Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 122 THE door industry journal spring 2024 Locks & Building Hardware BS 476 To EN 1634-1: What Does it Mean for Door Hardware? Building regulations are designed to govern the methods and materials used throughout construction projects. For decades, modern regulations have developed to form a minimum standard and without them, many structures would be considered dangerous and risking the safety of their occupants. Where fire safety is concerned, legislation plays a vital role in ensuring a building and its design elements will behave appropriately in a fire situation. For fire doors and their hardware specifically, the UK has been following a dual approach to performance classification until now, with the British Standard 476: 22 (BS 476) running concurrently with EN 1634-1. Each assessment method is designed to grade doorsets between FD30 and FD240 depending on how long they can resist fire. However, in December 2022, the UK government proposed to remove national classifications from building regulations. In doing so, BS 476 would be removed from the updated Approved Document B in favour of its European equivalent, which is considered a more rigorous testing method. Although, with the change yet to come into force, many questions continue to surround the proposal. So, what are the implications of a move to EN 1634-1 and what does it all mean for fire door hardware? Daniel May of Consort Architectural Hardware explains: “Over the course of time, regulations habitually require updating. Between outdated methods and technology to the development of new construction targets and cultural shifts - take sustainability as an example - change can often suggest progress. “In recent years, there’s no doubt that we’ve made strides forward as an industry in relation to fire safety and building design for example, with us seeing several reforms as per the Building Safety Bill and Fire Safety Act. Yet, the latest proposed change to remove BS 476 as a standard feels a little nuanced to some. Over twelve months since the government first made its announcement, questions and concerns remain and with that in mind, we must look into its potential ramifications. “BS 476 is a long-established standard that has been widely accepted in the UK since 1987. As an officially recognised testing method, BS 476 aims to achieve higher fire safety standards by assessing and confirming the fire resistance of various building elements, including fire doors and their hardware. To help assure a door assembly’s fire performance, the test method Daniel May of Consort Architectural Hardware discusses the proposed standard change from BS 476 to EN 1634-1 and the impact it may have on door hardware and the
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