[Spacing on Intumescent Hinges]

Hi can you please tell me how far apart i must place the intumescent hinges on my fire doors?

You need three hinges and the top and bottom one fairly close to the edges to avoid warping of the door in a fire. Guess what - the third one goes smack on in the middle!

[Fire door retainer]

Hi

I have seen a few of the Dorgard fire door holders in a nursing home and am considering buying these for my workplace (offices with 3 rooms). The offices are now getting really stuffy and we would like to keep the doors open. But some of the doors are fire doors and we are not supposed to wedge them open. Do we risk a fine by buying these door holders?

No risk of fine! The Dorgard is the perfect solution when you are retrofitting fire door retainers (go for electromagnetic fire door retainers when you are building from new and have a fire alarm panel). And totally legal (certified to BS EN 1155) for most applications and certainly the one you described. Only exceptions are fire doors leading to stair cases and to high risk areas such as kitchens and boiler rooms.

[pipe collars in ceiling]

We have extended our living space into the loft area above the garage. The toilet pipe goes through the ceiling of the garage and we need to protect the pipework from carrying flames from the garage into the toilet area. Are we allowed to place a pipe collar within the ceiling rather than on the underneath of the ceiling?

Yes, of course, the whole point of the collar is that it stops the fire coming through by expanding. In actual fact having it BELOW the ceiling would be no good, as the intumescent would be able to escape elsewhere!

[cut off for cooker]

Common problem, yes - mothers

You need a gas detector with shut off valve. Make sure you search for gas detectors for natural gas or LPG (depending from what your mother uses). Sometimes people get confused with carbon monoxide issue! Not related at all. CO (carbon monoxide) is the problem AFTER gas is burned. The explosion in your mum's kitchen is the problem BEFORE the gas is being burned! Look for AMS S/2 LPG and Natural Gas Alarm. Then link a gas shut-off valve to it.

Cheers