Two doors with the same visible fault can reach different conclusions, because what decides the outcome is usually how much is known about the doorset. Use the list below as a guide to what a finding tends to mean, not as a decision on a particular door.
Excessive or uneven gaps
Gaps at the head, jambs and threshold that fall outside the tolerance stated in the doorset's documentation. Often caused by frames out of square, settlement, poorly hung leaves, or new floor coverings changing the undercut.
Commonly corrected by adjusting or re-packing the frame, rehanging the leaf, renewing seals or, where appropriate, fitting suitable edge products. Where the leaf has been trimmed beyond what the doorset allows, replacement is usually the sounder route.
Missing, damaged or painted-over seals
Intumescent seals and, where fitted, smoke seals that are shrunken, torn, clogged with paint, incorrectly sized or simply absent from the groove.
Normally renewed with compatible seals suited to the door's specification and groove detail. This is one of the most frequently repairable items on any action list.
Hinges — wrong number, size, grade or condition
Fewer hinges than the doorset requires, worn or binding hinges, missing screws, packed-out hinges or hinges that are not suitable for the door's weight and use.
Generally corrected by fitting hinges of the correct type and grade, renewing fixings and making good the housings, provided the leaf and frame are sound.
Closers that do not close and latch
Overhead or concealed closers that are disconnected, leaking, poorly adjusted, or unable to close the door fully into the latch from any angle — a very common finding in high-use buildings.
Usually adjusted or replaced with a closer of suitable power and type. Occasionally the underlying cause is the door binding or the latch keep being out of alignment, which is corrected at the same time.
Damaged leaves and lippings
Impact damage from trolleys, furniture and daily use; worn or detached lippings; delamination of facings; deep dents or splits.
Localised surface damage and worn lippings are commonly repairable where the construction is known. Damage through the core, or damage that cannot be assessed without opening up the leaf, more often points to replacement.
Frame defects and poor perimeter fixing
Loose or under-fixed frames, inappropriate packing, unfilled perimeter gaps, or frames of unknown type that may not support the intended performance.
Some frames can be correctly re-fixed and the perimeter made good with suitable products. Where the frame is unsound or incompatible with the leaf, frame and leaf are usually replaced together.
Glazing and vision panels
Cracked or non-original glass, missing or incorrect beads, absent glazing seals, or panels cut into a door after installation.
Fire-rated glazing, beads and seals can often be reinstated to a known detail. Openings created after manufacture, or glazing of unverifiable type, generally need review before any repair is proposed.
Hold-open devices and wedging
Doors propped with wedges, extinguishers or furniture, or held open by devices that are not linked to the fire detection system.
Where doors need to stand open for access or operational reasons, the usual route is a suitable hold-open or free-swing device linked to the alarm, along with removing the underlying reason for wedging.
Latch and lock faults
Latches that do not engage, worn keeps, misaligned strike plates, locks fitted after manufacture, or ironmongery unsuitable for a fire door.
Typically corrected by realigning or renewing the keep and fitting compatible ironmongery. Where cut-outs have been made for unsuitable products, the effect on the leaf needs assessing before repair.
Missing or incorrect signage
Absent, damaged or contradictory door signage — for example a keep-locked door signed as keep-shut.
Straightforward to put right, and normally handled as part of the same remedial visit as other items on the door.
Holes, cut-outs and unrecorded alterations
Cable penetrations, cat flaps, retro-fitted letterplates, air transfer openings and ironmongery swaps carried out without records.
Some can be reinstated with suitable products. Where the alteration's effect on performance cannot be established, replacement with a doorset of known specification is often the more defensible outcome.
Doors of unknown or unverifiable specification
No label, plug or marking on the leaf, no product information in the building file, and nothing recoverable from the original supplier.
Evidence is worth pursuing first — building records, previous reports, the supplier. Where none exists, a replacement doorset of known specification is frequently the more reliable answer.