Windows, doors and glazing

The report places an intumescent strip, a missing cold-smoke seal and a flat entrance door in one paragraph. Which of those were inspected, and which were merely named?

The flat entrance door was looked at, an intumescent strip was seen or noted on it, and a missing cold-smoke seal was recorded as absent. None of that was a fire test. An intumescent strip is meant to swell in heat and close the gap at the edge. A cold-smoke seal is the brush or blade that should stop smoke while the door is still cool. Seeing a strip, and seeing that the smoke seal is not there, does not show how the door behaves in a fire. The survey has not certified the entrance door.

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?

Fire-door performance depends on the leaf, the frame, the gaps, the seals and a closer working together. An intumescent strip deals with hot gas. A cold-smoke seal deals with smoke at ordinary temperature. If the report says the smoke seal is missing, that is a visual gap on the flat entrance door. It is not a timed test and not a certificate. The paragraph can inspect what is on the edge and still only name the door as a flat entrance, without proving its fire role.

Ask the solicitor whether the lease requires the flat entrance door to be a fire door, and ask the managing agent for any certificate or inspection the block already holds. The survey has not produced that paper and has not tested the door. A fire-door specialist can check gaps, seals and the closer if you instruct one. Do not treat the single paragraph as that check. It has separated a seen strip, a missing smoke seal and an untested door.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Was the intumescent strip seen on the flat entrance door, or only named?
Where was the cold-smoke seal missing, and was that from looking?
Did you test the door, or stop at what was on the edge?

What are the typical next steps?

Treat the missing cold-smoke seal as a visual note, not a fire test.
Ask the solicitor what the lease requires of the entrance door.
Get any existing fire-door paper from the managing agent.

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

Does a new-looking door leaf prove the seals are present?

No. A tidy leaf can still lack a cold-smoke seal, and an intumescent strip can be present on only part of the edge. The survey recorded what it found on the flat entrance door and did not fire-test it. Appearance of the leaf is not the seal. The paragraph does not certify the door, whatever the finish looks like.

Who should hold a fire-door certificate if one exists?

Usually the block's managing agent or the landlord, not the home survey. The report has not produced a certificate for the flat entrance door. It noted an intumescent strip and a missing cold-smoke seal from what was visible. Ask the agent whether a door inspection already exists. The survey has not replaced that paper.