As most know, the longstanding British Standard 476, which set the requirements for fire resistance of doors and windows, is being steadily sidelined, as the UK-adopted European standard moves to take its place. BS 476 is not recognised as supporting evidence for CE or UKCA declaration of conformity, and the UK government has even spoken of ceasing recognition of it altogether.

While it could cause major disruption for a number of door manufacturers if recognition of BS 476 standards was suddenly dropped, it doesn’t seem that the UK government is likely to do this. At Solidcor, we’re pleased to say that all our door designs boast the longevity of having been tested to EN 1634 standards.

What are the differences in the tests?
At a technical level, the two tests measure temperature within the furnace differently, with the addition of an insulating pad and steel plate in EN 1634 tests.

From a practical point of view, the key difference is the speed at which the furnace gets to high temperature. In the tests conducted under EN 1634, the increase in temperature is much more rapid and exerts a major shock to the door. That shock can manifest itself in a few ways:

The high pressure it creates can burst the door open, either by breaking open the latch or, in an unlatched test, pushing sufficiently against the closing force of the door closer to cause the door to open.

In glazed doors, the extreme heat and pressure can cause the glass to shatter if of insufficient grade. Glazing that may comfortably pass BS 476 testing could easily fall short of the EN 1634 standard.
EN 1634 testing exerts pressure lower down the door, making it more difficult to pass the required threshold tests.

What does this all mean?
In essence, the difference in tests means that EN 1634 is a much more rigorous test of a worst-case scenario. This gives the confidence to any specifier or property manager that doors tested to this standard will perform for the people that live behind them, even in the event of a particularly sudden and fierce fire.

We’ve worked exhaustively to ensure that Solidcor doors more than meet the requirements, with some of our 30- minute doors lasting for nearly 45 minutes when tested under EN 1634 test conditions