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FRA Contractor BMTRADA Certified

We at Arvag have been undertaking passive fire safety works in the social housing sector for several years now, carrying out remedial works to diverse stock profiles such as tower blocks, converted street properties and Sheltered/Supported properties. This work includes fire door repair and maintenance, fire door replacement and fire stopping. We understand that housing providers need assurance that work being undertaken in their properties is being completed by competent persons who understand the relevant guidance and therefore our business and business stakeholders hold several key accreditations.

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Fire Door Maintenance & Timber Door Installation

Our business is accredited with one of the main UKAS-registered accreditation schemes, BMTRADA Q Mark, which seeks to raise the ongoing standard of fire doors. Our specialist operatives undertaking fire door installation do so under Q-Mark certification. As the margins of error with fire doors are so small and the specified tolerances so precise, it is key that carpenters and fitters carrying out this work are trained in installing these correctly and do so in line with relevant guidance and manufacturer’s instructions to ensure doors perform as expected. Even seemingly minor deficiencies in an installation can compromise an otherwise compliant product.

Arvag is also certified with BMTRADA for fire door maintenance and is experienced at increasing the service life of existing door sets. Arvag understands that housing providers have limited resources and wish to take a targeted approach to their fire safety investment. Therefore, we strive to ensure value for money for our clients by repairing and maintaining existing doors where possible rather than defaulting to costly and sometimes unnecessary wholesale replacement. Sometimes lipping existing doors or swapping out existing components can ensure doors afford a notional resistance acceptable, allowing housing providers to target other areas of concern. Arvag pride itself on being able to deliver detailed advice and itemised reports to our clients on their existing doors so they can make informed decisions on the best way to proceed.

Penetration Sealing/Partition Systems

In addition to doors, Arvag also holds certification in fire stopping under the BMTRADA Q Mark scheme. This covers general stopping, stopping products, cavity barriers, and penetration sealing. This ensures that our operatives can effectively fire-stop breaches in compartmentation, knowing what work is required to address shortfalls and which products to utilise. This is key as recognising deficiencies in compartmentalisation is one thing but knowing how to address these, which products are appropriate, and the correct application of these products is vital, and Arvag is versed in this. We also recognise that fire stopping is something of an unknown quantity for housing providers, as it is often unclear the extent of issues before works are instructed and parts of the building are opened up that were previously covered. This can sometimes lead to overprovision by contractors due to misunderstanding the requirements. Therefore, Arvag works with our clients to make them aware of issues as and when they arise and agree on practical solutions that address issues in a compliant and cost-effective manner.

Composite Door Installation

Our Q Mark accreditation covers us for composite fire door installation if required, although we are aware of the limitations of such doors for compartmentalisation purposes, opting to install them only on open-deck escape routes where smoke cannot log. We install either primary-tested door sets or global assemblies for enclosed escape routes, based on our client’s needs and the property type in question. For example, clients will often stipulate global assembly door-sets in converted street properties which operate simultaneous evacuation policies and therefore have reduced reliance on compartmentalisation.

Our suppliers for composite door-sets have tested their doors bi-directionally to evidence that both the external and internal face of the door can resist fire and smoke for the 30-minute threshold. This is in line with the guidance outlined in the government’s Advice Note 17 which stated that composite flat entrance fire doors should have test evidence demonstrating they meet the performance requirement in the Building Regulations guidance.

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