4ft fire escape????

[stef86]

Hi all

Need a few bits of info and some advice please!

Got a friend who wants a 2 door fire escape turned into one door fire escape in his restaurant not something a would usually fit . The question a have is weather anyone thinks a 4ft fire door is too big to fit with the stresses on the frame and hindges? The info i require is being a fire escape ,dose it need to have any fire ratings or do I need to fit fire strips n all that jazz?All I can think of from my time at college is that it needs to be a fire door with a 30 min rating and a panic handle , which is the reason he wants them changed as he dose not like the slip bolt handle he has on the original doors , that and the drafts coming through between them!

Thanks Would appreciate any advice

 

[Alarm]

Get correctly fitted doors with the appropriate exit devices.

Would be cheaper than trying to make a pigs ear out of a dogs mess.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

a dogs mess

That's quite a good description of the OP's post though!

 

[foxhole]

Would have thought they are two door for a reason, check the fire regs for restaurants.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Got a friend who wants a 2 door fire escape turned into one door fire escape in his restaurant not something a would usually fit . The question a have is weather anyone thinks a 4ft fire door is too big to fit with the stresses on the frame and hindges?

Well, it's big, but fire door blanks that size are made (the biggest I've ever had to deal with was 10ft x 4ft). 4ft wide isn't, however, a stock size for most suppliers, and because it weighs so much (probably 100 to 120kg) you'll need a substantial casing/frame to carry the weight. Is the existing casing up to the job? In addition such large doors require extra hinges; it will need 4 or 5 roller bearing 4in butts in fireproof rating. These simply can't be bought at B&Q or Wickes or even the local ironmonger (in most cases), so you'll need to find a proper commercial ironmonger. Another thing to consider is meeting the DDA regs (Disabilities Discrimination Act) - a 4ft wide door may well be so heavy and cumbersome that it would be considered to breach the law and earn your friend a fine. In all probability the current door is a "leaf and a half" set as these provide adequate access with just the main leaf open (these days often a 926mm wide DDA-compliant leaf), The smaller partial leaf is often secured by sliding flush bolts top and bottom and is really there to facilitate moving equipment in and out when required

The info i require is being a fire escape ,dose it need to have any fire ratings or do I need to fit fire strips n all that jazz?All I can think of from my time at college is that it needs to be a fire door with a 30 min rating and a panic handle

A fire escape door probably needs to be a fire rated door and casing and in order to meet the Building Regs (and also the insurers' requirements) it will need both an intumescent strip and a brush strip (or "fire strips n all that jazz"). If the door exits the building to outside or into another building (e.g. onto a shared corridor) it will probably need to be rated at 1 hour, not 30 minutes in the case of a public building such as restaurant.A t least when I'm doing shop or pub refits that's what the architects seem to call for these days

he dose not like the slip bolt handle he has on the original doors , that and the drafts coming through between them!

That sounds more like the doors were either badly fitted (possibly by a builder rather than a joiner)! Doors can be sorted out and crash bars, etc replaced, and if draughts are a problem were the doors are properly installed to start with with cold smoke seals (brush strips) then draughts wouldn't be an issue.

Personally, before replacing doors like this I'd seriously consider sorting out the existing doors with proper gapping and new seals, etc. That isn't a job I'd hand to an apprentice, however

 

[stef86]

Thanks for the useful post! Don't understand people who want to act like smart arses on forums! Clearly the post was understandable as te last reply is quite clearly all I was looking for!

I thought myself that the original doors could be fitted with draft excluders and replace te existing slip bolt set up with a new cleaner , smarter looking one! Save time and money! Plus like u said the existing frame probally would not withstand the weight of a 4ft door! Thanks for ur reply! Much appreciated!!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Don't understand people who want to act like smart a**es on forums

Grow some you boring old fart.

 

[Alarm]

Got to laugh.

So saying to get decent doors and the correct exit devices is being a smart arse

 

[Deleted member 174758]

So saying to get decent doors and the correct exit devices is being a smart a**e

I've made that suggestion to a couple of site managers in my time. Oddly, that's exactly what they called me. New stuff is always nice to have, but on refurbs you're not always given a choice

 

[Alarm]

Well this is a case where pictures would have helped.

I agree with you, when advising on the above a replacement is often refused, but two standard doors with the correct devices and fittings would surely be cheaper than a 4 ft monstrosity that would probably fail regulations anyway?

Then of course you have to satisfy the insurers as well. Always fun trying to get the Fire officer and the insurer to agree on something!!!!!!!!!!!!!