How Much Do Fire Doors Cost In Apartment Buildings?

One of the questions that we are often asked by potential customers is how much fire doors cost. Whilst this is a complex question to answer in one blog, we can begin by clarifying elements that affect cost.

Buying Fire Doors is similar to most purchases, in that you get what you pay for. There are many elements that make up a doorset, meaning it’s even more important to carefully specify each individual component.

Most specifiers understand the difference between a cheap price and good value. Quite simply, the level of quality and assurances a premium product offers is unmatched by budget- or value-buying.

What Affects The Cost Of A Fire Door In Apartment Buildings?

At first thought, it would be easy to think that they are simply devices to allow people to pass from one room to another and provide privacy.

The true answer is very different. There are many different environments in which Fire Doorsets are used. It is critical that the design must be fit for purpose in these different types of buildings with many different types of service user.

For example, a doorset fitted in an apartment building will have completely different design requirements and options than a doorset used in a school.

So let’s look at the different options available and factors which can so dramatically affect the cost of your timber fire doorset:

1. The Size Of Your Fire Doorset

It may seem obvious, but the size of a doorset is determined by many factors:

1. 1. Volume of people forecast to use the doorset. (IE toilet door v’s communal corridor).
2. 2. Volume of people expected to use the doorset in the event of a fire. (IE lifts and escalators are not 3. permitted).
3. 3. Size of equipment required to pass through.
4. 4. Aesthetic and design statements.
5. 5. Size of structural openings.
6. 6. Width of walls.
7.  

These factors can make quite a difference to the way that doorsets are manufactured, and more importantly the doorsets performance is designed to meet additional fire, acoustic and/or security requirements.

2. Application

The environments in which your Timber Doorsets will be installed can have a considerable impact on the construction of the doorset itself.

Low traffic, low-risk areas such as accommodation would be sufficient with a standard heavy duty solid core doorset with no additional options to provide a safe solution for the building’s occupants.

On the other hand, challenging environments such as mental health units, custodial facilities or high-traffic areas such as hospitals, will require a more specialised door set. In these cases, consider the mechanical rating, features preventing unauthorised access and even anti-ligature grilles to ensure the safety of the people within the building.

These options are not be available in off-the-shelf, mass-produced products.

Secure environments such as an apartment’s main point of entry or mental health units need specialist timber doorsets.

Specialist Timber Doorset companies, such as RW Doorsets provide highly bespoke products, tailored to your precise needs, to ensure patient safety and maximum product life.

3. Ease Of Cleaning & Low Maintenance Costs

Often disregarded are the additional costs required to extend the life of the doorset. The increased awareness of physical damage caused to door leaves, has driven many changes in considering the finishing costs of a doorset.

This is not just about considering extreme behaviour, but also normal use like heavy foot traffic (in schools and universities) or impact damages.

Ensuring that doorsets last their forecasted lifetime and are low maintenance has encouraged clients to upgrade doorsets to a higher specification and lower lifetime cost.

So, How Much Does An Apartment Doorset Really Cost?

The costs between an off the shelf flat pack doorset and a bespoke doorset are not as great as you would imagine:

The Cost Of Flat Pack & Standard Doors

A flat pack (or standard doorset) is limited to specific sizes. Requiring special or bespoke sizes can be hard to acquire and the costs for these can be incredibly high.

There is a wide range of finishes, however, most are manufactured laminates. In instances where real veneers are promoted, there are normally heavy caveats for quality, pattern and finish.

The base ironmongery in standard (flat pack) doorsets can also be very limited. These elements are often not sufficiently tested or certified to meet security, fire performance or acoustic requirements.

You should also consider installation. Not only site assembly costs but taking responsibility for matching the correct ironmongery to the doorset so as not to invalidate the fire or security certification.

Finally consider the lifetime costs associated with standard doorsets. A factory painted door leaf will look great upon delivery but isn’t very resistant to minor scrapes and knocks. Often it is easier to repaint the whole door when repairing it than touching up the repair.

A laminate door is resilient to minor scrapes and knocks but it is not economic to replace a full face of laminate if damaged beyond repair.

Premium Timber Doorsets

Well-designed doorsets offer many benefits both in the short-term and long-term, helping to payback the slight increase in initial price over time.

Premium fire doors don't arrive in kit form or require time-consuming assembly, they are supplied in one piece and are complete with factory-fitted ironmongery and intumescent protection. This not helps to eliminate on-site cutting, which is noisy, and difficult and can easily lead to invalidation of installation, fire or security certification.

Premium timber fire doorsets have been designed by specialist manufacturers, to provide the correct certification for your desired application. Consider looking for manufacturers who also offer installation, this helps to ensure the door meets the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Time and time again, up front savings on the cost of purchasing cheaper doorsets are soon eaten up by the extra time it takes to install them if they have not been designed with you, or the installer in mind.

Specifying Apartment Fire Doors With Safety Designed In

Surprisingly there are still doorsets on the market with unfinished leaf edges or those that have not been morticed for ironmongery and their intumescent gaskets, or even vision panels.

Remember as the owner or landlord of a building you are now legally responsible for the performance of your fire doorsets. This goes further than checking whether your doors close properly or is in full working order.

You are responsible for the other elements of a doorset:

• Do you have certification?
• Is the correct ironmongery fitted to the correct core with its correct intumescent gaskets?
• Is the leaf configuration correct to the fire test evidence?
• & importantly, has the doorset been installed correctly?
  
  

To avoid being caught out by a lapse of judgements, ensure that you partner with a doorset manufacturer who can offer their expertise in all areas of doorset specification. From the manufacture of the door, to installation and to repairs or maintenance, choosing a business that offers a complete package will save you time, money and hassle down the line.

Conclusion

It is often said that you get what you pay for. This is just as true with Timber Doorsets as with any other product.

Sure - you can buy a low-cost, off-the-shelf option for around £400 each, but ask yourself is it fit for purpose in your building.

If you are unsure about any of these points raised in this blog, there is a fair chance that the long-term costs of your Timber Doorsets could way exceed the ticket price on the initial purchase.

RW Doorsets may not be the cheapest product you consider, and if the price is your only consideration, it is probably not worth contacting us. But in terms of life expectancy, safety, cost of maintenance, and fire, security and acoustic performances RW Doorsets are confident that we provide the best value for money on the market.

RW are also the only company to offer full assistance with design, manufacture, installation and lifetime service and maintenance programmes.

If you’d like to discuss these legislative changes or your project in more detail, feel free to talk to an expert today. Simply fill out the form below or call us on 0161 480 8722.