doors, sliding doors, and fire doors

I have a 2 story house, which i am extending, and altering the configuration of slightly on the ground floor only.

The existing plans are:


and new plans are:



I am looking at putting a sliding door on the wall opposite the "cupboard" to allow the utility/living room areas closed off - I contacted BC and asked if i needed doors, and if so if it needed to be a firedoor.

This response was i do not need a door if the windows of the bedrooms on the first floor are of a certain size and position. If they do not, then i would need to put a door in place, no worse then the existing (wooden frame with lots and lots of glass panels) and does not need to be a firedoor. This would be suitable only because its a 2 story.

However, i am considering adding a loft in the future, so was thinking of installing a firedoor now so i don't have to mess about when it comes to sign off for the loft. Given the layout, it would be a sliding door - approx 2m wide!

So my question to all of you knowledgeable people - has anyone come across a 2m wide sliding door kit which is fire rated? If so, can you point me towards it? The wall part can be plaster boarded over to make it sealed - the wall can not come out as it would end up with a 4m wide opening for which i do not want to put more steel in for support.

You don't need fire doors in a two storey house, only between any attached garage.

Thanks woody, but will I need one jf I add a third story?

I believe fire doors have to be self closing. Or there has to be a protocol in place that they are kept closed when not in use.

Can you get self closing sliding doors that close reliably enough to satisfy the building control officer. ?

Sorry, I do need to learn to read all the post properly.

Eclisse do a pocket sliding fire system where the one door slides into a hollow partition.

You can also get traditional slider gear which is fire rated, try sdslondon .co.uk.

With a 2m opening, only one panel will ever be operable, so you will use just a single door kit, not a double.

bernardgreen said:

I believe fire doors have to be self closing

Click to expand...

That's been removed in the case of loft conversions

Thanks for the replys and the link!

I had a measure on drawings again, seems the opening is 1.5m, not 2 so there is a portman pocket firedoor kit which i will look into.