Leasehold

A door onto the common stair is wedged open, and it looks like a fire door. Has the survey tested its closer, or only seen the wedge?

The survey has only seen the wedge. It has not tested the closer. A door onto the common stair that looks like a fire door, held open on the day, is a visual note. Nobody timed a close, checked the latch, or confirmed a certificate. Do not read the photograph as a fire-door test that passed or failed. The wedge tells you the door was open. It does not tell you the closer works, or that the stair is protected.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Home surveys look. They do not carry out a fire-door inspection because a leaf resembles one. The wedge is evidence of how the door was found, which matters because an open door is not doing the job a closed door would do. It is not evidence of ironmongery performance. If the closer is painted over, missing, or simply untested, the report should not be rewritten as if someone had released the door and watched it shut.

Pass the note to the managing agent through the solicitor if the common stair is outside your demise, and do not invent a test result to make the email shorter. Ask the surveyor what they saw: wedge, gaps, damage, or a closer that was merely present. Keep certification and maintenance of common fire doors with the block's papers. The inspection did not commission those checks, and it did not remove the wedge and try the mechanism.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Did you test the closer, or only record that the door was wedged open?
What visible damage or gaps did you note, if any?
Are you making a condition comment rather than a fire-door test?

What are the typical next steps?

Read the note as a wedge seen, not as a test of the closer.
Ask the solicitor where common stair doors sit in the lease.
Do not tell the lender a fire door passed because it looked like one.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

If the door is heavy, has the closer been proved?

No. Weight and a fire-door look are not a test. The survey saw the wedge. It did not release the door or show that the closer shuts it.

Should you shut the door on the viewing and call that a test?

No. Shutting it yourself is not the survey, and it is not a recorded test of the closer. Leave the inspection's limit as it was written.