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BS476 was the original test standard for fire doors. It will be phased out on the 02/09/2029. It will be replaced by BS EN 1634-1.

This does not mean fire doors tested to BS476 need to be replaced.

Most current fire tests are dual tested to both standards.

Often yes, but only to 30 or 60 minutes. There are some restrictions that cannot be avoided (without specific testing) such as minimum stile and rail widths but most designs can be built within that.

After that there are a range of options. Typically the route chosen will be a balance of absolute replication versus budget available. This is somewhat of a law of diminishing returns. We encourage clients who need a high level of replication for listed or historic buildings to discuss their project with us. We can almost always find a balance between replication and costs that work for the property owner.

The short answer is it varies. Simple slab doors can often be built in 2-3 weeks. Stile and rail doors are usually at least 5-6 weeks.

Complexity, volume of doors and current workload all feed into this, but we will always try to deliver in a timeframe that fits.

One option we can offer is to build the door linings first and deliver to site so joiners can move forwards whilst we manufacture the doors

Rather than deliver documents with the doors, instead each door we build is fitted with a discreet datapin which carries a unique digital ID.

Your door is registered on the National Firedoor Register, and your certification, installation and any other supporting documents are uploaded to the doors record.

You can access these at any point free of charge, by either scanning the door itself with a smartphone, or accessing the Register directly.

Of course. Every project has a budget whether we like it or not! It may be that a full stile and rail build is outside the budget, but there are other options.

For example we can cut and stitch veneers to simulate a stile and rail appearance and apply them to a slab door. Surface mounted mouldings can add some depth to the look of the door. Whilst you will not get the full visual impact of a stile and rail build, the cost is significantly reduced in most cases.

Standard off the shelf doors are tested, although even then, only the most onerous sizes are typically done, with the others deemed to pass as a result. Every door design should have a test report that covers this.

Obviously this is a problem with a custom made door. Its simply too expensive to individually test, so custom doors are built under a Field of Application report. These are test reports of a system, rather than a specific door design. That system may be based around a fire slab, fire core material or in some cases fire glass.

Each system is detailed in great depth with clear specifications for all of the door set parameters, hardware requirements and any installation processes that must be followed. Choosing the most appropriate system is step one of the process.

When we build the doors, once the appropriate system is chosen, we follow the FoA and then supply a copy of that as part of the doors documents so that the installation team can ensure this is followed.