Fire door hold-open devices: our service in Thatcham
Our fire door hold-open devices service covers Thatcham and the wider Berkshire area. Every job starts with a survey of the openings, so the quote reflects your actual doors rather than a guess.
Buildings in and around Thatcham range from light industrial buildings to schools and small offices. Whatever the building, the standard is the same: certified products, correct gaps, seals and closers, and a frame sealed to the wall.
Where doors in Thatcham care homes, schools or offices are being wedged open, a hold-open device is the safe fix. Free-swing closers suit Thatcham settings where residents or pupils find doors hard to open.
Why doors get wedged
Busy corridors, care homes and schools have doors that people need open all day. If there is no safe way to hold them, they get wedged, which defeats the door completely. A hold-open device or free-swing closer solves the problem properly.
On a typical job that means:
- Coordination of alarm interface
- Record of devices and test results
- Release testing with the alarm
- Hold-open and free-swing closers
Rules and responsibilities in Thatcham
In Thatcham, 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 Thatcham 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 fire door hold-open devices fit in Thatcham
You are most likely to need fire door hold-open devices if you look after clinics, schools or care homes. Whatever the building in Thatcham, we survey each opening and tell you which doors need work and which do not.
The steps on a Thatcham installation
- Survey the doors and the fire alarm arrangement
- Choose device type for each door
- Agree interface work with the alarm contractor
- Fit and commission the devices
- Test release on alarm activation
- Record results and hand over
Guide prices in Thatcham
If you need a budget figure first, the guide for fire door hold-open devices is £180–£450 per door for the device, excluding fire alarm interface work, ex VAT. We firm that up after a survey, pricing each door separately so you can see where the money goes.
Covering Thatcham and nearby
We also cover towns near Thatcham, including Newbury (4.5 km away), Basingstoke and Reading. If your building is in RG19 or a neighbouring district, the service and pricing are the same.
Common questions
Do you cover RG19 and nearby postcodes?
Yes. We cover Thatcham including RG19, and nearby towns such as Newbury and Basingstoke. The survey and written quote are free.
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.
What is the difference between a hold-open and a free-swing closer?
A hold-open keeps the door at a fixed open position. A free-swing closer lets the door move freely, as if no closer were fitted, until the alarm sounds.
Is it legal to wedge open a fire door?
Wedging a fire door open defeats its purpose and is likely to breach the duties under fire safety law. A hold-open device that releases on alarm is the safe alternative.