GUIDES · CHOOSING A CONTRACTOR
How to choose a fire door company
How to choose a fire door company, by Daniel Storr, Founder & Managing Director · Last reviewed 11 September 2026
To choose a fire door company well, look for a contractor whose competence you can independently verify: regulated qualifications, recognised approvals and, ideally, third-party certification. They should document every job with photographs and measurements, be straight with you about repair versus replacement, and be properly insured. The best test is simple. Ask what evidence sits behind their work, and see how readily they answer.
Why the choice of fire door company matters
Fire door work is a life-safety service, and the paperwork it produces becomes part of your building’s fire safety case. A poor contractor does not just do a weaker job. They also leave you with weaker evidence, which is a problem the day a fire risk assessor, an insurer or an enforcing authority asks to see it. So it is worth choosing carefully. Fortunately, the right questions sort it out quickly.
What to look for in a fire door company, and what to ask
| What to look for | Why it matters — and the question to ask |
|---|---|
| Verifiable competence | Regulated qualifications and recognised approvals mean the work is done by trained, assessed people. Ask: what qualifications and approvals do the people on site hold? |
| Third-party certification | Independent, audited assurance of the company’s work — increasingly required by specifiers. Ask: who independently audits your work? (See our guide.) |
| Documented evidence | Photographs, measurements and records door by door — the proof a responsible person must hold. Ask: what documentation will I receive for each door? |
| Repair-first honesty | A contractor who’ll repair rather than needlessly replace is telling you the truth costs them money. Ask: will you tell me when a door can be repaired instead of replaced? |
| Insurance & checks | Adequate public liability and professional indemnity, and DBS-checked staff for occupied buildings. Ask: what insurance do you carry, and are your site staff DBS-checked? |
| Honest evidence claims | Be wary of anyone offering to “certify” existing doors — a product certificate can’t be created after the fact. Ask: what test evidence sits behind this door? |
A note on comparisons
You will notice we have not named or criticised anyone. That is deliberate. The point is not to run down other firms. Instead, it is to arm you with the questions that reveal quality wherever you look. When you choose a fire door company, a good one welcomes every question above. If someone gets defensive about evidence, competence or documentation, that tells you what you need to know.
How we measure up
For the record, here is where we stand against that list. We hold UKFDT approval across inspection, installation and maintenance, and an ABBE Level 3 qualified inspector leads our inspections. Our team includes FireQual-qualified staff and a Level 4 fire risk assessor. Every job is photographed, measured and recorded, and repair comes first. Insurance is £10m public liability and £2m professional indemnity, and all site staff are enhanced-DBS checked. In addition, we are members of the Fire Protection Association, and our application for Bluesky third-party certification is under independent assessment. It is all set out, with the honest “working towards” items clearly marked, on our accreditations page. If you are about to choose a fire door company, you are welcome to put the questions to us directly.
Common questions
How do I choose a fire door company for a block of flats?
Ask how they handle resident access, whether their staff are DBS checked, and what the door-by-door record looks like. For blocks over 11 metres, ask whether their reports are set up for the quarterly and annual checks the 2022 Regulations require.
Is the cheapest quote a bad sign?
Not always, but ask what it includes. A low price that leaves out the photographed record, or that replaces doors that could be repaired, costs more in the end. Compare the evidence you will receive, not just the number.
Should the same company inspect and repair?
It can work well, because the inspector already knows each door. The safeguard is honesty about repair versus replacement, and a clear, itemised report you could take elsewhere if you wanted to. Whichever way you choose a fire door company, our guide to repair or replace shows how that call should be made.