FAQs

When moving doors, they should be carefully lifted, not slid. Doors should be stored away from heat and direct sunlight in dry, well-ventilated areas and never subjected to extremes in humidity and temperature.

To minimise the risk of distortion by average temperature and humidity changes, doors must be flat-stacked off the ground on three or more equally spaced bearers and clear of debris and moisture. Spacers between glazed doors should be used to prevent glazing bead damage. All doors should also be covered to avoid light shading and dust damage.

Find more detailed information on this topic here.

In a double-leaf door, the active leaf is attached to the latching or locking mechanism. The latching mechanism engages with the passive leaf when the pair of leafs is closed.  When in service, the active leaf is the first of the pair to open and the last to close.

Spence Doors recommends either ply-faced or metal-clad doors for external doors.

To maintain warranty, Australian standards AS688 and AS1909 should be followed to ensure sufficient overhead protection is applied to external doors. All door edges should be painted, but not painted in a dark colour. Spence Doors does not recommend vision panels in external doors.

Find more information on the protection of external doors here.

Yes, Spence Doors manufacture and supply made-to-order doors independently tested and certified to the following needs:

• Holding an Rw rating significying the doorset's acoustic attentiation properties.
• Holding a Fire Resistance Level (FRL) signifying the doorset's fire-rating to the latest Australian standard.
• Holding both an Rw and FRL rating for both acoustic and fire-rating in a singular doorset.

Please refer to the information provided on Spence's Acoustic Door range and Fire Door range.

Yes, all pressed metal frames supplied by Spence Doors need to be backfilled with either Pyropanel M4 mortar or standard mortar, Pyropanel FR board, Plasterboard strips, cornice adhesive/plater with or without plasterboard. This may be completed on-site by the door installer, or is a service Spence Doors provide as an optional extra to the frame supply so that no further preparation and labour is required.

Yes, Spence has solutions that can convert a non-rated frame to a fire-rated frame. Please refer to advice from the Spence Doors team on this as it is depdnent on the existing frame's thickness and the overall dimensions of the doorset.

Yes, there are Australian standards on the installation of fire-rated doors and frames that must be followed to maintain compliance. The Spence Doors team can supply detailed installation instructions alongside fire door orders.

Spence Doors would need to review the details to confirm this. Often it is not possible if changes have been made to the doors or frames. Please contact the Spence Doors team to enquire as this is a case-by-case matter of the particular project and doorset in question.

Yes, fire doors require six monthly inspections and maintenance as per Australian Standard AS1905. This regularity and the extent of maintenance is dependent on building class and the doorset's hardware. Spence Doors do not offer maintenance and inspection services, our scope of work includes manufacture and supply.

Spence Doors supply fire-rated doors from 38mm - 48mm in thickness (with the additional possibility of interconnecting doorsets in the likes of adjoining hotel rooms). Please refer to the specifications provided in the Fire-Rated Doors range.

A ‘Fire door’ refers to a complete doorset - door leaf, frame, and seals - as a component of the surrounding wall. Altogether, the doorset fills the wall opening with the purpose of resisting the passage of fire for a set period of time.

Conversely, a smoke door serves a similar purpose specifically in reference to disallowing smoke to pass through from one side of the door to the other. It is possible for both to be achieved in the same doorset (a smoke-rated fire door).

A non-combustible door on the other hand, is not certified to resist the passage of fire however is a best-practice safety measure in areas where there is risk of the door igniting or combusting when exposed to extreme heat.

Please refer to our guide for more information.