TOOL - FIRE DOOR CHECK
What a fire door check actually involves.
A walkthrough of how a fire door is checked, what each thing means, and crucially, why an old door that fails today's certified standard often doesn't need ripping out. Built to show you what good looks like, not to replace a competent inspection.
START HERE
Two different things people muddle up
A door check looks simple. What it's doing, and what it can tell you, depends entirely on who's doing it and why. There are three tiers, and confusing them is what makes managing agents pay for the wrong thing.
Tier 1
Routine visual check
Building staff · quarterly & annual
Under Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, residential buildings over 11m need quarterly visual checks of communal fire doors, and annual checks of flat entrance doors. Simple visual checks for obvious defects: gaps, damage, missing seals, doors that don't close. Maintenance monitoring, not technical assessment.
Required over 11mWhat it tells you: whether each door is still in the condition the FRA relied on.
Tier 2
Competent inspection
Trained inspector · periodic / on-demand
A trained fire door inspector judging whether each door will actually perform in a fire. Looks at construction, certification (or absence of it), and condition together. Gives a defensible per-door judgement: adequate, repairable, or replace. This is where the repair-versus-replace decision gets made properly.
Recommended at FRA refresh or after defectsWhat it tells you: whether each door is fit for purpose right now.
Tier 3
Upstream review
Fire engineer · competent assessor
The doors only matter because the fire strategy and compartmentation behind them rely on them performing. If the FRA hasn't been refreshed, or the compartmentation hasn't been surveyed, or the strategy hasn't been reviewed, the doors are being checked against requirements nobody's confirmed.
Often missing — ask the questionThe question worth asking: when did anyone last review whether these doors are even the right specification for what the building's compartmentation strategy assumes?
Tap any numbered point
Walk through each point to see what's checked, what counts as a defect, and when it needs escalating.
0 of 8 points checked
A fire door only works as a complete assembly. The door, the frame, the gaps, the seals, the hinges, the closer, the certification, the alterations — all doing their job together. Miss one and the whole thing fails.
Tap each numbered point to walk through what a routine check looks at, what counts as a defect, and crucially — when a check needs to become a proper inspection.
Point 1 of 8
Gaps around the door
What you're looking for
A consistent gap around the top and sides — typically around 3mm. Big enough that the door swings cleanly, small enough that smoke and fire can't bypass the leaf. The threshold gap at the bottom should be no more than 8mm against a flat finished floor (or sealed by a drop seal).
What counts as a defect
Visibly uneven gaps. Daylight visible around any edge. Gaps that have widened since the last check. A door that's settled in the frame.
Escalate to competent inspection if
Gaps exceed 4mm at the head or sides, or any gap shows daylight. The fix isn't always replacement — sometimes adjustment of hinges or planting on the door, but that's a specialist call, not a maintenance one.
Point 2 of 8
Intumescent strips & smoke seals
What you're looking for
Strips set into the door edge or the frame. Intumescent strips swell in heat to seal the gap during a fire. Smoke seals (often a brush or fin) block cold smoke at room temperature. Both should be continuous, intact, not painted over, not damaged by repeated impact.
What counts as a defect
Painted-over strips. Sections missing or torn. Smoke seals worn flat or detached. Strips installed in the wrong location or wrong orientation.
Important on older doors
Absence of strips and seals on an older door does NOT automatically mean the door is unfit. Older doors (notional or nominal — see Point 5) were built to different standards. That's a competent assessor's judgement, not an automatic fail.
Point 3 of 8
Hinges & ironmongery
What you're looking for
Usually three CE-marked hinges on a fire door, firmly fixed with all screws present and tight. No metal fatigue, no oil leaking, no visible wear on the knuckle. The door should sit square and not drop when opened.
What counts as a defect
Missing screws. Loose hinges. A door that drops or binds. Hinges replaced during refurbishment with non-fire-rated equivalents (a common, invisible failure).
Escalate if
Any screws missing. Door drops more than a few millimetres. Hinges show signs of fatigue or wear. The fix is usually replacement of the hinge set — like-for-like fire-rated, not generic.
