Paulgiv

Thanks for that Neil. I'm surprised that smoke seals haven't already been fitted to the doors which have got intumescent strips.

Hi, I've got a two part question. Do intumescent strip seals have a finite life before they need to be replaced? Does a communal fire door in an existing building require smoke seals in addition to inumescent strips in order to be compliant with FSO 2005? Thanks.

Just as a follow up, I had a meeting with the management company on Tuesday. When presented with documents I had researched, they admitted that they could not force residents to upgrade their front doors. They said that the directive had come down from the freeholder but I pointed out that the management company had a responsibility to ensure that any instruction or directive passed on by them was in fact legal. The management company said that new legislation was imminent (post Grenfell) which will require action by residents. I said there is no point is wasting money when we don't know what any new legislation will require. I priced up the parts required to make the existing doors FD30 compliant. They already have intumescent seals fitted but would need a new door closer, letterbox and fireproof hinges. The cost of those parts would be £53. I reckon fitting would take no more than 1.5 hours labour. I told the management company that their £360 quote was ripping off elderly residents. I said that if the freeholder was so keen to upgrade the doors, they should offer to fund the labour costs and the residents could pay the £53 material costs. They weren't interested in spending any of their own money.

Thanks Neil. The quotes I gave in my previous post were actually taken from the link you gave. As far as I can see, the door met all the requirements for fire doors when the building was constructed and the management company can't force the residents to comply with modern standards. I spoke with my mother in law by phone today and she confirmed that the doors are 44mm thick but the door closer is of the perko chain type, which is probably what they want changing but they want to charge her £360 for the privilege. I can get a decent EN1154 closer for £22.

Thanks Anthony. According to the property management company, a fire risk assessment carried out at the property identified that the doors do not meet FD30 standard. They do not say why they don't meet FD30 standard. Last year the management company arranged and billed the flat owners for additional fireproofing for the doors but apparently they still don't meet FD30 standard. From what I gather, the additional work was fitting intumescent seals. They have now given an estimate of £300 plus vat for the work required. This does not include the door itself which they say *should* be fine. As the door already has a door closer, I can only assume that the hinges, letter box and spy hole need replacing but that's a lot of money. From what I've read in the Local Government Association's "Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats" document, and I quote:- "When a block of flats is designed and constructed, Building Regulations make requirements in respect of various fire safety measures. However, there is no ongoing control for the maintenance of these measures under Building Regulations". "There is no requirement under the Building Regulations for upgrading existing fire safety measures to current standards. However, existing non-compliances with the current Building Regulations must not be made any worse in the course of alterations or building works" It seems to me that the property management company wish to improve fire safety standards within their building (and understandably so) but want the resident leaseholders to pay for this. The residents are all elderly and with limited income. It seems to me that there is no legal basis to force the residents to upgrade their flat doors but I welcome evidence to the contrary. Thanks.

Thanks for your reply. You say that there is a legal duty to ensure that the entrance door leading into a common area is fireproof but does that mean the door has to meet the very latest standards rather than the standards in force when the building was constructed? If that's the case, its possible that the residents could be stung for a new door every few years as standards change.

My mother in law lives in a private flat along with about 50 other flats. I'm joint owner of the flat although I don't live there (its predominantly for retired residents). The flats were built in 1989 and all have their original front doors leading into a communal hallway. The property management company have written to all residents and informed them that they must replace their existing front doors with FD 30 standard front doors at the owners expense. Are they allowed to mandate the fitment of FD 30 doors in an existing building? Thanks in advance.