[Fire door hinges]

On 29/09/2017 at 19:52, Tom Sutton said:

Single Axis Hinges

Hinges and latches have an important role in ensuring the integrity of the door. The fire door hinges must remain adequately attached, in spite of the charring of wood in the vicinity. It is common to use three hinges although tests have shown that with some doors two hinges may be adequate for a 30 minute fire door (FD30). Steel and brass hinges are effective for a half-hour door, but only steel hinges will be satisfactory for a 60 minute fire door (FD60). For the latter, it may be necessary to use hinges with extended flaps (broad butts) so that fixing is maintained even when severe charring has taken place.

BS EN 1935: 2002: Building Hardware Single Axis Hinges is the current European standard for single axis hinges and being able to understand the CE markings, provided when purchasing hinges, is of some importance. Guide to Interpreting Markings for Single Axis Hinges.

CE and BS marking simple tells you the the hinge has passed BS EN 1935 and may be suitable for fire doors, you need the documentation to decide if the they are suitable for fire doors by checking the coding system. 

Tom I recently visited a site that had 2 hinges fitted to a brand new FD30, the FM argued that 2 hinges were complaint. Although the hinges where CE BS 1935 marked I was not happy with them as they did not look wright and there was no sign of any intrumisent pads under the hinges so I stood by my decision.  I have since found ou that one of the pins had fallen out of the hinge and the door was found hanging by the bottom hing!

My question is when is it appropriate to use just 2 hinges and is this a old or new regulation.