Do I need a fire-rated steel door?

It depends on where the door sits, not on what it is made of. Doors between an integral garage and the house, rooms opening onto a protected stairway, and openings created by a loft conversion usually require a rating. Your architect, designer or Building Control officer confirms the schedule; we then build the doors to it.

A doorset tested to resist the passage of flame and hot gases for at least thirty minutes. FD30S adds cold smoke seals. It is the rating most often specified inside a house.

Can fire-rated doors still have glass?

Yes. Certified fire-rated glass is used in place of standard toughened glazing, and clear, reeded, obscure and satin options are available depending on the tested build-up. Pane sizes are limited by the certification, which occasionally influences the bar layout.

Can they match my standard steel doors?

That is the whole point of specifying them from within the same collection. Profile depth, finish and bar layouts are co-ordinated so a rated door beside an unrated one reads as a matched pair.

Can they be used in homes?

Regularly. Most of the rated doorsets we supply go into private houses — garages, utility rooms, plant rooms and stair landings — rather than commercial buildings.

Can they be double doors?

Yes. Rebated pairs are certified with the correct closing sequence, and we set out the meeting stile so it looks deliberate.

Can I specify them early in my project?

Please do. Knowing which openings are rated before walls are built lets us confirm the frame fixing, wall build-up and hardware as one tested set instead of retro-fitting a compromise.

Do they require self-closing hardware?

A rated doorset must close itself fully into the frame, so a closing device is part of the certification. Concealed closers within the head keep the appearance clean.

Are sliding or pivot doors available fire rated?

Certification is achieved with hinged doorsets, so rated openings are hinged. Where a scheme wants sliding or pivot doors, we place them in unrated openings so the interior still reads consistently.

Internal Steel Collection — specialist specification

Fire Rated Steel Doors

Q: What is FD60?

The same principle over sixty minutes. It tends to be driven by building height, compartmentation strategy or shared occupancy — apartments, hotels, offices and larger buildings rather than typical houses.

Certified FD30 and FD60 doorsets built to the same slim steel-look proportions as the rest of the collection. Beautiful design and tested fire performance, specified together.

Discuss A Fire Rated Specification Back To The Internal Steel Collection

The short version

A steel door that happens to be certified

A fire-rated internal steel door is a tested doorset: leaf, frame, glass, seals, hinges and hardware assessed together and certified to hold back flame and smoke for a defined period. It is specified where a building needs to keep an escape route usable for long enough to leave safely.

The difference from a standard steel door is largely invisible. Inside the frame sit intumescent and smoke seals; the glass is a certified fire-rated make-up rather than ordinary toughened glass; the hinges and closer are part of the tested set. Externally the profile, the finish and the glazing bar layout are the same as the unrated doors elsewhere in the collection.

That matters because rated openings rarely sit alone. A hallway will often have a rated door to the garage and an unrated pair to the living room. Specified from the same collection, the two read as a matched set rather than a compromise.

Fire ratings explained

FD30, FD60 and what the letters mean

FD30

30 minutes

Thirty minutes of tested resistance to fire and hot gases.

The most commonly specified rating in domestic work. An FD30 doorset has been tested to hold back flame and smoke for at least thirty minutes, buying the time a household needs to leave by a protected route.

Integral garage to house
Utility and boot rooms
Rooms opening onto a protected stairway
Loft conversions in two and three storey homes

FD60

60 minutes

Sixty minutes, usually where the building is larger or shared.

FD60 doubles the tested period. It is generally driven by storey height, compartmentation strategy or shared occupancy rather than by preference, and is more common in apartments, hotels and commercial interiors than in individual houses.

Apartment entrances
Plant and boiler rooms
Compartment walls in larger buildings
Hotels, offices and schools

Integrity (E)

The ability of the doorset to stay in place and resist the passage of flame and hot gases. This is the property the FD number refers to.

Insulation (I)

Resistance to heat transfer through the doorset. Glazed steel doors are generally rated for integrity, with insulation achieved only in specific tested build-ups — which is why the glass specification matters.

