Standards Development

Scope

a) To revise BS 8214: 2016 to include criteria relevant to fire door assemblies formed from materials other than timber. i.e. Steel, Aluminium and composites

b) To revise section 9 Installation of Fire Doors, clarifying installation methods and materials.

c) To revise section 12 with regards to smoke control and the under-door (threshold) gap.

d) To include any updates required in changes to regulations and Government guidance following the Grenfell tragedy.

Purpose

a) It will be necessary to amend BS 8214: 2016 (timber doors) to contain guidance relevant to fire doors assemblies of all materials in the body of the standard and introduce a suite of annexes that cover guidance specific to the primary material of the door assembly, i.e. timber, steel, aluminium and composite.

During the last revision of BS 8214, metal door assemblies were removed and the standard was made specific to timber, as a result there is no longer a code of practice that deal with fire door assemblies constructed from metal.

Metal fire doors have specific considerations with respect to installation, maintenance, components and manufacture etc. and as such it makes sense to have a guidance that clearly deals with these issues.

It may be necessary to further break down guidance for metal door assemblies to be more specifically related to say, steel and aluminium door assemblies.

These proposals are supported by the DHF as well as CAB as well as approving authorities and third-party certification bodies)

Composite fire doors have never had a code of practice that gives guidance on best practice and useful information. Composite doors have specific considerations with respect to installation, maintenance, components and manufacture etc. and as such it makes sense to have a guidance that clearly deals with these issues.

These proposals are supported by ACDM as well as approving authorities and third-party certification bodies.

b) The installation section within BS 8216: 2016 is being misread. Section 9.4.2 is being read in isolation of section 9.4.1 leading to confusion as to what materials are acceptable for installing fire doors. The section needs to be revised to clarify exactly what is required when installing fire resisting doors. The requirement to revise this section has come from open discussion forums within industry associations (e.g., ASDMA and IFSA) and certified installers as part of onsite inspection and audits by third party certification bodies operating installer schemes. The feedback suggests that the misinterpretation of this section (9.4) is leading to non-compliant installation of fire doors.

c) The guidance with respect to smoke control needs to be revised to bring it in line with guidance being considered in the revision of BS 9991. This will affect the way that smoke control is measured in accordance with BS EN 1634-3 or BS 476-31.1 and the best practice for sealing the under-door(threshold) gap. There is a view that the 3mm gap currently permitted is not effective and could contribute to the spread of smoke within a building. These proposals are supported by IFSA and SCCG approving authorities and third-party certification bodies

d) Other updates/inclusions may be necessary within the standard depending on post Brexit legislation, e.g., UKCA marking and CE marking, and any additional certification or regulatory requirements as a result of the building regulation review being conducted by DLUHC or the Building Safety Bill and any associated secondary legislation.