Fire door requirements in residential buildings

[curious-walrus]

Hi all,

I'm having a bit of a nightmare trying to find a FD30S fire door set with the following locking style where the lock is a multipoint locking mechanism but is only key operated from the outside, thumbturn from the inside, and no lever.

Is this possible?  Not a single online fire door configurator seems to have this. Everyone that I call, including Safelincs, suggests that the door needs to have a lever or I must have a nightlatch and a mortice deadlock but I can't find any building regs that say this is a requirement. As far as I understand, a nightlatch is just a convenience for use with a deadlock. Others have said that the thumbturn must be at a certain height - again something I can't find a reg for.

I really don't understand why the configuration I'm after seems impossible to find on a fire rated door. In essence it is a nightlatch and deadbolt in one. Clearly they are available since lock manufacturers make them.

ERA make a multipoint lock that does what I need, as do Winkhaus in their AVx range. They just need to be fitted with intumescent strips.

https://www.eraeverywhere.com/globalassets/era/data-sheets/10843_data-sheet.pdf

https://www.coastal-group.com/core/media/media.nl?id=13450874&c=4471732&h=bTqlsNkpkZyaJ0yMeXaY--VJPPYuCZzhhaIsI8YLHJkui5O1&_xt=.pdf

The same locks also have a "heritage" style where the lock is at shoulder height as opposed to waist height.

 

Am I going crazy here? Why won't any online configurator offer this option? I called safelincs and they even said that they can only supply doors with a lever.

ETA: the door is for a flat entry door in a low-rise flat building (1st floor).

Edited October 21, 2024 by curious-walrus
clarification on door location

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

You could ask these people https://www.permadoor.co.uk/contact-us/ 

[curious-walrus]

On 22/10/2024 at 07:28, Neil Ashdown MAFDI said:

You could ask these people https://www.permadoor.co.uk/contact-us/ 

No luck. The doors are tested with a lever and so must be sold that way. I think my only option at this point is going to be to buy a timber fd30 door from a hardware store, the door hardware I want, letterbox, closer, and intumescent seals myself and get a competent person to fit it. Pre-hung doors seem to be a no go.

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

Be sure to check the technical manual for the timber fire door core or installation data sheet for a timber fire door leaf. That document will advise which ironmongery is permitted.

[curious-walrus]

9 hours ago, Neil Ashdown MAFDI said:

Be sure to check the technical manual for the timber fire door core or installation data sheet for a timber fire door leaf. That document will advise which ironmongery is permitted.

Good call. I thought that as long as the ironmongery itself was fire rated and fitted by a competent person then it didn't matter. I didn't realise the certification would make stipulations like that. I just read through several data sheets for various door leafs which are Certifire certified and it makes crystal clear the types of locks you can use. From the few I looked at it does appear that the type of configuration I want is simply not possible without invalidating the certification! The companies that do offer multi-point locks on fire doors are testing with lever handles only because it's probably not worth the extra time and expense to certify with the range of hardware a normal door could have.

Barring bespoke (and probably quite expensive) set ups probably explains why I could not find anything. I'm certainly not going to pour through every certificate on Certifire's website to try to find what I want because it's unlikely I'll find it and a huge waste of time. Not that I haven't already wasted enough time. Everything makes sense again. I'll just go with a ready certified and pre-hung door set with the hardware installed by the supplier.

Thank you for your guidance Neil. Really appreciated!

Edited October 28, 2024 by curious-walrus
add thanks

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

One more that could be worth a try.  This guy knows his stuff  https://www.solarwindows.co.uk/team/3/john-lewis  

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

Or if you do want to persevere with a timber door, try Strebord or Strecore here  https://falcon-timber.com/downloads/