This article hopes to answer some of the most common thoughts, concerns and questions regarding fire door installation, and one of the most common questions is “Are fire doors too expensive to install in a home?” and the truth is that they are not. A good-quality fire door only costs marginally more than a good-quality interior door, and installation can be done by any tradesperson or somebody who is good at DIY.

Do Fire Doors Contain or Stop Fires?

The point of a fire door is to stop fires from spreading into other rooms. They are legally required in places like houses of multiple occupancy (flats) and stairwells. Their goal is to stop fire from infesting escape routes. For example, if you didn’t have a fire door on a stairwell, and the bottom hallway was burning, then the smoke would find its way up the stairwell and make it unusable.

Some people in larger houses may put a fire door in their basement where the boiler is or they may put one on the kitchen. Some flats and apartment buildings are legally required to have fire doors, but few residential homes are legally required to have them. Nevertheless, they are a clever investment if you are fire safety conscious, and they do not hurt the price of your house (they may even be a selling point).

Installing a Fire Door

Some people confuse a fire door with a fire exit. A fire exit can never be locked from the inside, and usually uses a bar or handle to open it. A fire door is a door that closes by itself and is strong enough to withstand a fire for 30 minutes or longer. Installation is only slightly trickier than installing a regular interior door because you also need to add the spring-powered door closing mechanism. However, most DIY enthusiasts can install the door with the right tools and a few YouTube tutorial lessons.

The Reasoning of a New Parent

An oddly recurring request is from new parents. Though it is not an everyday occurrence, many fire-door merchants and online sellers hear from parents who want a fire door putting on their infant child’s bedroom. In fact, you may have bought a house or rented a house and found that two of the three bedrooms upstairs have fire doors on them. It is more and more common because parents are putting fire doors on their kid’s bedroom. It is not something you would notice unless you knew to look for it, but next time you are looking for a house to rent or buy, you will notice an upstairs fire door or two.

Asking for Fire Doors For Attics

Requests for new fire doors will often vary from person to person, be it from a concerned business owner to a person buying their first flat. Yet, since many people put valuables and family memories in their attics, some are asking if fire doors can be fitted to attics, and the answer is no. If the fire has reached so far up to your roof, then a fire door will make little difference.

Conclusion – Why Doesn’t’ Everybody Have Fire Doors in Every Room?

The fact is that fire doors are not actually needed in every room. Let’s say you have a ground floor bungalow with a kitchen and living room with a patio door, and a bedroom and bathroom, near a hall with a front door. In this situation, a fire door would be useless because all exits are so close, so there would be no need to isolate a single room. Sure, you could put one on your kitchen if you wish, but in terms of fire safety, all occupants could easily escape and wouldn’t need the protection of a fire door to do so.