Fitting of spyholes to solid internal fire doors

[Guest DavidDa]

Will the fitting of a spyhole to a solid internal fire door compromise its integrity? The spyholes need to be fitted for security reasons.

[Tom Sutton]

There is a correct answer and a practical answer.

The correct answer is, that as you will have to drill all the way through the door, which will create a weakness, this will affect the fire resistance, which is impossible to predict to what extent, so the whole assembly should be subject to test.

On the other hand you have conflicting hazards of personal assault and fire safety perhaps it would be reasonable to balance these risks by using a steel or brass viewer, drill with care to ensure the exact fit without any gaps, and use intumescent paste around the viewer to pack the hole.

I suggest any decent joiner should be able to do this provided the RP applies a good level of instruction and supervision.

Envirograf have a security grill which is tested to 66 mins but I suspect it is not what you require.

[Safelincs]

Hi David

There are also fire rated door viewers available

Harry