Fire doors are one of the most vital elements of a building and are specified and installed as part of a building’s built-in passive fire protection system.
The manufacture and/or the modification of this potentially lifesaving piece of equipment is of vital importance and should only be undertaken by competent and trained personnel.
There are three main roles to consider:
Prime Door Manufacturer
A Prime Door Manufacturer is a manufacturer of a fire door leaf that has been tested to demonstrate compliance with building regulations.
Door Blank/Core Manufacturer
A Door Blank/Core manufacturer is a manufacturer of core substrates that themselves are used in the manufacture of a fire door leaf. These substrates will have been tested as a complete fire door assembly to demonstrate compliance with building regulations.
Licenced Door Processor
A Licensed Door Processor is a joinery or a door company, who can be licensed by a Prime Door Manufacturer or a door Blank/Core Manufacturer, and be third party certified to carry out specific functions:
Take an already certified fire door leaf (from the Prime Door Manufacturer) and adjust it according to the scope of the manufacturers’ fire door test certificate (CF) and data sheet. This may include:
Or
Take a door blank/core and, according to the scope of the Door Blank/Core Manufacturers’ fire door test certificate (CF) and data sheet, manufacturer a fire door leaf by:
All whilst maintaining the certification of the original door leaf, door blank or door core.
NOTE: A joinery company could take the details from the fire door certificate and data sheet and modify prime doors or manufacture fire doors from blanks, without their systems and processes being audited, but they will not be able to certify the final fire door assembly/doorset.