Dublin Doors - Challenging Fire Test - Rutland ITS.11204

About the project:

Dublin Doors are a distributor of door leafs to door manufacturers throughout Ireland. Since Brexit, the market in Ireland requires the EN 1634-1 fire testing standard, as opposed to the previously accepted the British Standard BS 476. A customer of Dublin Doors wanted an overhead concealed door closer combined with 44mm thick doors, and it had to pass the EN fire testing standard.

The specification of the doors was:

(A) 44mm PB hardwood lipped all round door

(B) 38mm PB core faced with 3mm mdf, routed with 2mm decorative groove in the face

Dublin Doors were very aware that EN testing is widely considered to be more onerous than BS testing. The inclusion of a drop seal was also a point of concern - many companies have found that using drop seals to control smoke can appear to make the fire test harder to pass, with some experiencing prolonged flaming at the threshold. Rutland was able to help by providing its concealed closer ITS.11204, which can be used in 44mm fire doors – one of only a handful of concealed closers on the market that can do this. Rutland was also able to tap into its network of experts and consultants to discuss possible options, to help Dublin Doors to arrive at a combination that met the specification, and was most likely to succeed in the test. Dublin Doors were also required to write a Pre-Test Verification (PTV) before the test – a requirement at many test labs now. Rutland used its expertise in compliance to help complete this specification.

The outcome:

The results were excellent, with both doors lasting 49 and 51 minutes respectively in the fire test, for what was a 30-minute FD30 doorset, the more onerous European standard EN 1634-1 to achieve – E30. In our experience of fire testing, this is an excellent result for a 44mm solid timber door, and the Rutland team were just as pleased as Dublin Doors that the door, along with its concealed closer, passed with flying colours.