Do double timber fire doors need a door selector?

As you know, a fire-resistant door’s prime function is to stop the spread of flame (and smoke if required) in the event of a fire. They form an integral part of a building’s passive fire safety system, and their importance cannot be understated. Simply put, fire doors save lives. But how can you make sure your timber double fire doors close in the correct sequence to ensure a safety seal is made, so that the fire door can function as it’s designed to do?

At Selectrite Hardware we are passionate about fire safety and are here to answer any questions you may have about specifying door hardware.

In this blog we are going to share with you why it’s important to consider the closing mechanism of pairs of fire doors to ensure they perform as they should when they are needed most.

Fire doors must be closed, and closed correctly, to keep escape routes clear and prevent the spread of fire to the rest of the building and beyond.

For a single timber fire door, this means ensuring that the door isn’t propped open, and that the closing mechanism is functioning as it should.

However, for pairs of fire doors, we must also consider the meeting stile because if the double doors don’t close in the correct sequence, they could leave a gap and won’t stop the spread of fire. Fire doors that don’t close properly are fire risks. Therefore, we must consider if a door selector is also required.

What is a door selector?

Door selectors, also commonly referred to as door coordinators, are fitted at the head of a pair of self-closing (doors that have door closing devices fitted) fire doors and will ensure they close correctly, regardless of which door is opened first.

In the event of the second opening leaf being opened first, a door selector will ensure the first opening leaf remains held open until the second opening leaf has closed correctly, therefore guaranteeing the correct closing sequence, and maintaining the fire integrity of the doors.

Which pairs of doors require a door selector?

You will probably already know that if your self-closing timber fire doors have rebated meeting stiles, then you will require a door selector to ensure correct closing sequence. 

But did you know that even if your pair of doors have flush meeting stiles, which typically do not require a door selector, but they have a locking device installed with a latch bolt, or automatic flush bolts, then you require a door selector? This is to make sure that the doors do not bind on the latch bolts contained within these devices.

Doors binding on latch bolts is as serious as not fitting a door selector to pairs of doors with rebated meeting stiles. Both cases would stop the doors from closing in the correct sequence and increase the risk of danger to life. 

Pairs of self-closing timber fire doors with an astragal fitted at the meeting stile, for either security purposes or acoustics, could also close in the incorrect sequence, so these should also be fitted with a door selector.

Pairs of escape doors, which are also fire doors, that are fitted with a vertical rod device and horizontal rim exit device should also have a door selector fitted to ensure they always close correctly.

The MK2 Door Selector has world leading certification

At Selectrite we can supply you with the MK2 door selector that ensures your pairs of timber fire doors provide the fire resistance they were designed for.

The MK2 has world leading certification for its product group, including CE and UKCA marking to BS EN 1158:1987, UL listing and ANSI. The most recent addition to our certification is our Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). An EPD quantifies environmental information about the life cycle of a product, giving you confidence to use the product on projects which are sustainably conscious. 

The MK2 has been extensively fire tested, over and above requirements because we are committed to providing a high quality product you can trust. This breadth of certification and testing ensures the MK2 can be specified on projects worldwide.

The British Made MK2 has been assessed for use on timber fire doors to BS EN 1634-1:2014 for a duration of up to 120 minutes. Although typically in the UK timber fire doors offer fire resistance of 30 and 60 minutes, we are seeing an increase in the UK of timber fire doors offering up to 120 minutes resistance, so have ensured the MK2 meets these requirements. Furthermore, it can be installed regardless of the exposure direction, offering bi-directional coverage. We believe this sets the MK2 apart for its product type.

Finally, the MK2 has been tested to 1 million cycles, can suit doors up to 120kg of varying widths and thicknesses, and is available in a variety of finishes. Being British made we offer a quick turnaround on all requirements, can work with small MOQ’s and offer bespoke branding.

Do you need the MK2 door coordinator for your project? Feel free to contact us with any questions or to request a sample.