Helping fabricators pre-empt changing fire door legislation
Hardware specialist Winkhaus has illustrated how its fire door frame which, in combination with the AV2 or AV3 auto locking system and a composite door leaf, will help fabricators meet both the changes introduced by the Approved Document Q (security) and the upcoming CE marking (fire) requirements.
Winkhaus hsd invested extensively in fire and security test evidence that has Q Mark Fire and Q Mark Security certification scheme compliance. This evidence in line with latest SBD and DCLG guidelines and can made available to the door fabricator.
The Part Q Security requirements of the UK building regulations add considerable pressure on manufacturing businesses. The changes will require all doors supplied to projects that require planning permission restrictions to hold the PAS24 security standard, or comply with a number of other requirements aimed at improving security levels.
New CE marking regulations for fire door sets have been introduced, (co-existence period until September 2019) stipulating that all fire doors should hold test evidence from an EN fire test method, as opposed to BS compliance. CE also requires that doors are manufactured with an independently audited factory production control or ‘certification scheme’. As CE marking falls into the responsibility of those placing the product on the market, fabricators could be faced with months of costly testing ahead.
The Winkhaus test evidence support will considerably can reduce these fabricator costs.
“To help our customers comply, we’ve introduced the FireFrame, designed for FD30 and FD60 fire performances, low maintenance as well as high security and energy efficiency,” said Winkhaus national sales manager Mike Rushen.
FireFrame is a specialist composite door frame tested to the European Norms, capable of achieving FD30 and FD60 compliance, placing Winkhaus in a good position to help fabricators meet a large range of requirements.
“FireFrame is lightweight and very fast to fabricate, with very low initial manufacturing set up costs,” Mike said. “Overall manufacturing costs and labour time are very low compared to alternative products.”
The fire door frame and the AV2 range of multipoint locks are available as an off-the-shelf solution, and have been tested with the door leafs provided by industry leading veneered timber and composite door suppliers.
“We can help fabricators meet all the new requirements with our FireFrame and AV2 locking systems, which have been tested and are compliant with these regulations,” said Mike. “This means fabricators won’t have to invest considerable resources in testing with the purpose of achieving compliance with Part Q and CE, but rather choose a proven solution from a trusted supplier.
“We’ve witnessed many changes to the legislation over the past couple of years, and more will follow in the next 36 months. In recent weeks, we have seen more and more enquiries for FD60 fire doors.
“At Winkhaus, we keep well informed on future requirements and prepare in advance, making sure our customers stay well ahead of the market.”
