FD30 fire doors: our service in Portsmouth
From the PO1 postcode district outwards, we take on FD30 fire doors across Portsmouth for homes, blocks and workplaces.
Portsmouth has a broad mix of buildings, including schools, purpose-built blocks of flats and mixed-use office buildings, and the same fire door principles apply to all of them.
For a mixed portfolio in Portsmouth, we can survey every FD30 opening in one visit and price leaf-only and doorset options side by side. Each FD30 leaf we supply for Portsmouth is sized for the opening, rather than trimmed beyond what its certification allows.
What does a correct FD30 installation include?
A typical timber FD30 leaf is around 44mm thick and hangs on at least three fire-tested hinges. The gaps between leaf and frame are set to the manufacturer's data, usually around 3mm. Intumescent strips, and smoke seals where needed, go in the frame or leaf edge as specified. The closer must pull the door shut and latch it from any angle. Every hole cut for a lock, latch or hinge is lined with intumescent material where the certification calls for it.
Then comes the part that is often skipped: sealing the gap between the frame and the wall with a tested material, as BS 8214:2026 now sets out in more detail.
As standard, the work covers:
- Survey of the opening, frame and existing ironmongery
- Intumescent strips and smoke seals to the certification
- Certified FD30 or FD30S leaf, or full doorset
- Photo record, product data and certificate references at handover
The regulations behind fire doors in Portsmouth
In Portsmouth, as elsewhere in England, the starting point is the Fire Safety Order 2005: whoever controls a workplace or the shared parts of a residential block must make sure its fire doors work. When doors are replaced, the Building Regulations and Approved Document B set the standard the new work has to meet.
Blocks above 11 metres have a specific routine under regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: quarterly checks of communal fire doors and annual best-endeavours checks of flat front doors. If your Portsmouth building is a higher-risk building under the Building Safety Act 2022, we confirm the approval route with the Principal Accountable Person before any work is ordered.
Where FD30 fire doors fit in Portsmouth
Landlords, managing agents, facilities teams and homeowners in Portsmouth can all commission FD30 fire doors from us. The usual settings are schools and blocks of flats, though single doors for HMOs are just as welcome.
The steps on a Portsmouth installation
- Measure the opening, check the frame and confirm the rating needed
- Order a certified leaf or doorset to size, with matching components
- Remove the old door and assess the frame or structural opening
- Fix the frame and hang the leaf to the certified gap tolerances
- Fit seals, hinges, latch, closer and signage, then test close-and-latch
- Seal the frame-to-wall gap, make good and record the evidence
Guide prices in Portsmouth
Guide pricing for FD30 fire doors: £300–£600 for a leaf into a sound existing frame; £650–£1,300 for a doorset, ex VAT. Volume work across several doors in one Portsmouth building usually brings the per-door cost down. Your written quote is fixed once we have surveyed.
Covering Portsmouth and nearby
We also cover towns near Portsmouth, including Gosport (2.7 km away), Fareham and Ryde. If your building is in PO1 or a neighbouring district, the service and pricing are the same.
Questions
Is Portsmouth within your coverage area?
It is. We cover Portsmouth in Hampshire and neighbouring towns such as Gosport. There is no charge for the survey.
Do I need to be there for the survey?
Someone needs to give us access to the doors. For blocks and commercial buildings, a caretaker or site contact is fine; for HMOs and homes, we agree a time with you or your tenants.
Do FD30 doors need a closer?
Most do. Doors on escape routes, flat entrance doors and doors in the common parts of buildings need a self-closing device that shuts and latches the door. Some doors inside houses and locked riser doors are exceptions, depending on the fire strategy.
Can a new FD30 door go into my old frame?
Sometimes. The frame has to be sound, square, securely fixed and compatible with the new leaf's certification. Many older frames are not, especially softwood linings or frames altered for previous doors. We check each frame on the survey and recommend a doorset only where the frame cannot be relied on.