fire resistant doors?

ad_interim

Hi, how can I tell if the existing doors in my flat are fire-resistant? It's an ex local authority flat in London, purpose built in the 80s and all existing doors are the original ones (although 2 internal doors - kitchen and living room - were removed). Thanks.

[Deleted User]

If they are heavy, they may be fire resistant (but usually only placed in the kitchen), if not they are the usual cheap hollow doors (generally under £20 in DIY stores).

tacpot12

Check the thickness of the door. If it is not at least 44mm thick, it's not a fire door. If it is 44mm thick, take it off its hinges, if you can lift it easily, it's not a fire door.

You might also look for a label on the top or the door.

davidmcn

The missing doors would be of more concern to me than the ones which still exist. Often kitchen and living room doors are part of the fire precautions. Even if not particularly fire-resistant, any door is obviously better at containing smoke etc than no door.

00ec25

study some You Tube videos if you do not know what you are looking at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RQzl02C-NE

Murphybear

Talk to the local Fire Brigade. They should be able to send someone round to have a look. They are by far the best people to advise about anything to do with fire safety.

Norman_Castle

Why do you need to know? If yours were fitted as fire doors they should have self closers on them or signs on the door and frame where these have been removed. These are often Perko self closers fitted at about handle height at the hinged edge of the door.
https://www.safelincs.co.uk/perko-concealed-door-closer-rectangular-plate/

ad_interim

Thanks all. I'm extending the lease and the freeholder wants to change the terms of the lease to add a condition about fire doors.

There are 4 doors that are 50mm thick and heavy - the entrance door, 2 bedroom ones, and the utility cupboard one (where boiler and washing machine are). None have self closers. The entrance door is 3-hinged and has a metal plate letterbox fitted.

The bathroom door and a closet door are 40mm thick.

Lunchbox

Much of the advice above is not correct. Doors come with fire resistance ratings - FD30 doors provide 30 minutes of protection, FD60s 60 minutes. Look up the standards for these ratings for doors.

As an example, our internal doors are FD30s, they are light, don’t have self closers but do have intumescent seals in the frame and fire resistant paint.

If you have no compartmentation (i.e. doors) separating the kitchen and living area and your corridor this wouldn’t meet modern regs and the freeholder may see that as a particular issue.

Norman_Castle

ad_interim wrote: »

Thanks all. I'm extending the lease and the freeholder wants to change the terms of the lease to add a condition about fire doors.

There are 4 doors that are 50mm thick and heavy - the entrance door, 2 bedroom ones, and the utility cupboard one (where boiler and washing machine are). None have self closers. The entrance door is 3-hinged and has a metal plate letterbox fitted.

You need to find out exactly what the freeholder expects. Check building regulations. A few years ago regulations for flats changed to only requiring the final exit door to be a fire door with internal doors needing, from memory, to be "of good quality and close fitting" without a self closer. Its likely the freeholder will be expecting you to comply to current regulations.

davidmcn

ad_interim wrote: »

Thanks all. I'm extending the lease and the freeholder wants to change the terms of the lease to add a condition about fire doors.

There are 4 doors that are 50mm thick and heavy - the entrance door, 2 bedroom ones, and the utility cupboard one (where boiler and washing machine are). None have self closers. The entrance door is 3-hinged and has a metal plate letterbox fitted.

The bathroom door and a closet door are 40mm thick.

Does the lease permit the removal of the doors which are no longer there?