Communal fire door checks in Maidenhead
The three-monthly checks your block needs, done properly and written down.
Get a priceCommunal doors have the hardest life of any door in a block.
Everyone uses them. Bikes get pushed through, removal men wedge them open, and on a hot day somebody props one with a fire extinguisher. They're also the doors that keep the stairs clear of smoke while people get out.
The three-month rule
Over 11 metres high and two or more flats: the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 say the fire doors in the common parts get checked at least every three months. Under 11 metres there's no fixed timetable. Plenty of managing agents check regularly anyway.
Keep a record of each check. "All OK" on a scrap of paper won't show anyone much.
What a communal check covers
We walk the block floor by floor and open and release every door.
What we look for is whatever has changed since last time. A closer gone slack. A seal ripped off. A hinge screw working loose. A cracked vision panel. A sign that's fallen off the door.
We also look at what's around the door. A mat, a pushchair or a wedge stopping it closing goes in the record too.
Quarterly check or full inspection
A quarterly check is a routine look at what's changed.
A full inspection goes further. Every gap measured, certification looked for, the frame and fixings gone over, and photos of what we find. If you've never had one, start there, so you know what you're working from.
The record
Each visit gets a record with the date, the doors checked and anything different from last time.
If something needs dealing with quickly, we tell you that day. Faults can be priced together, so you're not paying for a visit every three months to change one closer.
Work we've done
A survey of 129 fire doors at a hotel in Reading. Corridor doors in use all day, with the same wear you get in a block of flats.
On a residential block in Stevenage, we sealed gaps found by its fire risk assessment.
Who can do the checks, and do residents need to be in
The law doesn't say it must be a specialist, but it does need to be someone who knows what they're looking at. Residents don't need to be in. We only need access to the common parts.
Tell us how many doors you have and we will send you a price the same day.
Get a price