Internal Fire Doors – A Complete Guide

When buying fire doors, there is much to consider, not least safety concerns, building regulations and whether or not you require them on the premises. At Leader, we know that choosing internal fire doors for your home can be overwhelming and involves a lot of knowledge, consideration and responsibility.

To help you find the correct answers to your burning questions, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide detailing all there is to know about internal fire doors. 

Table of contents: 

• What are fire doors?
• What is the difference between a normal door and a fire door?
• How do I know what fire rating my door is?
• What is a Class B fire door?
• Are fire doors a necessity?
• Fire door regulations
• Fire door sizes
• How much does a fire door cost?
• Maintaining a fire door

What are fire doors?

Fire doors often go unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, but they play an important part in keeping us safe. Designed to prevent the rapid spread of fire and smoke throughout a building, they work by containing the blaze and subsequent bi-products to a specific building area for as long as possible to allow for sufficient evacuation time. As well as opening a designated escape route to lead people away from the fire and out of the affected building. 

What is the difference between a normal door and a fire door?

Doors with fire-protective properties differ from standard commercial doors as they’re manufactured using heavyweight, high-grade, fire-resistant materials – meaning more than just the actual door (also known as the door leaf) are fire-rated components, including: 

• Fire-rated door frame
• Fire-rated door hinges – usually, there are three or more of these present on a fire door
• Fire door closer – there are options for concealed ones for fire doors around the home to avoid the unsightly, bulky ones often found in commercial buildings. 
• Intumescent strips and cold smoke seals

For a fire door to be certified, it must go through rigorous testing, including fire and stress testing, and each comes with a fire rating. 

How do I know what fire rating my door is?

Each fire door will have labels attached to the door panel and the frame (usually on the hinge side). On these labels, you will find information on which testing agency it was certified by, the door type, and the time the door should provide protection (in hours and minutes).

For example, if a door is labelled with a rating of FD-30, it should successfully withstand fire for approximately 30 minutes, whilst one with an FD-60 rating should be able to protect for up to 60 minutes and an FD-120 one for 120 minutes. FD-30 fire doors are those typically used in homes. 

What is a Class B fire door?

You may also find that fire doors are commonly classified as Class A or Class B. 

Class A fire doors use higher-quality materials to form a thicker door and generally have a much longer service life (usually between five and eight years). They are typically used around high importance, such as equipment rooms (those that house the automatic fire extinguishing systems found on highrise buildings), power distribution rooms and other private rooms. 

The fire doors you typically see in ordinary fire passages in places such as schools, offices and homes are Class B fire doors. Class B doors are mildly thinner and are made using slightly less high-quality materials (usually wood and steel), so they have a shorter life span, but they have a wider scope of use and still offer a higher grade of protection against flames and smoke than a regular internal door. 

Are fire doors a necessity? 

Fire safety in the home is something everyone is taught from a young age. We know it’s a legal requirement for our homes to be fitted with a functioning fire alarm and smoke detection system, but are fire doors necessary? Although there is no legal requirement for your standard two-storey residential to have internal fire doors, they are an extremely effective way to protect yourself, your family and your home from fire – limiting the spread of any blaze and smoke to allow emergency services to tackle a well-contained fire and potentially save your home from additional, catastrophic damage. 

Fire door regulations

The current fire door regulations for commercial buildings and domestic residencies are set out across The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and various other approved documents which list the cases where residential properties are required, by law, to have fire doors. Those circumstances are:

• If the property has an internal garage door that connects to the house.
• The door protects an escape path to the outside of a building over two storeys high.
• It is an entrance door to a flat.

Despite not being a legal requirement, we also recommend installing fire doors in rooms where fires may be likely to originate, such as your kitchen or any rooms with a fireplace or where flammable materials may be stored. 

Fire door sizes

The sizing for fire doors works no differently than standard internal doors, so there’s no need to worry about finding one to fit your home. However, there are made-to-measure options available should you have a particular dimension you wish to fill – for example, a loft conversion. 

How thick is a fire door?

The thickness of fire doors can vary depending on the rating and class they sit within. For example, FD-30 (30 minutes)rated doors are usually around 44mm thick, whereas FD-60 doors tend to be around 54mm. For reference, the thickness of your standard, non-fire-rated doors is usually around 40mm. 

How much does a fire door cost?

At Leader Doors, we host a variety of fire doors designed to suit all kinds of budgets, with high-quality fire-rated doors available from as little as £80 and increasing in price depending on the fire rating and thickness you require.

However, because fire doors are paramount to your safety, we recommend enlisting a professional to fit your doors to ensure they’re correctly installed and functioning to the best of their ability, meaning you will incur an extra cost for installation. 

Maintaining a fire door

Any fire doors throughout your home should be checked regularly to ensure they are still fit for purpose. When refurbishments or alterations are carried out, the performance of a fire door can be impacted, and fire doors that are used as regularly as other doors in the home will be subjected to wear and tear. Keeping the locks, handles and hinges clean and well-oiled is important, as well as frequently checking that the door closes properly. 

There are a handful of things that you should keep an eye out for when checking your fire doors are still functioning as they should:

Certification: Fire doors must have a certification, generally on a label at the top of the door.

Gaps: Gaps should consistently be less than 4mm when the door is closed. You should be unable to see light through the door when it’s closed.

Hinges: All hinges (three or more) must be firmly fixed with no missing screws 

Discover quality fire doors at Leader Doors.

At Leader Doors, we pride ourselves on supplying some of the best fire-rated doors on the market. Available in various sizes, colours and designs, you’ll find what you need to fit your needs. Browse our high-grade fire doors in oak, white, black, grey or walnut and protect your home today.

Browse PAS24 fire door sets

Explore the range of PAS24 fire door sets we offer here at Leader Doors, offering all you need to ensure each of your internal doors is fire safety compliant. Comprised of not only the door leaf but also the frame, locks, latches, hinges, and any other glazing elements, our PAS24 fire door sets are specifically engineered and fire-rated to protect against smoke and fire for up to 60 minutes (depending on rating). Browse our selection and find the perfect fire door to meet your requirements, ensuring peace of mind thanks to state-of-the-art security and fire resistance features.

More from Leader Doors: 

• 5 benefits of having internal sliding doors
• External doors buyers guide
• What’s the difference between fully finished, primed & unfinished doors? 

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