Door Industry Journal - Spring 2020

108 THE door industry journal spring 2020 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Fire & Security When is a fire door not a fire door? When it has the incorrect seals fitted – or none at all! Who has responsibility for enduring that seal selection is correct and compliant? Michael Spoors of Norseal answers some questions about that they are asked most frequently about fire door seals. Q. Do all intumescent materials activate at the same temperature? A. No. The various types activate at different temperatures, therefore only the same material that was used in the actual fire test should be fitted. Activating too early or too late is likely to compromise the test evidence for the fire door. Q. Can I substitute a different material to that fire tested? A. No. Because there are different activation temperatures and different pressures and degrees of expansion, you should only use the same type of seal as that which was tested. Using a different seal could have serious consequences on the door’s fire performance. For instance, if the wrong seal was used down the meeting stiles of a pair of doors it can expand with such force that the door leaves push open, and the door fails. Q. Is there such thing as a 30-minute fire seal? A. Not all fire doors are the same. Make sure that you have a properly tested fire door construction. Norseal will happily provide the test evidence on a data sheet so that you can check within that data what type and size (or sizes) of seal have been tested and that is what you should specify and supply. Remember that adding a fire seal to any door doesn’t automatically make it a fire door. Where door manufacturer’s test evidence isn’t available, the usual recommendation is to use a 15 x 4mm seal, fitted centrally at the head and both jambs of a single leaf, single acting door. If it’s a fire and smoke door (which will be denoted FD30S), then a fire seal alone will not be sufficient - you must purchase combined or separate smoke and fire seals. Q. I have an existing fire rated door but have been told it needs to be upgraded to provide smoke containment too. What do I do? A. The simplest way of achieving this is by installing a tested retrofit cold smoke seal. There is a choice of sizes for different applications, including ultra-low frictional resistance for ease of door operation, and as they fix straight onto the doorstop with strong self-adhesive tape, it’s easy to install and you won’t need to remove the door to fit it. If you have double leaf doors, it will need a seal at the meeting stile too. Seal of Approval