Flagship guide · 3 min read
Do I Need Fire Rated Internal Steel Doors?
A fire rating is decided by where the door sits, not by what it is made of. Here is how to work out which of your openings need one, and who signs it off.
Can Fire Rated Steel Doors Have Glass?
Yes — and that is the reason steel-look fire doors exist. The glass simply has to be a certified fire-rated make-up rather than ordinary toughened glass.
3 min read
The appeal of an internal steel door is that it divides a room without taking the daylight with it. A fire rating does not remove that; it changes the specification of the glass inside the frame.
Certified fire-rated glass is tested as part of the doorset. It looks, in the clear version, much like any other pane. What changes is the range of decorative options and the maximum pane size.
The options that are usually available
- Clear fire-rated glass — reads as ordinary glazing, the default for most schemes.
- Reeded fire-rated glass — vertical fluting for privacy with light, subject to the tested build-up.
- Obscure fire-rated glass — full obscuration for utility, plant and bathroom openings.
- Satin fire-rated glass — an even frosted surface, quietly contemporary.
- Acoustic fire-rated laminate — sound reduction to around 38dB Rw where a room must also be quiet.
Decorative finishes are applied to certified base products, so availability follows the certification rather than the pattern book. We confirm what is certified for your chosen rating before it is drawn.
Pane sizes and bar layouts
Every certified glass has a maximum tested pane size. Where a design wants a single uninterrupted pane and the certification will not carry it, the answer is a bar — a two-over-two or three-over-three layout that divides the leaf into certified panes and, conveniently, looks entirely at home in a steel-look interior.
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