What is the maximum gap at bottom of doors for fire regulations ?

Question

i am doing some work at a youth hostle and they want me to add sections to the bottoms of doors that i have already fitted fire and smoke intumescent seals to (so as to meet 30 fire safety regs.)

IS THERE A REGULATION FOR THIS ?

p.s. i am happy to do the work but it is more hassle as i have to take them all off again. if i do have to do this work ,can i simplify it by adding a thim ( metal ) strip to both sides at the bottom for instance ? they are not pretty doors and they haven't got the money to spend on new doors .

Answer 1

Call your local Fire Prevention Department they will direct you based on their requirements.

Answer 2

I'm a building code and safety consultant/engineer in the state of Indiana. This answer is based on the assumption that your state adobts NFPA regulations, and that this is a occupancy under regulations.... It should be, but better safe than sorry.

According to NFPA 101, Life Safety Code Section, 7.2 Means of Egress Components... 7.2.1 Doors (7.2.1.3) Floor Level.... The elevation of the floor surfaces on both sides of a door shall not vary by more that 1/2 in. The elevation shall be maintained on both sides of the doorway for a distance not less that the width of the widest leaf. Thresholds at doorways shall not exceed 1/2in in height.

What this means is your distance can not exceed a half inch anywhere along the door. If you plan on adding metal strips to the bottom to meet this requirement you must not compromise the fire/smoke "rating". What that means it will need to be a listed application, and what your talking about probably wouldn't be.

If you need further consulting on this topic or others please feel free to ask. I am a consultant though and will have to start charging at some point :)  Hope that helps

Answer 3

If there's carpet, ya gotta allow for that, solid tiled floors would be 1/8" clearance which isn't much. The idea is to keep oxygen from going under the door & feeding a fire in a adjacent room and I would use gutter flashing if available & laying around to cut my strips of metal from.

Bless your heart for wanting to help & doing it right.

Answer 4

If you want chapter and verse, you need to refer to the relevant British Standards which will specify this. (You might find this out from a door suppliers website)

Not normally seen as problem as hot air/smoke rises - I have had jobs accepted where you could virtually get your hand under the door. But some Building Control guys are just tossers, I guess.

Your idea of putting kick plate on with solid battens sounds like a jolly good wheeze. Mechanically fix batten to plate and glue to under edge of door. If you have recenty hung them, though it will be easy enough to whip them off again (and probably more economic). Complicated by the fact that there are self closers on them, I shouldn't wonder.

Answer 5

1/2 " is the code here.........but very seldom do we ever get called for it........unless you have an 1 1/2" gap......even then to many don't say anything.......you could lightly sand the lower edges into a bull nose..and then double reveal a piece on the bottom...........good luck