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Posted By Kate Graham
I'd appreciate advice on the following.
If there is minor damage to a fire door (cracking at the bottom corner) is it essential to replace the door?
Also, if the middle of a double fire door has a smoke seal down one side but a gap at the other, is there any point? The door was installed like that and it seems a bit strange (fire officer didn't say anything about it when inspecting for fire certificate).
Thanks
Kate
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Posted By Philip McAleenan
Kate,
Provide the details of both doors to the manufacturer and seek information on whether the doors fire security function has been compromised. If yes, repair or replace the doors as necessary.
Re. The fire certificate, was the fire officer aware of the nature of the smoke seals when s/he carried out the inspection, i.e. was it specifically pointed out to him/her? Again, ask the fire officer to comment and advise accordingly.
Manufacturers and fire officers are much more appropriate advisors than we on this forum are when it comes to queries of this nature,
Regards, Philip
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Posted By J Knight
Hi Katy,
If there is a pair of doors it is usual for the seal to be on only one of the closing edges. A seal on both edges could stop the doors closing properly and might well actually compromise fire safety. As long as the single seal ensures that the pair is a smoke/heat barrier to the spec required it isn't a problem,
John
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Posted By Kate Graham
Thanks, John, for the informative response.
In case anyone else has, like Philip, misunderstood my question I will clarify it. I am not asking for an expert assessment of the condition of a particular fire door, but whether or not it is always necessary to replace a fire door that has slight damage to the wood.
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Posted By Philip McAleenan
Kate,
I did not misunderstand your question. Whenever you are concerned about the necessity to repair damage, seek information from those best placed to advise, in your case the manufacturers of your security doors. Safety advisors are not fonts of all knowledge and should not be treated as if they are. There is insufficient information in your posting for anyone to advise you other than to go to the manufacturer with your inquiry, And even if you provided a full description of the damage to your door, a competent safety advisor would still advise you to discuss the problem with the manufacturer or fire officer.
Regards, Philip
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Posted By Kate Graham
Philip, are you are therefore saying that in some cases the answer (on consulting the manufacturer) would be "no, there is no need to replace it"? This is all I am getting at.
I don't think it is unreasonable to imagine that this situation of slight damage to a fire door might have been encountered before by someone.
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Posted By Charles Robinson Tech SP
From the information provided, it may not apply in this case but damage to fire doors should be checked as many fire doors contain asbestos?
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Posted By J Knight
Hi Katy,
At my ex-employers' I issued a safety advice to site managers forbidding them from carrying out repairs to fire doors, but this was because somebody screwed a huge piece of wood back on after it had become detached; screws penetrating the body of the door and poorly finished edges on broken bits of wood will compromise the fire retardency of a door. However, I have also seen very good repairs carried out with properly finished edges, intumescent paint and heat resistant glues. So my answer will also be 'it depends'. How much damage is there, will a repair leave obvious flaws in the door's envelope, and how important is it to have a door which is guaranteed to meet BS? Because a repair could move the door away from the standard it has been built to; it may still meet the standard, but any guarantees or certificates it came with may well no longer apply,
John
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Posted By Kate Graham
Thanks once again John, that answers my question perfectly. I know that I'm going to be asked whether complete replacement of the doors is needed and if I can say "not necessarily" I am much more likely to be able to get anything done about them.
Fortunately I do know there is no asbestos in the doors.
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