Vibrant Colours and Fabulous Designs: Revamp Your Door

Fire Door Buying Basics

Fire doors are a requirement in most commercial buildings, as their installation is considered a key safety need to help protect others and prevent the spread of flames in the event of a fire. There are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for a new fire door to install. 

Required Features

At the most basic level, a fire-resistant door must be designed to close and latch automatically so that it prevents a fire from spreading. These minimum requirements are designed to give everyone in a building time to evacuate by stalling the spread of a fire. Doors are also rated by fire resistance level, which can help you determine which doors block a hot fire for the longest length of time. If your goal is to protect the building and property as well as people, then you will want to shop for doors that perform above the minimum rating. 

Door Materials

You can find fire doors in various materials. Aluminium and steel doors are common, but there are also glass door options. Don't be worried that the material options mean the door must look industrial and plain. You will have a choice of finishes, including paint colours and "faux wood" styles. You can also find metal fire doors with design additions such as decorative mouldings and laminate coatings designed to give the door a more homey look.

Operation Style

There is really no limit to fire door operation styles. You can find the doors in the standard push-pull mode of operation, as well as those that slide to the side to open or even roll up. Pass through swinging style doors are another option. Automatic doors, both swinging and sliding, are also available. Of course, in the event of an actual fire, the automatic doors will default to manual opening doors so that they can otherwise stay shut and perform their duty of preventing the spread of a fire. 

Time Ratings

Not all fire doors are created equal. You can check the time ratings on a fire door to see how long it is designed to resist the flames. The most basic doors may only come in around a half-hour of resistance, but there are doors with fire-resistant core materials, such as asbestos, that can resist the heat and flames for several hours if need be. These doors may not be necessary for the typical home or office building, but they may be required in certain industrial or warehouse settings where flammable or volatile items are used and stored. 

Contact a fire door installation service to learn more about resistance ratings and the available options.