What Is The Best Type Of Fire Door Survey?

What Is The Best Type Of Fire Door Survey?

September 25, 2024
person using computer, with graphic overlay of documents with tick boxes

If you’ve been given the responsibility of arranging a fire door survey, you should be well aware that prompt and efficient action is critical. The fire doors within any building should meet key rules and regulations at all times and failure to meet these standards can lead to disastrous consequences. A fire door survey will give you the insight you need to address any potential problems and ensure that your fire doors function as they should in an emergency.

However, the importance of getting a fire door survey can often pressurise decision-makers into making rash or poor choices. The quality of an inspection can vary significantly as there is no standardisation when it comes to the contents of a survey report. It is therefore worth considering what you wish to achieve from your survey and clarifying the level of detail you can expect from the report before appointing your chosen professional.  

Typically the purpose of the fire door survey is to identify non-compliances and as such the risks to your building so that remediation in the form of repairs or replacements can be priced and addressed. In many cases, the level of detail provided by an inspector will simply be insufficient for a reputable professional to price for and carry out the subsequent remedial or maintenance work due to a lack of information gathered during the survey. 

Many capable surveyors understand what makes a fire door compliant but having a detailed knowledge of how to repair or replace a non-compliant fire door is a very different skill that is vital if you wish to gather costs from a certified installer. As such, it pays to do your research first and seek the very best fire door survey available to you as this will equip you with all of the information required to keep your fire doors compliant both now and in the future.

Features Of A Good Fire Door Survey

The aim of a fire door inspection is to understand whether your current fire door provision is compliant and, if not, what work is required to meet the required standards. The best fire door survey will therefore be one that provides all of this information in a clear and easy-to-digest report, enabling an efficient and cost-effective delivery of repairs as opposed to the need for further information to carry out remedial work.

It can help to have a short list of fire door survey requirements in mind when choosing a fire door inspector to survey your building. Prioritising these requirements will allow you to be certain that you are receiving the very best service and therefore showing an utmost commitment to fire safety. 

Comprehensive Information

Many of the most common fire door surveys will offer a condition report on the state of the door and its compliance only and this format simply does not offer enough detail to understand what kind of work is required to make each door compliant. In effect, it tells you the issues you have but does not consider the detail needed to conduct the repairs or replacements. This is very typical with fire door surveying because, for the most part, surveyors aren’t interested in the subsequent remediation works so their report is not required to consider the next steps, namely putting it right and signing them off. While this type of survey allows you to tick the box of having had a survey carried out, it generates another costly problem for the client when it comes to the subsequent pricing exercise. Very often, the contractor will need to re-survey every door to accurately gather the details to price for the work, or provide inaccurate estimates which would be subject to their own survey anyway. 

Instead, you should always opt for a comprehensive survey that gathers detailed information of each individual door. This will include the product details of all components, dimensions, finishes, ratings and much more but will allow you to quickly identify and address any areas for improvement and also provide your chosen contractor with the information they need to accurately price the work. 

Filterable Matrix

As well as a detailed report on each door, a fire door inspector should also provide comprehensive information in a format that allows the responsible person to swiftly review the needs of their building, like a filterable matrix. The exact makeup of this matrix will vary between providers, but will typically include location references as well as a summary of all repairs/replacements required. Crucially, the ability to filter this information by location, door type or repair type allows you to make prompt decisions and have a complete understanding of how different door components come together to make the door function properly.

Accreditations & Experience

The growing awareness of the importance of fire doors has meant that more and more companies and individuals have begun to offer services related to fire doors. This has further diluted the quality of fire door surveys and highlighted the importance of working with an experienced fire door inspector.

One of the ways that you can identify a good fire door survey is by paying attention to the certifications held by the inspector and/or the company they work for. An organisation that carries certification from an accredited body like the BM Trada Q-Mark scheme acts as a clear marker of trust and experience due to the very stringent approval process they must go through to earn and maintain the certification. This provides a good signal that you will get a comprehensive fire door inspection to the high survey standards you require.

Clear Costs & Next Steps

As we have touched upon, your immediate response to a fire door survey should always be to address any issues identified within the report and arrange for remedial work. The best type of fire door survey is therefore one that clearly outlines the next steps and also provides the comprehensive level of detail required to quickly calculate the cost of remediation by the competent person you subsequently wish to employ. 

If the report does not have this information, it is a strong indicator that it is not comprehensive enough to allow a reputable professional to carry out the remedial work or provide you with the certification you will require. A subsequent and more detailed survey may be necessary at additional cost in order for a professional to finalise these details.

At WGP Maintenance, we pride ourselves on the quality of our fire door surveys and detailed fire door survey reports. We offer a fully comprehensive approach to fire door surveys, from the level of care and attention of the initial inspection to the detail of the resulting report. We are also qualified to carry out the remedial work you require, ensuring that you can benefit from a careful and expert approach to your fire door obligations at all stages. 

To find out more about our fire door surveys and why they are the best, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. 

Leave A Comment

Want to know more?

Contact us

Contact Us

Get in touch with our friendly team to find out more

About yourself
Contact details
About Your Project

By submitting my data I agree to be contacted.