Grade 13 hinges leaking oil

[James Gormley]

We are carrying out work to bring firedoors up to standard, following a  FRA,  many of the hinges in this 10 year old apartment  block have oil leaking from the hinges, mostly on corridor doors heavily used.  Should we be changing these or are they okay   ?

 

[AnthonyB]

It's a sign of wear, particularly if there are flakes of metal in the oil, and most fire door inspectors will 'fail' the door and require renewal. If the doors are still functioning properly then the risk is less and it's more of a warning sign, but the door would need more regular ongoing checking to ensure the hinges haven't totally gone.

 

[James Gormley]

Very helpful,  Thank You.

One more thing, when adjusting doors to achieve the 3mm gap on an fd30 door, 10 years old,   that has no intumisent hinge packers should we be removing the door and the 3 hinges,  removing extra material from the frame and door recesses to allow for the thickness of the hinge packers, refix the hinges to the door, Then rehang the door .

Or can we put an odd hinge packer behind hinges on frame side to adjust the door.

Thanks 

[Tom Sutton]

Questions about fire doors are best asked on on Fire Doors and Accessories  as this is the area that Neil Ashdown inhabits, and he is good.