed, extended, or materially altered The wall in question is close to a relevant boundary The purpose is to prevent fire spread between buildings It does not apply when: Two existing houses already sit side‑by‑side in a terrace No building work is being done to the neighbouring house A fire risk assessor is simply reviewing an existing building The opening is not part of a new or altered wall under Building Regulations

Without looking at it myself This could go from. If the new unit is under the same occupant as the original, then as long as there is no fire load, I would note it and class it as tolerable. To If they aren’t under the same occupancy, the window should be rated as FD60 (as a minimum) You need to look at Part G Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency

Is the window an escape window, does it comply with ADB para 3.6? If yes then can the fencing be moved to create and escape corridor? Once the works are completed, will the new works continue to cause a problem?

The door needs to be fire rated. If the front door to your client’s property is stout and robust (a solid wood) they can usually be brought up to a nominal spec, you would need a specialist to advise if it could be done and if it would be cost effective. As for the next door, small spherical objects!

If the windows comply with ADB para 2.10, there is no requirement on a 2-story dwelling house for a protected escape route, therefore the doors don’t need to be fire doors. It would only be an issue if there were another floor. For a dwelling house, the maximum travel distance 18m from the furthest point in a bedroom to a protected exit or place of safety. You may need something doing to the window restrictors

Yes, see para 2.11 of ABD

Have you thought of a free swing door closer TS 5000 RFS 3-6 | GEZE

A storeroom does not necessarily need a fire door, it all depends on the flammability of what is so be stored in the room, cardboard and spare furniture I would not regard as a major risk as long as it is controlled and does not become a dumping ground. If the distribution board is in a fire rated enclosure, then there is no need to put it behind a further fire door. Use a camera to take a picture of the top of the door, it may be a fire door, just not set up as one as the cost of the doors are not that different. The major difference is the sealing and inspection.