Smoke control (Sa)

Cold smoke leakage is controlled by a separate seal. A door described as FD30S or FD60S carries smoke seals in addition to intumescent protection.

Certification

Performance comes from a tested doorset — leaf, frame, glass, seals, hinges and hardware assessed together. Substituting a component outside the tested scope invalidates the certification.

Testing

Systems are tested to BS 476-22 or BS EN 1634-1, and evidence is issued as a test report, an assessment or third-party certification. We supply the documentation with the quotation.

Do I need a fire rated door?

Where fire rated doors are commonly required

A rating is driven by the position of the opening and the fire strategy of the building, not by the material of the door. These are the situations we are most often asked about.

Integral garages

The door between a garage and the house is one of the most consistently required fire doors in domestic building work.

Utility and plant rooms

Rooms containing boilers, batteries, inverters or heat pumps are often separated from living space.

Protected stairways

Where a stair forms the escape route, rooms opening onto it are typically separated by rated doorsets.

Loft conversions

Adding a storey usually triggers a protected route, and with it a set of rated doors on the landing.

Apartment entrances

Entrance doors to flats are a compartment line and carry their own, usually higher, requirement.

Multi-storey homes

Three storeys and above changes the escape strategy, and the door schedule with it.

Commercial interiors

Offices, hotels, schools and hospitality spaces where compartmentation is set by the fire strategy.

This page is guidance, not a fire strategy. Final requirements should always be confirmed by your architect, designer or Building Control officer. Once the door schedule is settled, we build to it and supply the certification with the doors.

Available configurations

What can be certified, and what cannot

Certification is granted to a tested assembly, so the range of rated configurations is narrower than the unrated collection. We would rather set that out plainly than discover it at order stage.

Single doors

The core configuration, in the same slim profile and bar layouts as the unrated collection.

Available

Double doors

Rebated pairs with the correct closing sequence, co-ordinated so the doors read as a matched pair.

Available

Glazed screens

Fixed rated screens alongside or opposite a doorset, keeping the elevation continuous.

Available

Side panels

Full-height panels flanking the door, within tested pane size limits.

Available with conditions

Pane sizes are governed by the certified glass, so very wide panels may be split by a bar.

Over panels

Rated panels above the door head, useful where ceilings are high.

Available with conditions

Head detail and the wall build-up above must suit the tested frame fixing.

Internal partitions

Longer runs of rated glazed partition dividing rooms or corridors.

Available with conditions

Long runs are engineered as a partition system rather than a doorset, and are priced per project.

Sliding, pivot and bifold

Design-led moving configurations from the wider collection.

Not currently certified

Fire certification is achieved with hinged doorsets. Where a rated opening is required, we keep the sliding or pivot doors elsewhere in the plan so the aesthetic remains consistent.

Design options

Certified performance, without giving up the detail

Save anything that appeals — it travels with you into your Inspiration Collection and on into your consultation.

Finishes

BlackThe signature steel-look finish, matt or fine texture.
WhiteSofter in period interiors and pale hallways.
BronzeWarmer metallic tone that suits timber and stone.
Anthracite GreyRAL 7016, slightly quieter than a true black.
Bespoke RALAny RAL to order, including dual colour front and back.

Steel bar layouts

Single paneNo bars — the most contemporary option, subject to certified pane size.
Two-over-twoA single horizontal bar with one vertical, calm and balanced.
Three-over-threeThe classic steel proportion, familiar from the unrated collection.
Full gridA denser industrial grid for larger leaves and wider screens.

Approved fire rated glass

Clear fire-rated glassCertified clear glazing that reads as ordinary toughened glass.
Reeded fire-rated glassVertical fluting for privacy without losing light. Availability depends on the tested build-up.
Obscure fire-rated glassFully obscured for utility rooms, plant rooms and bathrooms.
Satin fire-rated glassAn even frosted surface, soft and contemporary.
Acoustic fire-rated laminateAdds sound reduction where the room needs to be quiet as well as protected.

