Our range of fire-rated pocket doors

When fitting out a new or existing commercial building, you are governed by well-established fire safety laws. These dictate that you must do everything possible to prevent the spread of fire and provide suitable means of escape in the event of fire. There are different requirements for different types of building, and you should always take professional advice to ensure you are installing everything you need to in order to satisfy these regulations. But one of the most common forms of fire safety precautions is to install fire doors.

What are fire-rated doors?

Fire doors look like any other type of door, and in terms of installation they are also exactly the same. When it comes to fire-rated pocket doors, these also provide the same space-saving qualities as a regular pocket door, so they are ideal for new offices, store rooms or server rooms in a commercial environment, while in a residential setting they are popular for home offices, guest bedrooms, en-suites and utility rooms.

The difference with fire-rated pocket doors is that they are made from different materials and are tested for their fire safety qualities. At Pocket Door Shop, our fire doors are FD30 rated. This means they have been tested to withstand the spread of fire for a minimum of 30 minutes. Containing a fire in the event of an outbreak is essential in order to enable people in the building sufficient time to evacuate to a safe place. So in this case occupants of a building would have 30 minutes.

When the door says FD30, this is the ‘minimum’ time it can contain fire, in most cases it can contain fire for 40 minutes or even up to one hour, but 30 minutes is what it has been tested to and therefore what the manufacturer can guarantee.

Our range of fire-rated pocket doors

Our range of fire-rated pocket doors are tested to BS 476: Part 22: 1987, which is a series of fire tests carried out on building materials and structures to determine the fire resistance of non-load-bearing elements. While the strict requirements of when a fire door must be installed will differ according to the type of building and the occupancy levels, in general terms, in a residential setting fire doors will be required for rooms occupied for a reasonable length of time. So this would be living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens, but a fire door probably wouldn’t be required for a bathroom. You should always refer to your local building control to check your individual requirements. In a commercial environment this is far more complex and dependent on many more variables, so you should always refer to professional advice.

The pocket door systems supplied by Pocket Door Shop to suit FD30 fire-rated pocket doors are made to suit standard 44mm doors, you need to use specific fire doors with the Eclisse fire kit, please refer to our website for further details on the compatible doors. Our products can also be retro-fitted with useful and practical pocket door accessories, such as soft close/anti-slam fittings to avoid noise and damage when doors are forcefully shut, and a self-closing mechanism to ensure doors are always shut when opened. This can provide security and energy-efficiency benefits, but is also important for fire safety as fire doors must always be kept closed, to ensure that they can contain fire if it starts to spread. 

In terms of appearance, our fire-rated pocket door systems enable a sleek, modern and elegant appearance for your home or work environment. The pocket door is minimalist and unfussy, making it perfect for contemporary homes and offices. You can also opt for a double fire-rated pocket door or a single door system. Of course the difference here is that you will need double the wall space for a double pocket door, and don’t forget also that the space needed for the pocket door frame is effectively two door widths, because the frame needs to accommodate the pocket door in both the open and closed position. It is not common for double doors to be accommodated in domestic homes, but it is possible, often for dividing a living room and dining room. However, double pocket doors are far more common in commercial environments, perhaps for a boardroom, meeting room or large office.

Contact the Pocket Door Shop for advice on your fire-rated pocket doors

If you want any further information on fire-rated pocket doors then contact our sales experts at the Pocket Door Shop and they will be happy to advise and provide suitable support for your pocket door decisions, so get in touch today.