What Should You Check Before Cutting or Routing a Fire Door?

This is one of the easiest ways to turn a simple maintenance job into a much bigger fire-door problem. Someone says: “It only needs a bit taking out.” That is the point where I stop and check the door first. Find out why the material needs removing What is the problem? A lock will not fit? A strike is misaligned? The hinge is binding? The door is rubbing? A new access-control device is being fitted? A seal will not fit? Those symptoms can have causes elsewhere in the doorset. Do not cut a component just because the symptom appears next to it. Record the existing construction Before routing or drilling, photograph the leaf. Record existing hardware positions. Look for old holes and filled areas. Check the edge construction and lippings. Look at hinges, seals, glazing and any previous machining. That…