West Port’s fastener focus helps deliver assured fire door performance

Rapierstar’s specialist technical support has played a key role in helping West Port to achieve high performing fire rated door-sets, by eliminating the risk of failure during testing as a result of the incorrect choice and application of fasteners.Rapierstar, which is the UK’s market-leading supplier of window and door fasteners, is recommending that fire door manufacturers follow West Port’s lead and not overlook the major role that these smallest of components play in a door-set’s structural integrity, durability and long term quality. West Port door-sets offer outstanding performance in either 30-minute or 60-minute options, providing installers with a trusted fire protection solution.Andy Tyas, Operations Director at West Port says: “From the outset we wanted to create fire doors that offer performance that far exceeds the ratings they are awarded, demonstrated by our 30 minute fire doors actually achieving 42 minutes in testing. Our 60 minute fire door is another really important development which, like our FD30 option, is built using only technically superior components.”Rapierstar, whose collective technical expertise in fastener design, manufacture and application totals more than 100 years, has provided West Port with detailed guidance on which fasteners to use throughout the door-set’s construction in order to achieve the 30 and 60 minute fire ratings. In addition to input at the design stage, this includes training to ensure fabricators use fasteners correctly, and regular auditing of the factory to maintain consistency in the quality and promised protection level in finished door-sets.Paul Balfe, Technical Consultant at Rapierstar, says: “Any door is only as good as its weakest components, and all too often that turns out to be the fasteners as a result of choosing the wrong type of screws for the application or sourcing poor quality screws. With fire doors, it goes without saying that weak points simply must not exist, given that their role is to protect lives and assets. That’s why it’s vitally important that fastener choice is given the same attention and scrutiny as the glass type, the insulating qualities of the door slab, the intumescent seals, etc.“A fire rated door-set is tested as a complete system, so there is absolutely no scope to substitute the components at a later stage, no matter how small. We can help eliminate the risk of fasteners being substituted through a process of regular reviews and monitoring to provide assurance to end-customers.”To find out more about how Rapierstar fasteners can provide a reliable solution in fire rated door-sets, please call 01260 223311 or visit www.rapierstar.com.