Internal Fire Doors

[HouseIsOnFire]

Hi all, getting different advice from everyone I ask so thought I'd try here!

Victorian terrance with loft room (not a proper bedroom), which eventually will redo to be a proper bedroom - at the end of 5 year plan!

The rest of the house needs a lot of love and replastering each room, replacing door frames as we go.

Bathroom is happening next month (hoorah!) and just booked a joiner to fit new door liner, which will be for a fire door as it is en route to downstairs for loft room's eventual fire escape.

But now someone is insisting the fire doors need self closing mechanisms, which I can't see is right? I'm sure no 3 story town house I've been in has them?

So... do internal fire doors have to be self closing? And if so, they can just be added later surely?

I realise this is really a question for architect/builder come loft conversion (renovation?), but as replastering the rooms downstairs now, really want it all sorted!

Yes we're renting a 3 storey townhouse and all the doors are self-closing (it's really annoying!). It's to protect the fire escape route down the stairs.

My previous property had fire doors, all self closing, as above it's a pain in the bum, my son learnt to crawl in that flat and kept pulling doorstops out, was a nightmare.

Building regulations change over time. Our internal doors have closers but don't think they are required now. Call your council br department for latest advice.

@Chickenpeppers @RidingMyBike oh that's annoying! I have cats, so they'd be furious if the doors are self closing, they find the bathroom door being closed an affront as it is!

@LIZS thanks, that's a good idea will give them a ring.

Am sure the closers can be added later as an afterthought right?

If you have to have them, you don't have to use them...

We had to have one between the garage & utility. Building regs guy wouldn't sign off the cert (?) until he'd seen the door in self-closing action.

That said, yes you could take them off/ change the hinges after.

Thank you! Think am just going to go ahead and get the liner and door fitted as fire doors and just ignore the closer until a later date!

I think I read in another thread a while ago that Building Control don’t require closers any more.

Side note for anyone like me who really wants to keep their original period doors… we’ve had loft companies out to quote for our loft conversion and two of the three use an outsourced Building Control company who will sign off without fire doors on the ground and first floor - as long as there is a mains-powered smoke alarm in all habitable rooms throughout the house (bedrooms, living rooms, kitchen). One said theirs doesn’t allow glazed doors, however (unless actually FD30). The other said it doesn’t matter. One of the reps’ view was that it was actually safer that way. If a fire starts in a room behind a closed fire door with no alarm in that room, it will be very well established before you’re woken up by the smoke alarm in the hallway, for example.

I noted down the names of the Building Control companies they use for anyone interested! One was called Complete and the other Total.

We had a loft conversion last year. All doors to habitable rooms are fire doors, but none of them are self-closing.

Two firms called Complete and Total sounds like the start of a brilliant joke ahaha, thank you! Would happily have more smoke detectors fitted

Thanks @Janek , my theory is if I do need closers when the loft is finally sorted, then they'll just have to be added separately!

I had the same thought as I typed them out! 😂

No you don't need closers any more. I think the logic was that doors with closers were being permanently propped open so less likely to ever be closed and actually protect the stairs.
Total Building Control are good and PP is correct that they let you convert a loft without fire doors provided you install smoke alarms in every habitable room.

From Building Regs Approved Document B, Volume 1; Dwellings.

Don't need door closers as it's residential. The other person might have had them as they were renting.

That's from DH who does actually make fire doors for a living!

@SwedishDentist and @PoodlesAndArse thank you! And thank you for the actual clause (not sure brave enough to use it to prove my point, but will just carry on and ignore them!)

I took all mine out when the rules changed. Closers were a pita.

Closers we're dangerous. We had to take them off otherwise our dogs would have lost tails and the kids fingers. Fortunately regulations definitely changed, so it was ok.