How to read the classification
Fire-resistant doors are classified in the European system with a nomenclature of their own. The characteristic designation on the Spanish market is of the EI2 t-C5 type, and each term carries information.
EI gathers the two performances already known from compartmentation: integrity against flames and gases, and thermal insulation of the unexposed face. The subscript 2 specifies the insulation measurement criterion applicable to doors. The time t expresses the minutes of performance, with 30, 60, 90 and 120 as the common commercial steps, and the classes EI2 30-C5 and EI2 60-C5 as the most repeated in ordinary building. The C designates self-closing, the device that guarantees the door is closed when it matters, and its digit, 5 as the usual reference, the tested durability grade of the closing cycle.
The rule of consistency with the element housing it is set by the DB-SI (the fire safety basic document of the CTE, Spain's building code): the door must keep proportion with the resistance required of the wall it crosses, under the conditions the document establishes for each situation, so that the wall-and-door assembly maintains the compartmentation. The required classification is read from the compartmentation drawing.
Where they are required
The fire door map of an ordinary building comes from three fronts of the DB-SI. Passages between fire compartments, with the door matched to the boundary element. Special risk rooms, with classifications growing with the risk grade and an independence lobby in the higher grades, which doubles the doors. And protected and specially protected staircases with their lobbies, where the door is part of the evacuation system and adds evacuation hardware to the fire performance: opening in the direction of travel where occupancy requires it and panic devices conforming to their standard in the defined cases.
The elements that complete a compliant door
The certified leaf is half the item; the other half is made up of the elements without which the classification does not exist on site. The frame and its sealing to the wall, conforming to the assembly's test. The door closer, with a closing selector on double leaves. The tested hardware, not commercial equivalents. Electromagnetic hold-open devices where operation demands open doors, connected to the detection system to release on alarm, the obligatory solution in high-traffic passages, because the real alternative to hold-open is the wedge, and the wedge cancels the entire compartmentation. And the corresponding signage.
The characteristic purchasing error is quoting leaves and forgetting the system: in an installed, compliant fire door, the accessories and careful installation can weigh as much as the leaf. The item covers ironmongery, closers, seals and installation.
Selection and budgeting criteria
| Criterion | Practical rule |
|---|---|
| Rating | The one the DB-SI requires for each position, without extra steps |
| Certification | Complete tested assembly, leaf, frame and hardware |
| Real use | Hold-open in frequent passages, high C durability in intense traffic |
| Evacuation | Opening direction and panic hardware according to position on the routes |
| Measurement | Per complete installed unit, with accessories and seals |
Two estimator's tips close the chapter. First, count the doors from the justification report and not from the joinery drawings: special risk rooms and lobbies add units the general floor plans do not highlight, and the count against the DB-SI justification is the check that avoids the classic omissions. Second, resist the temptation of uniform oversizing: specifying all interior joinery at the highest step present in the building simplifies the order and makes the chapter more expensive without any regulatory gain.
Note: the classifications and conditions cited are general references; those required in each position are those of the consolidated DB-SI in force and the applicable classification and test standards.