Handles & hardware

Slim lever on roseMatt black, bronze or satin stainless, matched to the rest of the collection.
Pull handle with latchWhere a longer vertical pull suits the proportion of the leaf.
Concealed door closerFitted within the head so the self-closing requirement is met discreetly.
Certified hingesFire-tested hinges supplied as part of the certified doorset.
Intumescent and smoke sealsHoused in the frame rebate and barely visible when the door is closed.

Technical

Specification and compliance

Figures depend on the certified doorset selected. Full test evidence, glass data and frame details are issued with every quotation and are available earlier for specification packs.

FD30 / FD60 certification summary

Test evidence and scope of certification for the specified doorset.

Frame and wall build-up details

Head, jamb and threshold sections with fixing centres.

Fire-rated glass data sheets

Certified glass build-ups, pane size limits and acoustic figures.

Hardware schedule template

Hinges, closers, latches and seals as a tested set.

Request The Technical Pack

Fire certification: FD30 and FD60 tested doorsets, to BS 476-22 or BS EN 1634-1
Smoke control: Sa cold smoke seals available on both ratings
Glass: Certified fire-rated glazing only; clear, reeded, obscure, satin or acoustic laminate
Seals: Intumescent strip within the frame rebate, smoke brush or fin where specified
Frame construction: Slim steel-look frame, fixed to a tested wall build-up
Maximum sizes: Typically to 2,400mm leaf height; larger openings resolved with over panels or screens
Acoustic performance: Up to around 38dB Rw with laminated acoustic glazing
Door closers: Self-closing device required on rated doorsets; concealed options available
Maintenance: Annual check of seals, hinges and closing action; keep the leaf and frame unobstructed
Compliance: Approved Document B and the project fire strategy govern where a rating is required

Project gallery

Rated doorsets in premium interiors

Hallway doorset, lakeside self build

A rated pair between hall and living space, detailed so the closing sequence is invisible from the hallway.

Location: Windermere
Completed: 2025
Products: Steel-look double doors, three-over-three bars
Fire rating: FD30S

Utility to integral garage

The most common domestic requirement, resolved without a flush white slab interrupting a black steel interior.

Location: Kendal
Completed: 2025
Products: Single steel-look door, clear certified glazing
Fire rating: FD30S

Protected stairway screen

A full-height screen enclosing the stair while daylight continues to reach the hall.

Location: Penrith
Completed: 2025
Products: Doorset with side and over panels, reeded glazing
Fire rating: FD30

Hotel lobby to stair core

Sixty-minute compartmentation presented as a piece of interior architecture rather than a fire door.

Location: South Lakes
Completed: 2025
Products: Double doorset and matching partition, bronze hardware
Fire rating: FD60S

Knowledge Centre

Read further before you specify

Do I Need Fire Rated Internal Steel Doors?FD30 vs FD60 Explained Can Fire Rated Steel Doors Have Glass?Fire Rated Doors for Contemporary Homes Fire Rated Steel Doors and Building Regulations Fire Rated vs Standard Steel Doors

Keep the fire rated specification with your other ideas

Save it now and every rating, glass option, finish and handle you like stays grouped with the rest of your project.

Keep exploring

Explore The Rest Of The Internal Steel Collection

Fire rated doorsets are specified from within the same collection, so every product below shares the same profile, finishes and detailing.

Currently viewing: Fire Rated Steel Doors

Internal Steel Single Doors

Beautiful architectural internal steel doors for studies, utility rooms, pantries, bathrooms and room dividers.

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Internal Steel Double Doors

Elegant paired doors creating flexible open-plan living while maintaining separation when required.

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Internal Steel Sliding Doors

Slim steel sliding systems allowing spaces to connect without sacrificing natural light.

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Internal Steel Pivot Doors

Large-format statement doors with concealed pivot hardware for contemporary interiors.

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Internal Steel Bifold Doors

Multi-panel steel glazing allowing complete flexibility between connected spaces.

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Common questions