Are you looking for the most suitable doorstep for your house or, office? Then there are several things to look at before you buy the door. Your first priority should be functionality and durability. Thinking about the aesthetics of the doors should be your second priority. So that, the door can serves all the purposes well.
Nowadays fire-rated doors are gaining popularity as it ensures more safety than any other type of door. If you also prioritise the safety and functionality of doors, then you should go with it. If you are still confused about whether to choose it or not then, read the article to the end to learn about the key differences.
Key Differences between Fire-Rated Doors And Standard Doors –
Materials
Several different types of materials are used to make both doors. Fire-rated doors have several layers and the core part is made of fire-resistant elements like aluminium, steel, gypsum or, vermiculite boards. Those things do not catch fire easily and provide better insulation. But in the case of standard doors, you can choose a standard type of wood like rosewood, or teak. There are other options like fibre or, glass to make it look better. So you can understand that the purpose of standard doors is only related to aesthetics and durability, not fire resistance.
Fire resisting power
Since fire-rated door are made especially to provide protection against flames, they will have higher fire-resisting power than any standard doors. As the standard doors are not designed to resist fire, they will be burnt within a few minutes. The time may be a little higher if the thickness of the door is more. But fire-resistive doors are available in different units like FD30 or, FD60. This expresses the time of protection against the fire like 30 minutes or, 60 minutes. You can ask for a longer time period too when you are ordering them as they are available in different ranges.
Features
You can find the difference in features of the doors as well. Components like handles, door locks or, hinges can generate resistance against fire. So that the door can work as a barrier against the fire in every possible way. You can also ask to install a sensor by which the door will be closed automatically whenever a fire occurs. But you cannot find those features in standard doors. As a result, the standard door will catch fire easily and it cannot ensure any kind of safety in a fire situation. So it is always better to be on the safe side whether you are in the house or, the office.
Gap difference
After the installation of the doors, there is a gap in all four sides of the door. In a fire situation, the fire can enter through the gaps too. To prevent this HDB gates are made in a way that creates a very negligible gap. The maximum gap on both sides of fire resistant door is less than 5 mm. The maximum gap in the upper and lower sides is less than 8 mm. So you can understand that the gap is quite negligible and the doors can provide full protection against the fire for a longer time. But the gaps in standard doors are much more than this and fire can easily enter through the gap.
Assemble
There are also differences in the assembly of both door types. Since all the parts of the doors are made with fire-resistive materials, they complete the assembly of all parts including door leaf and frames. You should hire professionals to install the doors in the best way. But in the case of standard doors, you may not get them in completely assembled form. Some parts might be installed separately as all the materials may not be the same.
Inspection
Yearly inspection can make the doors last longer and the functionality will be better too. You can some skilful person to inspect the door. And if he finds any fault with the door, they will fix it immediately. So that when any fire situation occurs you can be in full safety. But in the case of standard doors, there is no such issue of inspection as they don’t provide protection against fire. But that is not a good thing at all. So, no matter if you have to pay a little for the inspection cost your safety will be ensured. And nothing is more important than securing safety in any adverse situation.
Conclusion
We hope you have understood the difference between those two types of doors. And now you can make your choice easily about any one type. Choose the door that can provide safety not only from trespassers but also from fire.
