my dear old mother lives in high rise flats built in the 60's (6th floor out of 14) and we're going to replace all the internal doors or to be more precise, get a joiner to do so 
for info we're in scotland. when you enter through the front door, you're taken into a hall/corridor off which are the bathroom and two bedrooms. at the end of the corridor you go through into the lounge and the kitchen is off the lounge.
i reckon all the doors (which we reckon are original) are non fire doors except the one that leads from the hall/corridor into the lounge. although there's nothing on it to indicate it's a fire door, it's 43/44mm thick and has a door closer on it.
the flats are interesting because quite a few folk have had upvc front doors installed, my mums flat included. someone was saying these doors 'should never have been allowed' as they're not sufficiently rated for heat/fire protection if there was a fire incident in the block. also, some folk have knocked down a particular wall between the lounge and kitchen to create a larger open plan space and again, folk are saying 'should never have been allowed as they've done it without seeking relevant permission or determining if they are weakening the structure of the entire block.' in short folk have made changes over the years that may be directly affecting various safety aspects of the block and individual flats within.
so, on to the internal doors. many folk in these flats have replaced the old doors with various modern replacements whether hollow or solid. and we know for a fact some have not replaced the internal fire door (corridor to lounge) with a fire door.
all of this, the upvc front doors and non internal fire doors surprises me as surely most building regs whether england or scotland will be similar to this?
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26.4 It should be noted that quite minor alterations and building works can often result in a contravention of the Building Regulations, which is an offence under the Building Act 1984. For example, removal of cross-corridor fire doors, or replacement of a fire door within a flat by a non-fire-resisting door, would normally result in such a contravention. Prosecution proceedings for such offences can be instituted for 24 months after completion of the unauthorised work.
26.5 A common contravention is the replacement of a self-closing, fire-resisting flat entrance door by a non-fire-resisting door or by a door that is not self-closing. This is a particularly serious contravention as it may place other residents at serious risk if a fire 36 Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats occurs in the flat in question. This highlights the importance of making residents aware of their responsibilities to maintain in place the fire precautions originally required under the Building Regulations at the time of construction of the flats.
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so, what to do re: replacing the internal fire door? part of me is thinking go with whatever mum likes as this opens up options in terms of styles etc. after all, others have done what they like so why not? but then i think about her safety i.e. even though there are smoke alarms surely having the fire door is a good thing for a number of reasons ... hopefully it'll never have to be used in that capacity but if a situation was ever arising ...
what would you do? thoughts/advice welcome.
for info we're in scotland. when you enter through the front door, you're taken into a hall/corridor off which are the bathroom and two bedrooms. at the end of the corridor you go through into the lounge and the kitchen is off the lounge.i reckon all the doors (which we reckon are original) are non fire doors except the one that leads from the hall/corridor into the lounge. although there's nothing on it to indicate it's a fire door, it's 43/44mm thick and has a door closer on it.
the flats are interesting because quite a few folk have had upvc front doors installed, my mums flat included. someone was saying these doors 'should never have been allowed' as they're not sufficiently rated for heat/fire protection if there was a fire incident in the block. also, some folk have knocked down a particular wall between the lounge and kitchen to create a larger open plan space and again, folk are saying 'should never have been allowed as they've done it without seeking relevant permission or determining if they are weakening the structure of the entire block.' in short folk have made changes over the years that may be directly affecting various safety aspects of the block and individual flats within.
so, on to the internal doors. many folk in these flats have replaced the old doors with various modern replacements whether hollow or solid. and we know for a fact some have not replaced the internal fire door (corridor to lounge) with a fire door.
all of this, the upvc front doors and non internal fire doors surprises me as surely most building regs whether england or scotland will be similar to this?
----------------
26.4 It should be noted that quite minor alterations and building works can often result in a contravention of the Building Regulations, which is an offence under the Building Act 1984. For example, removal of cross-corridor fire doors, or replacement of a fire door within a flat by a non-fire-resisting door, would normally result in such a contravention. Prosecution proceedings for such offences can be instituted for 24 months after completion of the unauthorised work.
26.5 A common contravention is the replacement of a self-closing, fire-resisting flat entrance door by a non-fire-resisting door or by a door that is not self-closing. This is a particularly serious contravention as it may place other residents at serious risk if a fire 36 Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats occurs in the flat in question. This highlights the importance of making residents aware of their responsibilities to maintain in place the fire precautions originally required under the Building Regulations at the time of construction of the flats.
----------------
so, what to do re: replacing the internal fire door? part of me is thinking go with whatever mum likes as this opens up options in terms of styles etc. after all, others have done what they like so why not? but then i think about her safety i.e. even though there are smoke alarms surely having the fire door is a good thing for a number of reasons ... hopefully it'll never have to be used in that capacity but if a situation was ever arising ...
what would you do? thoughts/advice welcome.
