/// Passive fire protection in Colchester
Colchester combines some of the oldest buildings in the country with a lot of new ones. Timber-framed and Georgian buildings in the town centre and the Dutch Quarter, many of them listed, have been turned into flats, offices and shared houses. Around them are student halls and shared houses near the university, homes built for the garrison, and new estates on the edge of the city.
Old buildings need care: you can't simply swap a historic door for a modern one. We cover the whole of Colchester and work with owners, agents and their fire risk assessors to find a solution that suits the building.
Fire doors in Colchester
Historic doors in listed buildings can sometimes be upgraded rather than replaced, using intumescent seals, fire-rated glazing and suitable closers, though that needs the right evidence and, in a listed building, listed building consent. In student houses and HMOs the usual problems are doors propped open, closers removed and damaged leaves. We inspect, upgrade or repair and, where needed, replace doors.
Fire stopping and compartmentation in Colchester
In old buildings, fire can travel through voids nobody knows are there: gaps behind panelling, under floorboards and up old chimney breasts. We trace services through walls and floors, seal them with tested fire stopping and form fire-rated compartments around meters, using methods that respect the original fabric where we can.
What we check in Colchester buildings
- Doors in listed and older buildings: whether they can be upgraded or need replacing
- Student houses and HMOs: closers, smoke seals and doors wedged open
- Voids under floorboards and behind panelling where services run
- Shared halls and stairs in houses converted into flats
- Meter positions in hallways and under stairs
Rules that apply to Colchester 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).
BS 8214:2016
The code of practice for specifying, installing and maintaining timber fire door assemblies.
Nearby areas we cover: Chelmsford Harlow Brentwood