How Often Should Fire Doors Be Checked?
It depends on the building and how hard the doors are used. As a guide:
- ✓Blocks of flats over 11 metres: the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require communal fire doors to be checked every three months, and flat entrance doors at least once a year.
- ✓HMOs and shared houses: managers must keep fire safety measures in good repair. Busy HMO doors are often slammed, wedged or damaged, so we usually recommend checks every three to six months.
- ✓Offices, shops and commercial premises: the responsible person must maintain fire doors under the Fire Safety Order. Six-monthly checks suit most sites, with more frequent checks on heavily used doors.
Not sure what applies to your building? Book a fire door inspection first and we’ll recommend a maintenance schedule that fits.
Fire Door Maintenance in Liverpool: What We Check and Fix
- ✓Gaps: gaps around the door leaf are measured. They should typically be around 3mm, and larger gaps let smoke and fire through.
- ✓Self-closers: adjusted so the door closes fully onto the latch from any open position, without slamming.
- ✓Intumescent strips and smoke seals: checked for damage, paint build-up or missing sections, and replaced where needed.
- ✓Hinges: checked for loose or missing screws and worn knuckles. Fire doors need at least three fire-rated hinges.
- ✓Locks, latches and handles: checked that they latch properly and that the ironmongery is fire-rated.
- ✓Glazing and vision panels: fire-rated glass and glazing beads checked for cracks and gaps.
- ✓Signage and certification labels: “Fire Door Keep Shut” signs and certification plugs or labels in place.
Small faults are usually repaired on the same visit using BWF-certified components. If a door can’t be brought back to standard, we’ll explain why and quote for a replacement fire door, made to measure where needed.
Fire Door Repairs Liverpool
Not on a maintenance plan? We also carry out one-off fire door repairs across Liverpool and Merseyside, including:
- ✓Replacing damaged or missing intumescent strips and smoke seals
- ✓Fitting, adjusting or replacing door closers
- ✓Replacing worn or non-fire-rated hinges, locks and handles
- ✓Re-hanging dropped or sticking doors and correcting gaps, within the manufacturer’s limits
- ✓Replacing cracked fire-rated glazing and beads
- ✓Refitting “Fire Door Keep Shut” signage
Every repair uses compatible, certified components and is recorded with photos. If a door is beyond repair, we’ll quote for a certified replacement.
Paperwork for Landlords and Managing Agents
After every visit you get a dated record for each door: what was checked, what was repaired, photos where relevant, and any follow-up needed. That gives you a clear paper trail for fire risk assessments, HMO licensing, insurers and fire officers, and makes it easy to show you’re meeting your duties.
For more fire door maintenance advice, visit the fire door maintenance section of our Fire Door Advice & Blog.
Areas We Cover
We’re based in Liverpool (L36) and maintain fire doors across Liverpool and Merseyside, including Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral. Need a damaged meter cupboard door replaced? We make and fit FD30 meter cupboard doors for electrical cupboards in communal areas. Got a question first? Read our fire door FAQs or call 0151 721 0790.
Got a Victorian or period doorway? See our period fire doors. Questions? Read our fire door FAQs.
