Hi all, i have a question for you all: we have just knocked through the gable end into the new garage. I’d like a half glazed door to give more light, but don’t know if it has to be a fire door? Anyone know the regs? Don’t want to find I’m not insured.
Can’t find a Law, but from previous experience… door between House and Garage must provide Seurity in 2 forms… against illegal entry to the House and also protecting the House from Fire/Fumes (whatever??).
Speak with your Insurance company to check their requirements but I reckon a half-glazed door is insufficient on both counts.
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If its half glazed, as a fire door it will need the same glass as a poelle which is very expensive.
whatever the door is made of… it will need to comply with Insurance requirements… 
I’ve just rung AXA, i have it from the horse’s mouth that a door de service as sold in Leroy Merlin, Brico dépôt et al is fine.
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@Soggydoggy
that’s great… go to the shop, check through all their Porte de Service and get one you like the best… 
Since friends had their house burn to the ground… and I was involved with the Loss Adjusters in the aftermath… I’m a great believer in asking Insurers and getting their go-ahead… then all the boxes are ticked if the worst should ever happen… 
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I could not agree more. Our agents are gold, one call and they check with the insurance directly. And all are dual nationals and 100% fluent in both languages, so there’s no risk of being misunderstood.
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Thats good news and saved you a small fortune.
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Apart from the fact that I’m actually German 
I am a firm believer in safety. There is always a risk of fire in a garage, made worse if you end up getting an Electric Vehicle. Several years ago I bought two “Porte de service acier Laque blanc poussant gauche, H.200 x l.79 cm” from Leroy Merlin. 1 hour fire resistance. Not expensive for what they are complete with frame. Easy to install, with metal tongues in the frame that you need to fold out and then mortar in. The only bizarre thing was that they are made I think primarily for the German market. Fire Doors in Germany have chunkier 9mm rectangular shafts for the handles, and those need to be purchased online from Germany. (I could not find them in France and ended up contacting the Spanish manufacturer of the doors for confirmation.) They also shut with a really satisfying clunk, like old fashioned cars. Bon courage.
Not according to the statistics.
No EV here. Au contraire, debating a horse and cart if anything. But on a serious note, no cars in the garage. One Bike, one tractor and the rest is manshed. Or workshop as I believe it’s officially called. Fuel, gas, etc is all stored outside in outbuildings. No need to invite disaster.
But that’s all portes de service, front doors and windows out of the equation then. Never mind sliding patio doors . Anyway, everything for sale is NF, and so compliant as long as it’s locked when one is out. And you won’t get past the dogs in a hurry and the cats guard upstairs with their lives. So all good I think .
perhaps think of long future occupants who may be less well informed?
No. It’s our house, our home, and the kids can tear it down afterwards for all I care. I will not do a bloody thing with an eye on the next owner/ value increase or any of that other soul and home destroying crap we did for 40 years in the very bizarre and deeply unrooted UK housing landscape. I grew up in a house that was in my family for eight generations. It gave me a complete sense of roots and identity. The british housing model is so toxic to the people in it that I want no more truck with that kind of thinking. Comply with laws and regulations, obviously, that goes without saying. Planning for every tap and plant pot, no worries. I’m german, it’s nothing new to me. But no way are we doing anything for anyone here except ourselves. Others don’t like it, they can get a bulldozer in after. Don’t care. So it’s faces in the pointing, niches for fairies and gargoyles on the walls all the way. And herrings in the apple trees, but that’s another story.
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I am so sorry to hear that. Clearly I am pro European, hence in France since pre Brexit. I am not clear about what you think is happening in UK housing, but I do agree its been broken for a long time, so has much in the rest of the EU. Perhaps you could explain more about your experience with UK housing? I have been an architect for over 50 years, still am. I have been an architecural educator for over 30 years. I did not mean to antagonise you, However I subscribe to and believe in a code of ethics, (morals), that includes challenging. The English have always asserted that their home is their castle, when experience has shown otherwise.
I was not having a go at you. I just hated living in lovely houses that never felt like my own. Except the last one, but our buyers are as weird/ quirky as us. We thought. So the first thing he did was slay the trees and all the gargoyles which we left as guardians on all the fence pillars 'cause they professed to like them. And so forgive us, but we are here for the rest of our lives if possible, and our sons don’t care , they live their own lives. As it should be. And so are we. Orchard, stone folly, a mini version of Salisbury hill…
We’re living our best life now. For us.
ps we have equal insurance challenges .Our home has windows on the first floor below 3m cills (2.7m up), so now shutters required on all , and 7 external doors to dependencies, all requiring now 2 locking points (min). This year is going to cost over 1500 euros to comply.
Yep. I took care to buy only with 5 point locks, but when it comes to the crunch, and I pray it never will, every insurance company does their best to get out or minimise. That’s where an agent comes in who has your back. They are woth making corned beef pasties for when you go and renew every year .
whose stats, where? its always nice to be able to investigate the stats