Current affairs
view is that Clause 13.4 of EN 1634-1 should be followed regardless of whether the doorset is being classified to BS 476-22 or the European standard EN 1634-1. The department strongly recommends the following actions to confirm that the appropriate tests have been applied to composite doors: • designers and specifiers should seek assurance and evidence from their suppliers that the products they are specifying meet the appropriate standards
• building control bodies should satisfy themselves that products being used on a project under their supervision meet the appropriate standards – where there is any doubt, or where the doorsets are particularly critical, then they should request and review the test reports and not necessarily rely on manufacturer’s literature
•
test laboratories and certification schemes should take note of this advice and ensure that their documentation shows clearly the nature of testing that has been used, in order to support any classification and justification of the test methodology that has been used
The way forward
The government has found that thermoplastic and GRP insulated composite doorsets taken
from buildings – of similar construction to the Grenfell Mastador – have failed the 30 minute fire test requirement. Some of these doorsets have been found to have inconsistencies in the way they have been passed, including doorsets that have third party certification for fire.
As the MHCLG starts to include other doorset construction materials such as timber in the evaluation, the focus is increasingly going to be on whether fire certification is fit for purpose, whether or not BS 476-22 is the best standard, or whether BS EN 1634-1 is more appropriate. This may become a requirement anyway if CE marking becomes mandatory post Brexit. Advice Note 16 advises that replacement doorsets will be required to be tested on both sides. At the moment, the industry only tests on the most onerous side. Advice Note 17 further clarifies the earlier advice and specifically states that only composite doorsets have to be tested on both sides. The argument for or against fire testing a doorset on both sides is a detailed and complex one. On the one hand, it could be argued that it is overly onerous, expensive and time consuming. On the other hand, doorsets are becoming ever more complex, and there are very few doorsets that are truly symmetrical on both sides. For example, the introduction of security
into the Building Regulations (Part Q), reduced CO2 requirements (Part L) and unwanted
FOCUS
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