A professional fire door installation is not simply a matter of hanging a door. The assembly — leaf, frame, seals, closer, hinges, and glazing — must be correctly specified for the location, supplied to the right certification standard, and installed by a competent specialist who understands how each component interacts with the others.
A fire door that has been fitted with the wrong frame, the wrong hinges, or gaps outside the permitted tolerance is not a compliant installation, regardless of how good the door leaf itself is. The certification applies to the tested assembly — not to individual components in isolation.
We install certified fire door assemblies for commercial, residential, and industrial buildings across Surrey, London, and the South East.
Every installation is carried out by qualified specialists, to current British Standards, with a compliance record provided on completion.
Why & Where Do You Need Fire Doors?
Fire doors are a critical part of your building’s passive fire protection system:
- helping maintain fire compartmentation
- keeping fires contained to one area
- protecting escape routes
- supporting firefighters in an emergency
The locations where fire doors are required are set out in Building Regulations Approved Document B and depend on the building type, height, use, and layout.
The table below covers the most common scenarios for new build properties:
| Location | Minimum rating typically required | Requirements |
| Flat entrance doors to common areas | FD30S (with smoke seals) | Legal requirement in all multi-occupied residential buildings |
| Corridors and escape routes | FD30S | Must be self-closing; never wedged open |
| Staircase enclosures | FD30S–FD60S depending on building height | Critical escape route protection |
| Plant rooms and boiler rooms | FD60 | High-risk — often requires higher rating |
| Integral garages (domestic) | FD30S | Required between garage and living space |
| Commercial premises | FD30–FD60, depending on fire strategy | Specified in fire risk assessment |
The specific fire door requirements for your building should be confirmed by your fire risk assessment and, for new or refurbished buildings, by building control.
If your fire risk assessment has not been reviewed recently, or if building works have been carried out since it was completed, it is worth getting it updated.
Fire Door Types & Ratings – What We Install
We supply and install the full range of fire door types for all building applications:
| Fire Door Type | Typical Use | Key Features | Standards & Ratings |
| Timber Fire Doors | Most UK residential and commercial buildings | Engineered cores (particleboard, MDF, solid timber); provides density & insulation | BS 8214; FD30 & FD60 standard, FD90 & FD120 for higher-risk areas |
| Steel Fire Doors | Commercial/industrial settings: plant rooms, loading bays, high-traffic areas | Higher durability, physical resistance; suited to harsh environments | BS EN 1634-1; FD30–FD120 depending on spec |
| Glazed Fire Doors | Areas needing visibility/light transmission: offices, public buildings, corridors | Fire-rated glass panels; correct frame & beading essential; standard glass not acceptable | BS 476 / BS EN 1634-1; FD30–FD60 typically |
| Internal Fire Doors | Interior fire compartmentation: corridors, stairwells, flats, offices | Maintain fire compartmentation internally; usually timber-based | BS 8214; FD30S / FD60S depending on location |
| External Fire Doors | Entrances, final exits, external access points | Fire and weather resistant; typically steel-faced | BS EN 1634-1; FD30–FD60 standard, higher for high-risk areas |
The door type in the table above determines the material and construction; the FD rating is a separate spec that applies across types and is set by the location, not the door. The four ratings used are:
- FD30S – standard residential and commercial locations (flat entrances, corridors, most escape routes).
- FD60S – higher-risk areas (stair cores, plant rooms, buildings >18 m).
- FD90 / FD120 – high-rise, critical infrastructure, or large industrial premises; less common but required for new high-rise developments.
Our Fire Door Installation Process
Every fire door installation we carry out follows the same structured process:
- Fire door survey and specification — we assess the location, confirm the required fire resistance rating, and specify the correct assembly including all components. Sometimes, fire door repair is a better choice.
- Installation — carried out by qualified fire door specialists to the manufacturer’s installation instructions and current British Standards.
- Gap and tolerance checks — every installed door is checked against the permitted gap tolerances: maximum 3mm around the edges, 8–10mm at the base or manufacturers approved tolerances.
