/// Passive fire protection in Basildon
Basildon was built as a post-war New Town, so much of its housing dates from the 1950s to the 1970s: low-rise flats, maisonettes, flats over shopping parades and a few taller blocks in the town centre. Many of those buildings have now had fifty years of repairs, rewiring and new heating systems, each one leaving holes in walls and floors that were designed to be solid.
The borough also takes in older towns like Billericay and Wickford and newer estates on the edges. We cover all of it, and plan visits to suit housing providers, freeholders and managing agents with several buildings in the area.
Fire doors in Basildon
Maisonette blocks and deck-access flats often have front doors opening straight onto a shared walkway or stair, so the flat entrance door is doing the work of a compartment wall. We look for replacement doors that aren't fire rated, letterplates without intumescent liners and gaps around frames, then repair or replace as needed. A fire door inspection gives you a door-by-door record you can act on.
Fire stopping and compartmentation in Basildon
Decades of upgrades are the main risk in New Town buildings. Gas and electric meter runs, boiler flues, satellite and broadband cables have all been taken through compartment walls, often with nothing sealed afterwards. We find, photograph and seal those holes with tested fire stopping, and turn open meter areas into proper compartmented cupboards.
What we check in Basildon buildings
- Flat and maisonette front doors opening onto shared stairs or walkways
- Doors to bin stores and plant rooms in low-rise blocks
- Openings left by old boiler flues and heating upgrades
- Cables pushed through walls by broadband and satellite installers
- Flats above shops: separation between the shop and the homes above
Rules that apply to Basildon buildings
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Requires a fire risk assessment for the common parts of blocks of flats and all non-domestic buildings, including flat entrance doors since the Fire Safety Act 2021.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
Over 11 metres: communal fire doors checked every three months, flat entrance doors yearly (best endeavours).
Approved Document B
Requirement B3: compartment walls and floors, with every service opening through them fire-stopped.
Nearby areas we cover: Southend-on-Sea Brentwood Thurrock