30 minute fire doors... How much to have one fitted?

valve90210

valve90210

valve90210

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Hi All.

Having been living in the flat I'm in for 6 years and with our sale mere weeks away, the housing trust who owns the building have done a fire assessment and decided that the upvc front door we have is most likely not 30 minute compliant.

We have to either provide evidence that it is... Which we can't as it probably isn't, it's the old one from my parents house which they changed a while back and is a good 20 years old.

The alternative is to get a door fitted that does comply.

Looking online I'm struggling to find much info on the cost of such doors. Seeing as we will only be here for another month at most I don't want to spend a penny more than I have to.

Does anyone know the bare minimum I have to do to comply?

I will call local fire protection places on Monday to find any information I can but in the meantime I'd just like to hear that it won't cost too much! Lol

For further info, the flat is on the first floor and the front door opens out onto a small communal outdoor concrete landing with concrete stairs to the downstairs. It is only a two storey building if that makes any difference.

Any help much appreciated!
 
Does the door have to be glazed or can it be a solid door.

You should able to use a 30 minute fire door, as it's a external entrance to a individual flat on a communal landing.

Wickes do a 30 minute rated flush ply door for £27:88p (30") & £39:99p (33"), you also need to buy the Self-adhesive intumescent strips must be attached to door or frame, you also need to add to your costs, door furniture, handles, locks,hinges, varnish or paint,etc.
A bit out of touch with chippie costs to fit a door.

30" Door: http://www.wickes.co.uk/lisburn-ply-veneer-fire-door-1981x762mm/invt/200294/
33" Door: http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/205848/?source=123_75

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/208572?w=208572

The Wickes fire doors are very good for the price, used a few myself.

EDIT: Have a look on top, some times bottom of your present door for a fire rating stamp, mark, being a old door, there might also be a BWF colour plug on inside edge of door, indicating fire rating.

http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/
 
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Can you not just wait for it to come up in the buyers' searches then offer a goodwill contribution? Can they really stop you even trying to sell your flat due to this?
 
Nightglow said:
Does the door have to be glazed or can it be a solid door.

You should able to use a 30 minute fire door, as it's a internal entrance to a individual flat on a communal landing.

Wickes do a 30 minute rated flush ply door for £27:88p (30") & £39:99p (33"), you also need to buy the Self-adhesive intumescent strips must be attached to door or frame, you also need to add to your costs, door furniture, handles, locks,hinges, varnish or paint,etc.
A bit out of touch with chippie costs to fit a door.

30" Door: http://www.wickes.co.uk/lisburn-ply-veneer-fire-door-1981x762mm/invt/200294/
33" Door: http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/205848/?source=123_75

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/208572?w=208572

The Wickes fire doors are very good for the price, used a few myself.

EDIT: Have a look on top, some times bottom of your present door for a fire rating stamp, mark, being a old door, there might also be a BWF colour plug on inside edge of door, indicating fire rating.

http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/
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Don't know if it needs to be glazed door or not, will check with the housing trust on Monday.

Needs to be an external doors as the communal area (maybe landing is not quite the right word) is external.

As far as I can see there is nothing to indicate any further rating on the current door.




Robbie G said:
Can you not just wait for it to come up in the buyers' searches then offer a goodwill contribution? Can they really stop you even trying to sell your flat due to this?
Click to expand...

I did consider leaving it but if the door needs to be replaced, I'd rather do it as cheaply as possible and get to keep the existing door as the house we're moving to could do with a new back door and we could use this new for that.. Or sell it to get a bit back.

I never said anything about anyone stopping us selling...? :confused:
 
Why have you got a pvcu front door internally? A fd30 door is cheap and cheerful, stay away from the stick on intumescent strips and go for the routered ones
 
maccapacca said:
Why have you got a pvcu front door internally? A fd30 door is cheap and cheerful, stay away from the stick on intumescent strips and go for the routered ones
Click to expand...

Routed strips will bump up the price considerably.

If you leave the door & let the the Housing Trust replace the door & frame, you will be several hundred pounds or so poorer.

Should have said it was there when you moved in, when you had fire assessment done.
 
