Fire Doors

[nearlythere]

Scenario
Number of sets of hardwood double swing doors across corridors in nursing home.

Problem
All doors have a gap along top of around 5mm. Intumescent and ss are in place.

Question
Is there anything on the market that can be fitted to solve excessive gap?

[Tom W]

Some strips will close gaps up to 6mm, sealmaster for one.

http://www.ribaproductselector.com/Docs/7/06637/external/COL106637.pdf

[nearlythere]

Thanks Piglet

[BCO]

It is not uncommon for the hinges to have worn and the door to have droped a few mm. If this is the case some new hinges may do the trick. (fire rated hinges that is).

[lancsfirepro]

Can get strips with deeper brushes from Envirograf.

[Auntie LIn]

Lancspro - I'm ashamed of you!   By suggesting a longer brush all you are doing is endorsing rubbish fitting/maintenance.

[colin todd]

I was going to say that Linniepops, but decided against it.

[nearlythere]

Lancspro - I'm ashamed of you!   By suggesting a longer brush all you are doing is endorsing rubbish fitting/maintenance.

What is your view Lin?

[kurnal]

I recognise the strength in Auntie Lins view and if there were a hierarchy of measures then a properly fitted fire door set fitted and maintained by an accredited installer will always come head and shoulders above anything else.

But I would contend that there is a place for alternative solutions for difficult situations.  I think there is a role for extended smoke seals especially where other constraints prevent a better solution being found especially in heritage building scenarios. The trouble with these things is its likely to be "easy fix" that the joiner reaches for when the gaps open up due to worn hinges, instead of fixing the underlying problem.

The marketing of them does not help as little or no attempt is made to educate the end user as to the pros and cons.

[lancsfirepro]

Lancspro - I'm ashamed of you!   By suggesting a longer brush all you are doing is endorsing rubbish fitting/maintenance.

Not come across you before Aunti LIn but that seems like the post of a troll, hmmm?
Unless the doors are newly installed it is highly unlikely that the installer will be contacted to rework or replace the doors for the gap at the top and the nursing home wouldn't take too kindly to having to replace a pair of double swing fire doors either.  The opening poster asked if there was a product available that would solve the problem.  Piglet suggested one manufacturer and I another, yet you whine at me.  Strange behaviour that.
IMO these products with deeper brushes allow a better fit on older properties with, shall we say, "slightly pi**ed" casings".  I'd much rather see a deeper brush fitting all the way round than a normal sized one with a whistling gap.
I'm not getting into a debate about it this but please do not tell me what I am or I am not doing; my name and company are clearly displayed, yours are not.

[Tom Sutton]

Lancs before you accuse Aunti LIn of being a troll checkout a copy of the Best Practice Guide at http://www.asdma.com/bpg.html and note the co-author.

[lancsfirepro]

Thanks Tom, I wasn't sure about Auntie LIn - for the record, I didn't say she was a troll, just that the post seemed like that of a troll.  I would have expected a more reasoned comment from such an expert rather than accusing me of endorsing "rubbish fitting/maintenance".

[The Colonel]

I frequently come across doors and frames that have excessive gaps with the installation being in place for some time, don't forget wood is a natural material and can shrink/move etc. A guidance sheet by ASDMA http://www.asdma.com/pdf/maintenancelflt2.pdf does mention that a solution for excessive gaps can be larger strips. What really gets me angry is when a fire door is not installed correctly resulting in incorrect gaps and smoke seals that are of little use but the builder or developer wont listen and the poor RP is left in the middle with a door that is not performing as designed. Unfortunately good fire door chippies are few and far between usually it is a good chippy installing a door which to him is just a door and no idea of how important it is.

[lancsfirepro]

I frequently come across doors and frames that have excessive gaps with the installation being in place for some time, don't forget wood is a natural material and can shrink/move etc. A guidance sheet by ASDMA http://www.asdma.com/pdf/maintenancelflt2.pdf does mention that a solution for excessive gaps can be larger strips. What really gets me angry is when a fire door is not installed correctly resulting in incorrect gaps and smoke seals that are of little use but the builder or developer wont listen and the poor RP is left in the middle with a door that is not performing as designed. Unfortunately good fire door chippies are few and far between usually it is a good chippy installing a door which to him is just a door and no idea of how important it is.

Thanks for that.  A clear case of pot calling black. 
I know what you mean about poorly installed doors though.  Was at a nursing home last Thursday doing an FRA in a new wing.  Storage cupboards along the main corridor had had the casing fitted the wrong way round.  But rather than remove them and replace them the chippy had added a piece of timber inside the frame to create another jam then hung the door inside the casing.  You can see where the slots for the intumescent strips are left on the inside of the casing. 

[Fishy]

1)   I assume that these doors are on floor springs, as they’re double action?  In this case the maintainer  should be able to remove the cover plate & adjust the height of the floor springs a few mm to raise the leaves & close the gaps.  If so, job done;

2)   If this doesn’t work then check whether the doors are labelled – if they are contact the manufacturer/supplier for advice;

3)   Longer blades/brushes may help smoke resistance so long as they restore the seal between leaf & frame  but bigger intumescent strips won’t necessarily restore fire resistance – especially on double action doorsets.  If you do replace the strips with larger, you need to make sure that it’s the same type as was installed initially – the better seal manufacturers (Lorient, Sealmaster et al) should be able to advise what’s suitable if you let them know what’s there (if the strips are PVC covered you’ll need to let them know what the active material in the core looks like).  If you use the wrong strips you could make the performance worse, not better.