What is the most cost effective riser door solution?

So today we are answering the question – are metal riser doors actually more cost effective than timber? 

This is a great question and often comes into the conversation where the client has previously used timber doors to risers. 

Depending on fire rating, especially on the lower end – timber can be cheaper on the initial outlay. 

However, there are a number of things to consider on top of the initial outlay cost, and this is because riser doors are often installed early on during construction and have high performance requirements.   

These include: 

• Speed of installation – labour cost on site.  Simplicity and speed of installation is always important so the contractor can reduce the install cost to the client as less labour time is required.  We can also provide on-site installation demos and reviews to assist with this process. 
•  Assurance of compliance – ease of access to see fire stopping.  Timber door frames require architraves as part of their ‘system’ for fire compliance.  Therefore inspecting the fire stopping behind required removal of the architrave and re-fixing again once approved.  The difference with metal riser doors is that they don’t have a rear closing section so if they have been fire stopped using intumescent mastic, this can be easily seen, or with the Selo patented Quench factory fitted fire stopping system, there is an inspection hole for ease of sign-off too. 
• Stability and durability – maintenance This is a really important aspect of any fire door, but especially riser doors, and this is because the atmosphere and temperature inside the riser is often different what is in the corridor or protected area.  Timber is prone to warping and twisting in this scenario which then leads to regular maintenance recalls and potentially replacement doors if the problem persists beyond what is allowed in the fire certification.  Metal riser doors are not affected by these changes in temperature and stay stable throughout their lifespan. 

So as you can see there are a few aspects that effect the true ‘exit cost’ of metal vs timber riser doors.   

In addition, at Selo our most common riser door system is the Quadra system because of its versatility and depth of fire testing and compliance; but  

We do also now offer a very cost effective concealed riser door for E30 fire rated riser door applications, called Rida – giving you a complete range of options for all scenarios.