Old front door blanks

[Guest Tina]

Hi,

If rising butts have been installed to a front door should a new door be required. The top edge has been chamfered a lot so gaps can be seen. Also no fire seals have not been installed & we have been told the construction of the door is tubular chipboard (as this can be seen from the cut out of the letterbox )& won’t be easy installing the seals. The doors were installed in the 80’s & have no info on them.

 

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

When changing from rising butt hinges to fire rated butt hinges the chamfer on the top edge of the timber-based fire door will need to be removed and and a suitable hardwood lipping fitted to the top edge to provide for the correct gap with the door frame head.  Suitable adhesive should be used to fix the lipping. The fire and smoke rated letter-box should be one that is suited to a fire door with a tubecore chipboard core, some are not.

A tubecore door will have timber stiles, top rail and bottom rail with hardwood lipping to the vertical edges, so if these are intact it will be possible to groove the top and vertical edges to fit fire seals.  Don't forget smoke seals too.

Having said all of that, tubecore fire doors are not best suited to use for flat entrance doors and you may wish to consider replacing it with a complete purpose-made fire door-set.

 

[Guest Tina]

Thank you for your reply.

What is the maximum thickness of lipping I can put on the door?

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

Whilst there are no specific regulations in this regard, it would be usual to consult the product certification data sheet for the door.   In the absence of such certification best practice would be to use hardwood of minimum 640 kg per cubic metre density, 6mm minimum thickness and 18mm maximum with the work carried out to a joinery-works standard and using urea formaldehyde based adhesive.

[PAUL THE JOINER]

Hi Tina, the frame of the door will also require a deeper rebate to be fitted  eg, by planting on a hardwood strip    on the  outside edge of the door where it touches the door, i would also be checking    to the sides of the frames that there is no gap behind the arcitrave,  seen door frames with gaps here between frame and brickwork.

Also the  yale lock will need to be removed if fitted and hole filled as will  the   large key  operated  mortice lock and  refitted  with a  euro  type lock and key and a thumb turn  on the inside.

So much easier to  replace the door and frame , but more costlier.

[PAUL THE JOINER]

"Hi Tina, the frame of the door will also require a deeper rebate to be fitted  eg, by planting on a hardwood strip    on the  outside edge of the door where it touches the door,"

Sorry should read

Hi Tina, the frame of the door will also require a deeper rebate to be fitted  eg, by planting on a hardwood strip on the  outside edge of the REBATE where it touches the door,