Point 4 of 8
Self-closing device
What you're looking for
The door must close fully from any open angle, onto and engaging the latch, without sticking. Open it 5 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees — let go. It must close completely on its own every time.
What counts as a defect
Door fails to close fully. Door closes but doesn't engage the latch. Closer disconnected, removed or visibly damaged. Door propped open with a wedge (the single most common defect in any building).
This is the critical one
A fire door propped or unable to self-close protects nobody. If you find this on a quarterly check, it needs immediate action — remove the wedge, fix or replace the closer the same week, brief residents.
Point 5 of 8
Certification & door type
What you're looking for
A label or plug, usually on the top edge or hinge edge of the door, showing third-party certification (e.g. BWF Certifire, BM TRADA Q-Mark) and a fire rating (FD30 = 30 minutes, FD60 = 60 minutes). Many perfectly serviceable older doors carry no label at all.
The three types — this is where money gets wasted
Certified: third-party tested to current standards, with a label. The strongest evidence.
Notional: built to earlier standards, often still adequate if maintained. No modern label but credible.
Nominal: judged on actual construction and condition, not paperwork. Common in older buildings.
Critical point
A door without a modern certificate is NOT automatically a failure. Government guidance is explicit on this. The legal test is whether the door is adequate, judged by a competent person in the context of the building's FRA. Surveyors who fail every uncertified door are selling new doors — not protecting your building.
Point 6 of 8
Glazing & vision panels
What you're looking for
If the door has a glazed vision panel, the glass must be fire-rated (Pyroshield or equivalent) and the beading must be intact. The size and position of the panel must match what the door was tested with — cut a bigger hole and the rating's gone.
What counts as a defect
Cracked or damaged glazing. Beading loose, missing or damaged. Vision panel cut bigger than original specification. Non-fire-rated glass installed during refurbishment (often invisible without records).
Escalate if
Any visible damage to glass or beading. Suspected non-fire-rated glass. Vision panel altered from original. Glazing decisions need a competent inspector's call against the original certification or notional rating.
Point 7 of 8
Alterations & condition
What you're looking for
A solid door with no holes, gouges, or unauthorised alterations. The door should match its original construction. Common alterations: cut-in letterplates, cat flaps, extra security locks, additional viewers, peep holes, door knockers retrofitted with adhesive.
What counts as a defect
Any drilling through the door leaf (security locks, peepholes added). Cat flap or pet door cut in. Letterplate replaced with a larger one. Damage to the door faces (gouges, holes filled and painted). Decorative laminate added to the face without records of compatibility.
The leaseholder problem
Most alterations are done by leaseholders without telling anyone. The new tenant fits a smart lock, adds a peephole at child height, swaps the letterplate for a fancy one. Each individual change is small. Cumulatively they degrade the door's performance, and nobody documents them. Resident engagement matters here more than inspection frequency.
Point 8 of 8
Threshold & drop seal
What you're looking for
The gap at the bottom of the door between the door leaf and the finished floor. Should be no more than 8mm against a flat floor. Some fire doors have a drop seal (an automatic seal that drops when the door closes) to manage this gap, particularly where threshold strips can't be used.
What counts as a defect
Excessive gap (more than 8mm). Damaged or missing drop seal. Carpet or floor finish changed since installation, creating a new gap. Threshold strip damaged or removed during cleaning.
Often missed
The threshold is the most-overlooked point on a fire door check — partly because most people look at face level, not floor level. New carpet, new flooring, or a refurbished corridor regularly creates threshold problems that nobody flags.
Repair vs Replace
Where a lot of money gets wasted.
Someone surveys older doors against today's certification standard, marks them all as fails, and recommends wholesale replacement. For an aged building, that bill can run into tens of thousands. Often unnecessarily.
£1,000+
A typical certified flat entrance door set, installed, comes in around £1,000 to £1,800. Multiply that across 80 flats in a building where most doors didn't need replacing — just repair, adjustment, or proper assessment. The recent government clarification is blunt: a door that lacks a modern certificate does not automatically need replacing. The legal test is whether the door is adequate, judged by a competent person in the context of the FRA.
