Types of Fire Doors: There’s A Big Difference

All fire doors are not made equal. Be careful of the residential fire doors you or your door company will install because, news flash: these terms you see are not the same as certified fire doors.

If you’ve been looking for a sound fire door installation for a while now, you’ve probably seen these types: notional fire doors, nominal fire doors, and upgraded fire doors.

And, admittedly, they sound pretty legit, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. There’s a big difference between these three and actual-rated fire doors. Allow us to give you a rundown:

Nominal Fire Doors

This is what you need to watch out for the most. When you hear nominal fire doors from a contractor, you run in the opposite direction. An insignificant fire door is made from timber and can provide fire resistance in a given amount of time. Although, it’s just based on the opinion of the door inspector. But if you’ve got standardized performance tests to do the talking instead, you probably shouldn’t take their word for it.

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Notional Fire Doors

A notional fire door is a door that satisfies the standards of fire resistance but only at the time of construction. And you never know if the door you’re going to get is an actual blast from the past. Since codes, performance tests, and regulations are regularly updated for upgraded safety, we’re going to say it’s better safe than sorry.

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Upgraded Fire Doors

Upgraded fire doors are notional fire doors fixed. They can be upgraded with additional stipulations, such as smoke seals. But you can’t just slap these on and call it a certified residential fire door. It needs to match the performance rating of one— but it does have a better shot at it than the other two.