My fire doors failed an inspection. Do they all need replacing?
Usually not. Across most buildings the majority of flagged doors fail on gaps, seals, closers or hinges, all of which are repairable, and only a minority fail on things that condemn the leaf itself: no certification evidence, oversized or unauthorised apertures, or structural damage. We price the remedial list door by door so you can see repair against replacement for each opening, and the honest split is normally far more repairs than replacements.
What gap should a fire door have, and why is it so strict?
Certification for most timber doorsets calls for 2mm to 4mm between leaf and frame at the head and both stiles, consistent along the edge, with the threshold gap per the certificate, commonly up to 8mm to 10mm, or less where smoke control matters. The intumescent seal is designed to expand and fill that specific gap; too wide and the expanded seal cannot bridge it, too tight and the door binds and gets left ajar. It is engineering tolerance, not fussiness, which is why gap correction is real carpentry rather than a squirt of filler.
How do you fix a gap that is too big without replacing the door?
Depending on the edge and the size of the discrepancy: rehanging the leaf to redistribute the gaps, adjusting or repositioning the stops, or bonding a hardwood lipping to the leaf edge and shooting it in to the correct tolerance. Lippings are only used within what the door's certification permits, typically limited in thickness and glued as specified. Where the gap is beyond what any permitted repair can close, the answer is a replacement leaf or doorset, and we say so rather than stretch the rules.
Can you do remedial work from another company's survey report?
Yes, and it happens all the time: a fire risk assessor or an inspection company issues the schedule and we carry out the works. We price directly against the report's door references, flag anything on it we disagree with before starting rather than after invoicing, and return a completion report photographed door by door so the original assessor can close their findings without revisiting every opening.
Do remedial works disturb residents much?
Very little, and the work is planned for occupied buildings. Most door remedials take under an hour per door, access is arranged in advance for flat entrance doors, communal doors are kept usable while worked on, and every door is left closing and latching before we move to the next. Escape routes are never obstructed and the corridor is left clean at the end of each session. It is quiet, methodical work rather than a building site.
How quickly does remedial work need doing after a failed inspection?
It should be prioritised by risk rather than done in report order. Doors protecting single stairways and sleeping accommodation come first, along with anything that stops a door self-closing, since a door that stands open is doing nothing at all. Cosmetic and low-risk items can sit in a planned programme. A sensible remedial schedule sorts the findings that way, gives the responsible person dates against each category, and becomes its own evidence that the duty is being managed.
