Fire Doors: FD30 & FD60, Fitted to the Manufacturer's Instructions

A fire door's rating is earned at the point of manufacture — the leaf, frame, seals and specified ironmongery are tested together as a doorset. That rating is only actually achieved once the doorset is hung correctly: the right gaps around the leaf, intumescent and smoke seals fitted to the position the manufacturer specifies, compatible fire-rated hinges and latches, and a self-closing device that shuts the door fully every time.

Most of the fire doors we are asked to fit sit in one of three situations: a stair enclosure in an existing home being brought up to standard, a bedroom created by a loft conversion that needs separating from the rest of that storey, or a general upgrade as part of a wider security or insurance review. We assess which rating applies before quoting, working from Building Regulations Approved Document B.

We work across Berkshire, Surrey and South Buckinghamshire, and every fire door installation starts with a free assessment visit.

For a closer look at this kind of work, see our fire door fitting project.

These are the specific points we work from, taken from Building Regulations Approved Document B (gov.uk, “Fire safety: Approved Document B”):

• FD30 and FD60 are the common fire door categories, giving 30 and 60 minutes of fire resistance respectively.
• Within dwellings, doors to the stair enclosure should be fire resisting to a minimum of E 30.
• Bedrooms separated from the rest of a loft-conversion storey need fire resisting construction to a minimum of REI 30, and fire doorsets to a minimum of E 20.
• Fire doors on escape routes must be self-closing and readily openable without undue delay to escaping occupants.
• Where a loft conversion creates a new storey more than 4.5m above ground level, the full escape route needs addressing — fire resisting doors to a minimum of E 20 and partitions to a minimum of REI 30, including upgrading existing doors where necessary.

We will tell you honestly which of these apply to your property before quoting anything, and we will say so plainly if your situation needs a fire risk assessor or building control sign-off ahead of the work rather than a carpenter's judgement alone.

This is a new service for us with no existing price list to draw on, so we do not publish figures here. What drives the cost is straightforward to explain, even without a number attached to each one:

• The size and configuration of the door opening.
• The fire rating required — FD30 versus FD60, or a specific E/REI figure confirmed by Approved Document B or a fire risk assessment.
• How many doors are involved — a single stair enclosure door is a different job to a whole floor of loft-conversion bedroom doors.
• Whether the existing frame or lining is suitable, or needs replacing to take a certified doorset correctly.
• The ironmongery specification — hinges, latch, handle set and closer, matched to the rating.

Every job starts with a free assessment visit, followed by a fixed, itemised written quote covering the doorset, any frame work, and the hardware — so you know exactly what you are paying for before anything is ordered.