Self closing doors on 3 storey house - can I remove them?

Nick1881

Nick1881

Nick1881

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Our new house has a device that makes all the doors close, the ones to bedrooms on 1st and 2nd floor and the kitchen diner door.

Can I remove them? Will I void my home insurance?

We have a dog and she can push her way into a room if the door isn't fully closed, then get stuck inside. This happened yesterday, I got in from work and she was trapped in a 2nd floor bedroom, obviously very distressed and had pee'd on the floor.

We have door stops and are using them to hold doors open anyway, but if these slip or someone forgets to peg it open, then we could have the same problem.

Any advice or recommendations?
 
f666 said:
If the have the arm at the top or the mechanism in the side of the door in-between hinges you can disconnect them as a quick fix
Click to expand...

It's in the middle of the door where the hinges are, like a small chain. Pretty sure I could easily take it off, just want to know if I will cause myself other problems.
 
Fire doors for multi floor homes are part of regs
www.lfsfire.co.uk

Domestic Fire Door Regulations Explained | LFS

As a homeowner, ensuring household safety is paramount. Fire doors are an essential aspect of home safety. Understanding fire door regulations is crucial for protecting your loved ones and home from a fire outbreak. Whether you are renovating your current home or purchasing a new build...
www.lfsfire.co.uk www.lfsfire.co.uk
 
Nick1881 said:
It's in the middle of the door where the hinges are, like a small chain. Pretty sure I could easily take it off, just want to know if I will cause myself other problems.
Click to expand...
Yes very possible. The downside is then you likely fall foul of regs and home insurance should a fire breakout...
 
Fire doors on 3 storey are to give you a chance to get out or the fire service to arrive before you burn to death.
If your propping them open then your defeating them anyway.

Someone I used to work with had a loft conversion and they did something else that was allowed within the regs instead of changing doors.
IIRC it was to have a smoke detector (linked type) in every room.
 
We removed ours previously. Not safe to have spring loaded doors with young kids.

As above, if you use a door stop you are causing the same issue anyway. We had linked fire alarms (which were great) and closed the doors when out or at night.
 
Just be careful if you take them off. If they were put on for the regs and you take them off and someone dies in a fire there
then you could be held responsible for the death if taking them off was a contributing factor
 
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964rs said:
Just be careful if you take them off. If they were put on for the regs and you take them off and someone dies in a fire there
then you could be held responsible for the death if taking them off was a contributing factor
Click to expand...
Not if the person that took them off dies as well .... :p

As above, to comply with building regs, they haven't just put more expensive doors on for $hits and giggles!
 
We had our loft conversion done turning our terrace into three floors. Builder originally wanted smoke alarms in each room which was a hard no... We went with an alarm on each landing (each floor, basically) which apparently is ok. You'd have to read up on it but I'd imagine you can do that as opposed to springy firedoors everywhere.

We stay with friends who have a three-storey townhouse and they have springy firedoors. Absolutely do my nut, there's no way I'd want to live in a house with them.
 
My place (3 storey townhouse, built in 2007) has them - we carefully unscrewed the plates that attach to the frame; be wary of just how much force the springs have if you're going to do the same. We have linked smoke alarms on each floor.
 
Does the firedoor regs demand that the doors can be opened one way by applying force only ? If not then fitting doorknobs would prevent the dog from opening the door.
 
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The closers are there as part of the fire door field of application and should not be removed at all.

You can get hold open devices if you have a fire alarm they release and close but it relies on the alarm noise to release

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