House buying advice (internal garage door)

T

Tins

Joined
7 Mar 2024
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Hi guys,

I just had a level 2 survey done this week. I am still waiting on the full report however after speaking to my surveyor yesterday just to make sure the visit went ahead as planned he advised me that there are no major issues, mostly maintenance/cosmetic.

The main thing of note was that the current owners fitted an integral door to the garage however this isn't fire rated. I'm sure my surveyor will clear this up when I receive the report but just to get a head start I wondered if this was a legal requirement? We won't be parking a car in the garage but we would have a fridge freezer and possibly a tumble dryer in there so if a fire were to be caused by either of these appliances and spread to the house could this invalidate house insurance?

Also, could this affect my mortgage offer?
 
You could just soak up the cost/ ask for a suitable reduction and just fit a fire door.
If the insurance company were ok with no fire door, get it in print.

Garages are generally not as secure as houses, so an ordinary internal door is a weak spot.
 
I am tempted to soak up costs in order to not delay anything. We're in a position where we need this all to go through asap so it's a spanner in the works that we don't need.
 
£200 should be enough. You also need to check that there is some sort of threshold (10cm) that would stop burning liquid passing from the garage to the house.

Ask the vendor to get it done. Don’t be shy.
 
Yes it should be a fire door and yes there should be a 30min fire door with a closer and as mentioned a 100mm threshold unless the garage floor falls away from the door.
 
I've had 3 prices of around £1k inc VAT :oops:

I should get the full survey report Monday/Tuesday so I will hold on for that to see what the full damage is!
 
You can get a nice-looking FD30 door from Wickes for less than £200, and another £15 (?) for the hinges.

I'm only a diy'er, and I fitted one myself at one of my previous houses, between the garage and utility.

If it were me (and presuming I wouldn't fit it myself), I'd get the door and its furniture myself, and get a chippie to hang it.
£500, tops?

And I certainly wouldn't risk losing a house over that sort of amount.
 
Brigadier said:
You can get a nice-looking FD30 door from Wickes for less than £200, and another £15 (?) for the hinges.

I'm only a diy'er, and I fitted one myself at one of my previous houses, between the garage and utility.

If it were me (and presuming I wouldn't fit it myself), I'd get the door and its furniture myself, and get a chippie to hang it.
£500, tops?

And I certainly wouldn't risk losing a house over that sort of amount.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea. I'd need the fire rated frame as well.

Does anyone know if it is a legal requirement to have a fire rated door between garage and house?
 
It is a requirement. Get three quotes and ask the seller for a reduction. If they say no ask for 50/50, if they still say no decide whether you still want the house - it's a game.
 
Tins said:
but we would have a fridge freezer and possibly a tumble dryer in there so if a fire were to be caused by either of these appliances and spread to the house could this invalidate house insurance?
Click to expand...

Not sure why you have singled out these two appliances. They are both commonly found inside houses, and are just domestic appliances that shouldn't be hilighted as being a particular fire risk any more than a tv or cooker, etc, etc.

As for the door, if I was the vendor I would say that's how it is. If you want the house, you can do upgrades and improvements if/when you buy it. Wouldn't be risking a house purchase I really liked and have invested time and money because of an internal door. Worth a try to see if vendor will help with cost, but they know you are already partly committed. Expect them to tell you to do one.
 
Last edited:
Tins said:
That's a good idea. I'd need the fire rated frame as well.
Click to expand...
The door and the frame should be rated together, somewhere north of £500, not as much as £1,000, would be my guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top