People ask what we actually do on the doors. Fair question. Most of the time on each one goes on the gauge.
Label first. Top edge, hinge edge, sometimes a plug in the side. If there is a rating on it we write it down. If there is nothing, we write that down too, because it changes what happens next.
Then we run a hand over the leaf. Chips, patched holes, old lock cut-outs filled with putty. Frame next. We push on it. A frame that moves in the wall is not holding anything.
Hinges. Three, same type, every screw in. Sometimes it is two. Sometimes it is three with one screw missing.
Gaps are the big one. Sides and head should be near 3mm and we measure the top, middle and bottom of each side. Underneath we go by what the door maker says. A door can be a neat 3mm at eye level and 7mm at the floor.
Then the seals, all the way round. Then the closer. We open the door wide, let go and watch. It either latches or it does not.
Glass should be marked and held with the right beads. A letterbox has to be fire-rated. Last, we photograph the door and every fault on it.
What the numbers mean
A gap of 3mm is a sensible target, but the maker's own guidance has the last word. Some doors are tested with a different gap.
Gaps are not the same all the way down. A door can be fine at the top and 6mm out near the floor. That is why the gauge goes in at several points.
What looks wrong and is not, and the other way round
Faded label after a repaint? Hunt for it with a torch before you give up. It usually turns up. A chip in the face that has not gone through the skin? We note it and move on.
A closer that only works if you help the door the last few inches is not working. A door propped open with a wedge cannot do its job. A new lock with a big pocket cut into the edge has taken the strength out of it.
Questions we get asked
Do you test doors by fire?
No. Fire testing happens in a laboratory, on a sample door built for it. We inspect yours and compare it with how that door should be.
Can you say whether a door is FD30 or FD60?
Only when there is a label or a plug that says so. With neither, we describe what we can see and say the rating is not proven.
Send us the postcode and a rough count of doors. A price comes back the same day.
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