Maintaining Fire Doors: What You Need To Know

Posted on June 15, 2019 in Building Maintenance

Maintaining your fire doors is fairly straightforward, although it’s important that you have a plan in place when it comes to checking them over. That way you can be sure your fire resistant doors will give you maximum protection at all times. We’ve put together a guide to help you with the ongoing maintenance of the fire doors in your building.

The legal requirement for fire door maintenance

All fire rated doors must be installed in the correct manner and properly maintained according to the Fire Safety Order. Failure to do this will result in you breaching the order, which could mean your building is shut down whilst changes are made. For full details on how to ensure your doors comply with regulations, it’s a good idea to seek out the Fire Door Inspection Scheme.

Regular maintenance checks should be scheduled

Maintenance of fire doors doesn’t mean you need to be checking them every day, but you should plan to carry out an inspection roughly every six months, or once a quarter in a newly occupied building. If it’s a particularly busy building where fire doors are being constantly used, it’s a good idea to check the doors for damage every week.

Checking a fire door and frame set

When it’s time for an inspection, be sure to carry out the job thoroughly. In order to comply with regulations, the door and the set need to be checked. That includes making sure the gap between the door frame and the door itself is right, that the seals are not damaged, the signage is correct and you’ll also have to make sure the transfer grille is free of blockage. There are checklists readily available online that detail all the parts of the fire doors which require inspection, working through them in a systematic way is the best method to employ in order to correctly maintain your fire doors. It’s also a good idea to keep a record of your checks, that way you can always be sure when the fire doors are due an inspection.

Fixing faults you find

If your inspection reveals that your fire doors need repairing, then you should aim to do it as quickly as possible. Be sure that any replacement components are compatible with your door and ensure you have the right tools to carry out the work before starting any repairs. If you’re unsure over any components, then you should be able to find out what parts are compatible with your doors via the fire certificate data sheet. If all else fails, you can always consult the manufacturer of your fire doors.

We have a team of engineers waiting to help should you require any advice on fire doors and have plenty of experience when it comes to successful installations. For more information about any of our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 0845 604 1288 or visit Fire Door Maintenance.