OK so if it's external there's no way £27 plywood door is suitable for the job, we have a site at the moment where we need 1hr front doors, most front doors aren't tested as they are the escape therefore don't need to be tested and a traditional internal front door for say flats in communal areas aren't suitable for external use.

We have had to commission them and have them tested by Chiltern Fire
 
http://www.thedoorscollection.co.uk.../exterior-flush-ply-fire-door-fd30/invt/e1004

There's an exterior grade door however you'll have to find out if the management company are happy with a fire door or fire door set, the door may be tested but if you then start chopping it about to install hinges butts lock sets handles letter box vision panel etc it may not be acceptable as tested.

Don't forget that you may need a frame that is also FD30.

We buy certified door sets, a frame and door ready to go in with the hinges cut and fitted.

Then there's painting / carpentry / ironmongery / mastic
 
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23823012 said:
There's an exterior grade door however you'll have to find out if the management company are happy with a fire door or fire door set, the door may be tested but if you then start chopping it about to install hinges butts lock sets handles letter box vision panel etc it may not be acceptable as tested.
Click to expand...

If the ironmongery is fitted correctly then it won't be a problem, how else would the door(s) ever be fitted? ;)

You use normal locks and handles, 4 inch butt hinges rated for fire doors (like eclipse), a sleeved letterbox liner that's sealed off with intumescent tape or silicon (the same goes for a vision panel with regards to mastic, you'll also need fire check beads) & the door will have to be installed into a proper frame.

The door will have to be FD30s because it both opens into an area of common use & opens into a 'protected' shaft forming a stairway(well), so it will need intumescent strip in either the door or the lining/frame.


Page 136 of the pdf (134 in the document), table B1 section 2.a/b
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2010.pdf
 
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MatteH Oxford said:
If the ironmongery is fitted correctly then it won't be a problem, how else would the door(s) ever be fitted? ;)
Click to expand...

Depends on the management company, if they want a tested door or door set they are very different costs ;)

A door set has everything cut out and tested as a whole with the frame and Ironmongery all you do is fit whatever handles you want.

We have problems buying doors on their own as building control and or nhbc want tests where as a tested door set overcomes this problem as the certificate is for the whole unit
 
No it doesn't it sounds like they are passing down obligations from their insurance.

We have had the issue many times so much so that our group policy is tested door sets only now, the problems we have had when an independent tester has refused to sign off a FD door with a separate frame and post fitted ironmongery has cost us more than just buying tested sets.

NHBC & Building Control prefer tested sets that's why I say ask the management company before you commit to buy a cheap door blank, you may go through all that work and yes a smaller cost for them to say sorry no you have to get an independent assessment as well as buying and fitting the door to save a few quid, you may not they may just say yes a FD30 blank is fine.

For warned is for armed.
 
I've prety much decided to go through the contractor that is suggested by the housing trust, ok it'll cost more but at least it'll be done as they want which will minimise any hassle for me.

ALso, have gone to the solicitor who is dealing with the sale and asked if he thought it fair that we try to get the buyer to pay towards it seeing as if the letter had arrived in a months time we would have moved out already and would have not had anything to do with this. He agreed it was fair to ask, so just waiting to see if the buyer is happy to pay 50%.

Alsop we will be keeping the exisiting door once it's been removed so we can either reuse it in the property we're moving to, or sell it or something.
 
I appreciate this is an old post, but I have had the exact same thing with my housing trust. As soon as they became aware I was selling my 1st floor flat, with the front door opening to a small concrete hallway and stairs, I received a letter in the post saying I should fit an FD30s fire door as mine is non-compliment under fire safety order 2005.

The letter is not clear whether I'm required by law to do so and due to the cost and fact the door is unlikely to be fitted prior to moving I am quite reluctant to shell out nearly a grand.

Valve90210 how did you settle this matter and it wasn't Thrive Homes by any chance?
 
Is it a housing trust property? No, can't be if you're selling it. I don't understand what housing trusts do, clearly.
 
Sorry it's a housing management agent not a housing trust.

I appreciate recent events may have made them review fire safety but I am first and top floor so not a tower block. Also the legislation they quote came in long before I moved into the flat and I have not changed the door since.
 
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