Common Fire Door Issues

Poor Installation

Inspect. Report. Repair.

One of the most common fire door issues that we identify when inspecting a fire door is poor installation. Having fire door sets installed by un-qualified personnel is an unfortunate and common trend throughout the industry. At Burke Fire Doors our staff are fully qualified and trained under a BM Trada Q-Mark for Fire Door Installation.

Common problems associated with poor installation can include: doors being off plumb, doors catching the threshold and/or hitting the intumescent strip, ironmongery installed incorrectly and doors being hinge bound therefore not latching properly

 

installation1
installation2
incorrect-margins1
incorrect-margins2
incorrect-margins2

Incorrect Margins

Inspect. Report. Repair.

A defect that is quite common throughout most fire door installations is incorrect margins where the door is hanging in the frame. The required gap in most instances (depending on the manufacturer’s certification) should be between 2 to 4mm, while at the threshold a fire smoke door should be no more than 3mm.

In a fire situation a timber door shrinks and distorts towards the fire. This reflection is mitigated by the engagement of the intumescent seals in the door frame which seal the door in place. If the margins around the doors are too excessive or indeed too little the fire door will fail

incorrect-margins2

Glazing

Inspect. Report. Repair.

Glazing forms an integral part of a fire door assembly. Incorrectly specified glass can fail very rapidly. Only tested proprietary glazing systems can be used in a fire door, with the appropriate glazing bead, intumescent and fixings. Fanlights and sidelights must also be considered as part of the complete assembly.

It must also be noted that clear fire rated glass must be identified with an etched or sandblasted decal on each pane. This will identify the type of glass and associated fire rating.

glazing1
lazing2 (1)
ironmongery2
ironmongery1

Incorrectly Installed Ironmongery

Inspect. Report. Repair.

Ironmongery forms an essential part of the overall fire door assembly. If installed incorrectly a common fire door issue will arise in the door set. It must also be noted that all ironmongery must be fit for purpose and carry its own fire certification and/or be referenced in the fire door manufacturer’s certification.

ironmongery2

Intumescent

Inspect. Report. Repair.

Every fire door and frame set must have a continuous run of intumescent in either the door frame or around the door itself. Any gaps in the intumescent through damage or not being applied properly will result in failure of the fire door set.

 

intumescent1
intumescent2