This article discusses NSW fire door intumescent seal regulations and when seals are required to meet allowable door gap limits.
Question: The original front door on my 1996 unit needs to have an intumescent door seal installed. What are the NSW fire door regulations for the installation of intumescent door seals?
I have been told I have to have an intumescent door seal installed on the front door of my unit, opening into the communal internal hall area. The door has remained the same since the unit was completed in 1996 but the fire services have decided this is now an issue.
What are the NSW fire door regulations for the installation of intumescent door seals? Is there are legal requirement for how big the gap between door and frame is allowed to be? Has this suddenly changed? Why has the door been acceptable for over 20 years and now suddenly there is a problem? Who is responsible for the costs associated with the installation of the door seal?
Answer: For fire doors, generally an intumescent seal would only need to be installed as a rectification measure if the clearances between the door leaf and frame exceed the maximum tolerances permitted under AS 1905.1.
Assuming the door is a fire door, generally, an intumescent seal would only need to be installed as a rectification measure if the clearances between the door leaf and frame exceed the maximum tolerances permitted under AS 1905.1. However, it is also worth noting that in some cases fire doors may be permitted to have clearances that exceed the tolerances outlined in AS 1905.1 if the doorsets have been tested with larger clearances and obtained approval. If that is the case, then the door manufacturer would have relevant test certificates to substantiate this. In the majority of cases though, the tolerances as listed in AS 1905.1 are applicable.
The clearances permitted by AS 1905.1 are 3mm at the top and sides of the door, and a maximum of 10mm at the bottom. This has remained the same between AS 1905.1-1990, AS/NZS 1905.1-1997, AS 1905.1-2005 and AS 1905.1-2015.
Obviously, we could not make any comment on why excessive gaps may or may not have been identified by service providers previously as we do not know the site or the circumstances.
This post appears in Strata News #463.
Chris Chatham LINKfire E: Chris.Chatham@linkfire.com.au P: 1300 669 439