is removing a kitchen door against fire regulations?

5 years ago

The design of our new flat has a kitchen door opening in front of where the fridge is (circle 1), which I can already see is going to drive me mad. We could rehang it to open the other way I think, but my preference would be to remove it altogether. It’s not a fire door, but is the only door separating the kitchen from the downstairs hallway and front door (circle 2). The bedrooms are upstairs and so the exit route would be down the stairs and out the front door. Obviously we’d take precautions such as having fire extinguishers upstairs, and our top floor opens on to the building’s flat roof, but I’m more concerned as to whether removing a kitchen door is a) against regulations and b) would negate home insurance. Anyone got any advice?

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PRO
CARTA NOVA : Architecture & Beyond
5 years ago
Hi Susi,

Unfortunately, you need to keep the door. It is the case of having the hall and staircase secure from fire from any of the adjoining rooms.

The door should be an F20 door. In the most cases, you can find the badge on the small strips towards the hinges.

You can change the opening position if you'd like. I'd recommend you to change the hinge position an to the other side and open the door into the hall. So you can leave it open and it is not going to be in you way.

I hope that helps. If you have more questions, please let me know.

Best Eva
Susi Knightwell thanked CARTA NOVA : Architecture & Beyond
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is removing a kitchen door against fire regulations?

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CARTA NOVA : Architecture & Beyond

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