Certified door
Third-party tested · current standards
What this means
Built to the current European fire resistance standard BS EN 1634-1 (or the older British Standard BS 476-22, being fully withdrawn from Approved Document B by 2 September 2029) and third-party tested. Carries a label or plug on the top or hinge edge (typically BWF Certifire, BM TRADA Q-Mark) and a fire rating: FD30, FD60, etc.
The repair-vs-replace test
Maintain to keep certification valid. Repair if damaged using compatible components. Replace only if irreparable. Strongest paperwork position.
Notional door
Earlier standards · often still adequate
What this means
Manufactured to an earlier standard than the current certification regime, before modern third-party testing was the norm. No modern label, but credible evidence of fire performance from the time it was made. Common in buildings of 1980s-2000s construction.
The repair-vs-replace test
Adequate if maintained — not an automatic failure. Repair components like-for-like. Survey condition, not paperwork. Replacing every notional door is the most common money-waste in fire safety.
Nominal door
Pre-modern · assessed on its merits
What this means
Predates the modern testing and certification regime entirely. No paperwork to fall back on. Judged by a competent assessor on its actual construction (solid timber, panelled, core type) and condition. Common in pre-1980s blocks and listed buildings.
The repair-vs-replace test
A competent assessment can find a nominal door perfectly fit for purpose. Improvements (intumescent strips, smoke seals, hinge upgrades) can lift it further. Replacement is the option of last resort, not first.
The independent angle
Where the survey and the works come from the same firm, doors get failed.
We survey doors independently. The inspector we appoint has no commercial interest in replacement. Decisions are made on adequacy, not on what's easiest to sell. Across the buildings we've worked on, this saves more on the door spend alone than the cost of our service.
FOR DEMONSTRATION
What a proper survey sheet looks like
This is an illustrative example of the kind of sheet a competent inspector works through, with each check explained. It's here to show you what a real inspection covers and why it needs a competent person. It is not a compliance document, and filling it in yourself is not a substitute for a competent inspection or your Regulation 10 duties.
Door reference / ID
Location
Inspected by
Date
Single
Single, glazed
Double
Double, glazed
Mark the relevant diagram to show where any issues are: gaps, damage, failed seals, or a door that won't close.
1. Door leaf & frame condition
Free from damage, warping, holes or unauthorised alterations? Anything cut into or broken off the door can compromise its performance.
2. Gaps & alignment
Perimeter gaps consistent (around 3mm) and the door square in the frame? Oversized gaps let smoke and fire bypass the door.
3. Seals (intumescent & smoke)
Present, continuous and undamaged? Absence on an older door is a matter for competent assessment, not an automatic fail.
4. Hinges & ironmongery
Hinges firmly fixed, all screws present and tight, ironmongery suitable and intact? Loose fixings are a frequent real-world defect.
5. Self-closing device Critical
Closes fully and engages the latch from any open position? The single most important function — a fire door that won't close protects nobody.
6. Certification / door type
Evidence of certification, or if none, what is the likely type and construction? A competent assessor judges certified, notional or nominal doors on their merits.
7. Glazing & signage
If glazed, is it fire-rated and intact with sound beading, and is correct signage in place? Vision panels mustn't become a weak point.
8. Threshold & drop seal
Gap at the bottom no more than 8mm against a flat floor, or sealed by a working drop seal? Often missed because most checks look at face level, not floor level.
9. Overall judgement
Taking everything together, is the door adequate, repairable, or in need of replacement? The competent judgement the whole sheet builds towards.
Comments & observations
Critical failures requiring immediate action
Upstream check — the work this inspection rests on
This sheet checks the door is in the condition the building's FRA relied on. The FRA itself, and the fire strategy and compartmentation behind it, are not in scope of this sheet but underpin every line above.
Date of last FRA refresh
Date of last compartmentation survey
BEYOND THE CHECK
When you need more than a self check
The service
Fire door governance
When a self-check isn't enough, we survey door by door, judge repair against replacement, and run the work end to end.
See fire door governance →In practice
£80k quote, £14k actual
A 200-bedroom hotel facing nearly £2,500 a door, kept and upgraded instead of replaced. The case in full.
See the proof →Before you replace a single door
If you've been told your doors all need replacing, or you're not sure where you stand, let us assess them properly first. It's often far less than you've been quoted.