The Price of Fire Doors + Purchase and Sale of Fire Doors Wholesale
The government’s investigation into the Grenfell Tower disaster, growing frustration at the “glacial pace” of remediation work three years later, and widespread and ongoing confusion as to how councils, housing associations, and other landlords are meant to keep buildings and residents safe have all contributed to the great timber vs
composite fire door debate
fire door
Composite fire doors are made of a combination of wood and other materials
It’s time to put everything in its proper place
First, a synopsis that just takes one minute to read
It is true that cladding has received all of the attention in the wake of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, but the government has also begun an investigation into the efficacy of fire doors
It has been recommended in multiple Advice Notes from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and a temporary moratorium on the sale of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) composite fire doors that replacement flat entrance doors should be tested to ensure that the can adequately resist fire and smoke from BOTH sides
Indicator of a Fire Door Despite this and other government guidance, such as the Building safety advice for building owners, including fire doors1 from January and the updated Building Safety Programme2 from April, there is still widespread confusion about what constitutes a compliant fire door, which delays the necessary remediation work
This is a problem because it causes a delay in the necessary remediation work
As promised, the following will provide the answers to the most relevant questions in order to put some light on the current situation
Why do fire tests conducted on both sides of composite fire doors not reveal any concerns with the doors? Frequently, a composite front door will have steel, PVC, or aluminum frame; a PVC-type facade and glass; and a composite inner panel or core, typically with insulating qualities and wood stiles and rails to enable installation of hardware and manage the trimming process
All of these components will be held together by a composite outer panel or skin
The letter plate will come equipped with a variety of security features, such as a three-point lock and a spyhole that is integrated right in
To reiterate, safety is the major focus, which is why safety glass is often used in the glazing process
These materials will be of great use to you in your house if you do not have to be concerned about the risk of fire and smoke
Let’s move our attention to a multi-tenant structure, which often has a series of flat entrance doors positioned equally down one or both sides of a central corridor or walkway
Let’s take a closer look at this kind of building
Because it is used as an escape in case of an emergency, the corridor has to be protected from any potential hazards, including the apartments that lead off of it
fire door installation
A fire broke out in the kitchen of one of the units, quite similar to what occurred at Grenfell, despite the fact that the fire safety regulations for buildings with various purposes (such as apartment complexes, schools, hospitals, and office buildings) are all the same
Whatever the case may be, fire and smoke resistance are essential criteria that must now be met by the composite door
This implies that the product must fulfill the fire safety standards of BS476 Part 22 or EN1634 Part 1, as well as the smoke safety requirements of BS476 Part 31
1 or EN1634 Part 3, in order to be suitable for sale on the British market
As a result, testing is required to be performed on composite fire doors in the same way that it is performed on other types of doors
It is unclear why the government insists on performing tests while taking into account both points of view
When this happens, the action really begins to get up
To repeat, in addition to its main function of providing security, the composite door could now also need to act as a barrier against the spread of fire
And here is where the potential for conflict arises
It is unusual to find glazing that can serve both roles; fire glass may provide some degree of protection, but security glass is often not combustible
In place of a single pane of glass, composite fire doors have two separate panes of glass installed
The first pane is made of security glass, which deters break-ins, while the second pane is made of fire glass, which stops the spread of fire
As a consequence of this, the composite fire door has an asymmetrical appearance, yet, it could be able to offer some insulation
Therefore, its behaviors will differ depending on the direction the fire is coming from
Even beyond the glass, there are other aspects of the building that are not symmetrical
It is common for composite flat entrance doors to have hollow rebated frames with rebated door leaves as a means of providing additional protection against the weather; nevertheless, this design choice might give the impression that the doorset is not balanced properly
And then there’s the actual framing of the door itself
Most of these doorsets are asymmetrical because they are composed of hollow PVC that has been reinforced with steel
special door frames
Is there any data on the efficacy of an asymmetrical composite fire door in a fire scenario? In the event that the fire starts on the interior of the apartment, the side protected by the fire glass should provide some protection
Okay, but what if the fire is in the hallway outside? There may be a thermal shock if the outer door’s security glass is subjected to such temperatures
The security glass heats up to a higher temperature than the surrounding frame, causing the entire thing to crumble and compromise the fire glass on the side that was not exposed to the flames
That’s one example of a very disastrous mishap
The second risk is that the high temperature may cause the fixing mechanisms to malfunction
Due to its steel reinforcement and uneven frame and leaf contact, a door’s fire performance cannot be accurately predicted by testing only one face
Although the difference between asymmetrical and symmetrical fire doorsets is just one letter, this may seem like a little issue; yet, it is crucial when considering the importance of these doorsets as one of the essential parts of building safety
Three-quarters of the GRP composite fire doors3 evaluated by the government did not fulfill the 30-minute threshold, and two of them lasted for less than 10 minutes
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