Let’s just dive straight in…
Riser Doorset
A fire-resisting doorset is one that is fitted to an aperture in a fire-resistant compartment wall.
It is primarily used for pedestrians to pass through the aperture into the space the other side of the doorset.
With a riser doorset, the door leaf is a fully enclosed unit and is manufactured to provide a robust and strong doorset to stand up to the use it will receive.
Access Panel
An access panel generally comprises of a hinged panel that is not designed for any regular use or for passage of pedestrians, but simply to close off a cavity whilst allowing occasional access for maintenance and other tasks, whilst still standing outside the cavity.
Access panels are normally lightweight hinged panel units with the panel being made in a tray form, not an enclosed unit.
Under the new CPR (Construction Products Regulation) coming out, ‘Safety in Use’ and ‘Safety in foreseeable misuse’ is a requirement.
Any doorset or access panel must therefore remain safe in its intended use but also if misused, then all in the supply chain must be able to demonstrate both compliance and safety of the product along with their competence to have specified the product correctly to ensure its safety.
An access panel being used as a pedestrian doorset could reasonably be considered foreseeable misuse.
In short, a riser doorset is for pedestrian use to be able to pass through the door, whereas an access panel is not.
To see this visually, check out the video here.