BWF members such as yourselves frequently use our Member and Technical Helplines for assistance on a wide range of Employment, Health and Safety, Pay and Technical issues. We’re putting up a frequently asked question every Tuesday in order to help members and illustrate the type of advice we are able to provide. If you have any questions that you would like to see featured, we would be happy to assist. This question and many others like it can be found in our Question Centre. If you want further advice on any of the issues, don’t hesitate to ring the helpline or browse our extensive publications library, which includes our Fact Cards and guidance on installing timber windows. This week: Do I Have To Have Doors Tested To Call Them Fire Doors? And What Affects Their Certification? To satisfy UK building Regulations a door design must pass a fire test to either BS 476-22 or BS EN 1634, or have been the subject of an assessment based on fire test evidence. A fire test result on its own only applies to the sample which was tested and which could have been a full fire door assembly or an element of a fire door assembly. Under the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and Doorset Scheme, the test evidence is assessed to determine the extent to which certification can be applied. The combination of test evidence and assessment will determine the period for which the door, when installed as part of a suitable assembly, will resist a fire and the variations for which the certification can be applied. For example, single doors or pairs, single acting or double acting, glazed or unglazed, including the size and number of glazed apertures, the type of frame and suitable hardware including intumescent and smoke seals, hinges, closers, locks and latches. The outcome of the assessment is published as a combination of the data sheet or instructions supplied with every certificated door, doorset or door kit by the manufacturer and the CERTIFIRE ‘CF’ certificate the number of which is shown on the fire door label.
The information provided by the manufacturer will include the recommendations for the installation of the fire door and will show the extent to which a door leaf can be modified before the certification becomes invalid. This is often only an allowance for trimming the door by a few millimeters and in particular the edge to which the BWF-CERTIFIRE label is fitted cannot be trimmed as this would remove the label. It is also not acceptable to cut glazing apertures on site as these need to be prepared by the door manufacturer or by a company certified to make glass openings or glazed apertures (licensed converters although suitably prepared glass openings can be glazed on site by an appropriately qualified person. For further information on the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and Doorset Scheme can be found on the Fire Doors area of the website.
‘CF’ certificates for companies certified by CERTIFIRE to manufacture fire doors and doorsets and approved suppliers of CERTIFIRE certificated door closers, intumescent fire and smoke seals, glass, glazing systems and hinges and ‘CAF’ certificates for companies certified by CERTIFIRE to make fire door frames, glass openings or glazed apertures can be downloaded from the Warrington fire website using the search facility: //www.warringtonfire.net/certifire/search.html Data sheets relating to certification need to be obtained from the manufacturer.