Asbestos (core) in fire doors
Description
Doors with core of compressed, often friable, asbestos to enable fire resistance. May also contain LDB set in as core.
Doors may be steel or timber faced. Steel architraves may also indicate a fire door construction.
The core of a fire door may be exposed at the top, bottom and around mechanisms.
Hardie’s fire doors were constructed with K-Lite insulation (up to 1971), which was a low density, hydrous calcium silicate and 10-15% amosite asbestos mix.
See Durasteel information page.
Brands/products
- K-Lite
- F.R. Board
Years of production/use
Prior to mid-1980s
Residential uses
- Apartment blocks
Industrial uses
- All commercial and office buildings, factories, multi-storey industrial sites, access to plant rooms, warehouses etc
- Government and community buildings
Be aware
Older fire doors with asbestos may be difficult to identify. Modern fire doors are labelled as asbestos-free. Fire doors of an age without labels should be treated as containing asbestos.
May have asbestos containing mastic insulation that looks like a plastic coating or tape.
Damaged top and bottom edges may result in abrasive leak of core into site, particularly if door does not have free movement.
Today calcium silicate is still one filling material used for fire door cores, without asbestos. Processed vermiculite is often used as a fire retardant raw material in composite panelling within fire-rated door construction.
