What happens after the inspection
Sort the report into three piles, get the work priced and keep the paper.
Get a priceReports can be long. Forty doors, forty entries, photos and measurements. The way to read one is to ignore most of it at first.
Three piles
Go to the summary on the first page. Every door falls into one of three groups.
- Pass. Nothing to do now. It stays on the list for the next check.
- Minor fault. A closer that needs adjusting, a seal to replace, a screw missing. Quick and cheap to put right.
- Serious fault. A door that will not hold back fire and smoke. It could be the wrong kind of door, a big hole, or a gap that a seal cannot fix.
Do the serious ones first. The minor ones can follow in a batch.
Repairs
A lot of faults can be repaired, and a repair is usually much cheaper than a new door.
Our own crew does the repairs, and the price is fixed once we have your report. Where we can work and when we can start depends on where the crew is. Ask us. Or take the report to any competent carpenter, who will be able to price from it.
Repair and installation work goes through our BM TRADA / FIRAS-certificated contractors.
When the answer is a new door
Some doors cannot be saved. Common ones are doors with no sign of what they are, doors with large holes cut through the middle, and doors that were never fire doors.
Old panelled doors are a special case. They look right, and a lot of people want to keep them. A panelled door voids the rating, so we advise a plain certified doorset instead. If the building is listed or in a conservation area, speak to the council before you replace any door.
Keep the paper
Put the report, the repair invoices and any certificates in one folder. If a fire brigade inspector asks about the doors, hand them the folder.
Put the date on it. Next year's question will be what has changed since this one.
Reading it in order
Start with the serious pile and look at the photos. A photo of a door with a hole through the middle says more than the line of text under it.
Then the doors we could not reach. They are not failures. Nobody has seen them yet and they need a second visit.
Last, the doors that passed with a note. The door is fine today and something is starting to go. A closer arm with one loose screw is the usual one.
Looking again after repairs
Check the doors that failed once the work is done. A closer set right on Monday can be turned down again by Friday because the door was banging.
How often to inspect a whole building depends on the building. Busier doors want it more often. For taller blocks of flats the 2022 regulations fix a minimum.
Questions we get asked
Do I have to use you for the repairs?
No. The report is yours and any competent contractor can price from it.
Can I paint over a failed seal?
No. Paint on a seal stops it swelling in a fire. Replace the seal.
Send the postcode and a rough number of doors. We will come back with a price the same day.
Get a price