Fire Door Required due to proximity to boundary

[Guest lottie]

Hi,

I am building an extension to my two storey semi detached house. My building control inspector has confirmed I need a fire door for what will be the side rear door of the house due to it being within 1 meter of the boundary with a neighbour.

ive looked endlessly for a composite fire door that meets the latest regulations post Grenfell Tower but no one seems to offer them any more. Every firm I’ve rung says they do not offer fire doors or that they can only be fitted as an internal door set.

It looks like my only option is one of those plain plywood fire doors which I don’t really like the look for a residential property nor think are secure enough. 

Does anyone know what’s going on within the industry? Have they withdrawn products pending further changes to regulations or need to develop completely new doors? If anyone does know if any firms that offer composite fire doors would you be able to share the company name as I’m really stuck for options,

 

thanks

[Neil ashdown]

The problem is that composite fire resisting doors are designed for flat entrance doors, not for fully exterior situations.

So unless you can provide a shelter to sufficiently protect the door from weather, you will need a timber-based fire door.  This means the core is made from timber but with the recent technology of engineered timber the door should be stable even in fully exterior situations.

The best way forward is to make an enquiry to the technical departments of the door-core manufacturers and ask them where you can buy the door you need using the engineered core that they manufacture. Try these https://www.halspan.com/products/solid-timber-core  &  https://www.falconpp.co.uk/contact/

Also, remember the thicker and denser the timber the more likely it is to perform well in exterior situations, also ask them about finishes for best edge and face weather protection and whether multi-point locking is permitted.

[Guest Kevin]

Dear sir,

 

Just for clarity there are a limited number of manufacturers who produce a composite fire door for external use, they are ce marked and for all intents are identical to a composite door for enclosed areas use, from looking at the differance an external Fd30s is reinforced with hardwood.

[Guest Guest Lottie]

Thanks both.

Neil, I contacted the two suppliers you mentioned and have had no response to date which is a sha,e.

Kevin, a local door & window company said similar to me that there are only a very small amount of manufacturers. Do you know of any yourself?