- Closer adjustment — the self-closing device is set so the door closes fully and latches without assistance on every use.
- Fire door signage — correct signage fitted to both faces of the door on completion.
- Completion record — a compliance record is provided for every installation, including the door specification, certification reference, and installation date.
Fire Door Retrofitting & Upgrades
Many buildings have fire doors that are standing and operational — but wrong. Fire door repairs are not enough in those instances; retrofitting is a much more suitable solution:
- Wrong FD rating for the location
- A rated leaf in a non-rated frame
- Missing smoke seals — never specified with an S rating in the first place
- Existing notional fire doors that cannot demonstrate adequate fire resistance for their location
Retrofitting is the process of replacing non-compliant assemblies with correctly specified ones — without a full building refurbishment.
Where a door exists but was never right for its location, retrofitting brings it up to current standards rather than waiting for a planned works programme.
The process is identical to a new installation: fire door survey, specification, supply, and fitting of a certified assembly to current British Standards.
British Standards for Fire Door Installation
All our installations are carried out in accordance with the current applicable British Standards. The table below sets out the key standards and what they govern:
| Standard | What it covers | Applies to |
| BS EN 1634-1 | The current primary test standard for fire resistance of door sets. Most new fire doors are tested and certified to this standard. | All new fire door installations |
| BS 476 (Parts 20 & 22) | The historical UK fire resistance test standard. Many existing doors in older buildings are certified under BS 476 rather than BS EN 1634-1. | Existing installations in older buildings |
| BS 8214 | Guidance on the installation, maintenance, and correct use of timber-based fire door assemblies. | All timber fire door installations |
| BS 9999 | Fire safety in building design and management — covers how fire doors should be specified, positioned, and used within a building. | All buildings |
| Approved Document B | Sets the legal requirements for fire door placement and performance in new and refurbished buildings under Building Regulations. | New builds and refurbishments |
Fire Door Installation with Surrey Fire & Safety
- Qualified fire door installation specialists — not general builders or maintenance contractors.
- FIA affiliated — independently verified to recognised standards.
- Full supply and installation service — we source, specify, and fit. No need to manage separate suppliers.
- Correct specification every time — we work from the manufacturer’s assembly documentation, not assumptions.
- Completion records provided — every installation is documented for compliance and audit purposes.
- Whole-building approach — we flag related PFP issues identified during the installation survey.
- Serving Surrey, London, and the South East for nearly 30 years.
Fire Door Installation – Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an FD30 and an FD60 fire door?
The number indicates how many minutes the assembly is tested to resist fire: FD30 for 30 minutes, FD60 for 60 minutes. The rating required depends on the location, not on preference – escape routes and standard residential or commercial doors are typically FD30S, while higher-risk areas such as plant rooms and stair cores in taller buildings usually require FD60S. The “S” suffix means the door is also fitted with smoke seals.
Do you supply the doors, or just fit them?
Both. We provide a full supply-and-install service: surveying the location, specifying the correct certified assembly, sourcing it, and fitting it to the manufacturer’s installation instructions. This avoids the compliance risk of mixing components from different suppliers, since certification applies to the tested assembly as a whole rather than to individual parts.
My fire door already exists but doesn’t seem right – do I need a repair, a retrofit or a replacement?
It depends on what’s wrong. If the issue is wear – damaged seals, a faulty closer, loose hinges – a repair is usually sufficient. If the door itself is the wrong rating for its location, sits in a non-rated frame or is an existing notional fire door that cannot demonstrate adequate fire resistance, a retrofit or replacement may be required. Retrofitting is replacing the non-compliant assembly with a correctly specified one, without a full refurbishment. Full replacement is typically only needed where the door leaf is structurally damaged or has been altered in a way that invalidates certification.
How long does a fire door installation take?
A single door, once specified and sourced, typically takes a few hours to fit, check, and certify. The survey and specification stage – confirming the correct rating and sourcing the right assembly – usually takes longer than the physical fitting itself, particularly for non-standard sizes or higher fire ratings. Multi-door projects are scheduled around site access and occupancy to minimise disruption.