Survey procurement

Commissioning a fire door survey: questions to ask your contractor

A useful survey brief makes the output clear before attendance. Specify which doors are included, what level of inspection is required and how the findings will be used. A routine visual check, a detailed condition survey and an intrusive investigation are different appointments and should not be purchased as if they deliver the same result.

What decision must the survey support?

Explain whether you need routine checks, a repair schedule, evidence review, replacement specifications or information for a wider refurbishment. Provide the existing FRA, available door records and client instructions. Ask the contractor to state what the inspection can establish and what it cannot. A routine Regulation 10 check should not be described as a complete technical survey or proof of the original doorset's fire resistance.

Purpose and intended use of the report agreed
Inspection depth and exclusions stated
Existing reports and product information supplied

Which doors and access arrangements are included?

Prepare a list or plan that separates flat entrance, communal, riser and other doors. Agree references before attendance so photographs and later repair quotations match the same assets. For occupied homes, identify who books appointments and what happens when access fails. Clarify whether repeat visits, escorts, out-of-hours attendance and specialist access are included in the price or require separate agreement.

Door quantities, types and locations identified
Appointment and unsuccessful-access responsibilities defined
Repeat visits and access allowances clarified

What evidence and condition checks will be recorded?

Ask how the surveyor will record identification plugs, labels, available product evidence, gaps, seals, hardware, glazing, visible damage and operation within the agreed scope. Where construction is concealed or evidence is missing, the report should explain the limitation and recommended next step. Confirm how any opening-up will be authorised, controlled and made good. Avoid a brief that assumes every door can be verified without additional investigation.

Inspection fields and photographic requirements agreed
Evidence limitations recorded explicitly
Opening-up and reinstatement separately authorised where needed

Will the report support a measurable quotation?

Request an asset-level schedule with findings, photographs, recommended actions and uncertainties. Ask how the contractor distinguishes defined work from provisional allowances or items needing further assessment. A quotation may still depend on confirming permissible repair methods, quantities or concealed conditions. Agree how priorities will be explained and escalated without assuming that one standard label adequately describes risk in every building.

Findings and proposed actions linked to each door
Provisional work and further assessment identified
Report format suitable for comparison and tracking

Who is competent, and what documentation follows?

Ask about competence for the actual survey scope and check any certification claimed for subsequent installation or maintenance. Those scopes do not automatically amount to a separate certification of every inspection. Agree the report format, delivery timescale and correction process for asset-reference errors. Before repair work is ordered, establish whether the door evidence and proposed work support a maintenance certificate or a completion worksheet.

Survey competence and relevant repair scope checked
Delivery format and timescale agreed
Repair documentation eligibility clarified before instruction

Use a short procurement brief

A practical brief can state the building and postcode, purpose, quantities, door types, inspection depth, records available, access arrangements, required report fields, target date and any request for a separately itemised repair quotation. Ask the contractor to list assumptions and exclusions in its proposal. This makes competing quotations easier to compare than asking each supplier to infer a different scope from the same photographs.

Building, purpose, quantities and scope
Evidence available and access arrangements
Report fields, timescale, assumptions and exclusions

Next steps

Relevant services and guidance

Continue with the FireX service, sector or location information most relevant to your building.

Original sources and further reading

GOV.UK: routine fire door checks and competent repairs

General guidance

This article is general information, not legal, fire-engineering or product-design advice. Follow the building fire strategy, current official guidance, tested system evidence and competent professional advice.

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