Fire door maintenance
Repairs, adjustments and the defects that turn up at every inspection. Most of them are a closer, a latch or a seal — not a new door. Across Sydney, for fire protection companies and for the people who own and manage buildings.
A long defect list isn’t a big bill
A defect report can run to pages and still be a day’s work. Doors that don’t latch because the closer has drifted out of adjustment. Seals that have been painted over. A handle that’s been replaced with whatever was in the van. A closer that’s been disconnected because someone was tired of the door slamming.
None of that needs a new door. It needs somebody to go through the list and fix what’s actually wrong.
We’d rather quote you for three doors than sell you eleven.
Through the list, door by door
STEP 1
We work from your defect report
Send it in whatever form you already have it.
STEP 2
We fix what’s fixable
Adjustments, seals, closers, latches, and hardware swaps where the existing hardware is past it.
STEP 3
We tell you what isn’t
Anything genuinely past repair gets noted, with what it would take, so you can decide. We don’t replace a door on our own say-so.
A fire door is only rated as the system it was tested as — leaf, frame, hardware, seals and the install together. That cuts both ways. It’s why the wrong replacement closer can take a compliant door out of compliance, and it’s also why a door that looks terrible is often perfectly serviceable once the right parts are back on it.
What a maintenance visit covers
- Working through your defect list, door by door
- Adjusting and repairing closers, latches, seals and hardware
- Replacing hardware where it’s past it or non-compliant, matched to the door’s tested system
- Noting anything past repair, with what it would take, for your approval
- All the compliance documentation
What we won’t do
Replace a door because it’s quicker than repairing it. If it can be repaired, we’ll repair it and say so.
Getting in
Access is what actually delays fire door work — not the doors. Here’s how we handle it.
STEP 1
We propose a date to the strata manager
Not to residents. The strata manager holds the relationship with the building, so the date goes to them first.
STEP 2
We prepare an attendance register
The units, in order, with times. It’s the document the whole day runs on.
STEP 3
The strata manager sends it out
They hold the resident contact details, so the notice goes out from them.
STEP 4
Residents come back to us directly
With preferences or changes. We accommodate them ahead of the day wherever we can.
We don’t hold your residents’ personal details, and we don’t ask for them, unless they’re given to us specifically so we can coordinate access. Everything else goes through the strata manager.
If we can’t get in on the day
A re-attendance fee applies — a technician and a booked slot have still been spent. We would much rather avoid charging it, which is why we push to get changes sorted before the day rather than on it. If something shifts, tell us early and we’ll do our best to work around it.
What compliance actually means here
A repair can fail a door as easily as damage can
Hardware is part of what the doorset was tested as. A closer or a latch swapped for one that wasn’t in the test, or a seal painted over until it can’t do its job, can take a compliant door out of compliance without anything looking broken. Which is why “it’s only a handle” is worth a second look.
The tested system
A fire door isn’t rated on its own. It’s rated as a system — leaf, frame, hardware, seals and the way it’s installed — tested together. Change one part of it and you can’t rely on the test result any more. That’s why hardware is matched to the door rather than to what fits, why backfilling is done a particular way, and why there’s a limit on trimming.
The tag
A fire doorset carries a tag identifying what it is and what it was tested to. No tag, no evidence — and a certifier has nothing to work from.
Who signs it off
Jonathan Hyde holds FPAS accreditation for Fire Safety Assessment (F049133A). Shire Fire Doors Pty Ltd is a licensed builder, 462155C.
Don’t take our word for it. FPA Australia keeps a public register of accredited practitioners and updates it as accreditations change. Search F049133A and you’ll see the measures Jonathan is accredited to assess, and whether that accreditation is current today — not just on the day this page was written.
The annual statement
In NSW, most buildings need an Annual Fire Safety Statement, and the fire doors form part of it. Repairs done properly, and recorded, are what make that statement supportable.
The standards themselves are published by Standards Australia. Everything above is a plain-English summary, not a substitute for them.
For fire protection companies
Send us the door work
It comes back tagged, certified and right the first time, and the certificate goes out in your name. We don’t approach your client and we don’t put our name on your job.
And if you’re stuck on a door, just call. We give fire companies advice on doors fairly often, and we don’t charge for it.
For strata managers, owners and builders
Been handed a long defect list?
We’ll look at what you’ve actually got, tell you what needs doing and what doesn’t, and give you a price before you commit to anything.
Common questions
Does every door on the defect report need replacing?
Usually not. Plenty of defects are a closer, a seal or a latch. We’ll tell you which is which before you commit to anything.
Can you work from our defect schedule?
Yes. Send it through in whatever form you already have it — we’ll work from your schedule rather than asking you to re-enter everything into ours.
How quickly can you come out?
It depends on the job and what’s already booked. Tell us what you’re dealing with and we’ll give you a real date rather than a stock answer.
Can you maintain doors you didn’t install?
Yes. Most of what we maintain was installed by somebody else.
What if we can’t get access on the day?
A re-attendance fee applies — a technician and a booked slot have still been spent. We’d much rather avoid charging it, which is why we push to get changes sorted before the day rather than on it. Tell us early and we’ll do our best to work around it.
Do you hold our residents’ contact details?
No. We propose a date to the strata manager and prepare the attendance register; they hold the resident details and send it out. Residents come back to us directly with preferences. We don’t hold personal information unless it’s given to us specifically so we can coordinate access.
What happens if the damage is worse than the defect report says?
We note what the repair actually needs and quote it for your approval. Nothing extra gets done on the day without you agreeing to it.
Can you sign off our Annual Fire Safety Statement?
Jonathan Hyde holds FPAS accreditation for Fire Safety Assessment, F049133A. Rather than take our word for it, search that number on FPA Australia’s public register — it shows the measures covered and whether the accreditation is current today.
Three ways to get an answer
A full audit
Every door inspected and recorded, standalone. You get the findings whether or not we do the remedial work.
A free inspection on one defect
If something’s been flagged and you want to know what it actually needs, we’ll come and look at that one thing at no charge.
A quote from photos or a report
Send what you’ve already got and we’ll price from it. You don’t need us on site to get a number.
Send us the defect report
Or the inspection notice, or just a photo of the door. We’ll tell you what it needs — and if it needs less than the report suggests, we’ll tell you that too.