Can holes in a fire door be filled?

Sometimes, but not with general filler and not as a default. Making good redundant fixings or apertures has to be done in a way the door construction and its documentation support, and the size, depth and position of the hole all matter. A small redundant screw hole and a 60mm cylinder hole through the leaf are different problems with different answers.

A previous contractor fitted a new lock and left the old one's hole. Is that a defect?

It is commonly recorded as one, yes. A redundant aperture is a breach in the leaf that was not part of what the door was tested with, and the door can no longer be shown to match its evidence at that point. Whether it can be made good depends on the construction, the position and what the documentation permits.

Someone has fitted a cat flap or letterplate to a flat entrance door. What now?

Alterations of that kind change the leaf substantially and are usually treated seriously, particularly on flat entrance doors. Where an aperture has been cut without evidence that the doorset supports it, making good is often not realistic and replacement of the leaf or doorset is the sound outcome. We assess it on site and give you a straight answer rather than a patch.

The door face is damaged and the lippings are chipped. Does that mean replacement?

Not necessarily. Surface damage, impact marks and damaged lippings can often be repaired where the core is sound and the construction supports the repair. It shifts towards replacement where the core is exposed or degraded, where the leaf edge is broken away over a length, or where the damage sits where hardware and seals have to work.

Do you carry out the inspection that records this damage?

Formal door-by-door inspection reports are arranged through a specialist fire door inspection contractor where one is required. Parsec Fire Doors works from that report, or from an existing report or FRA action list, and carries out the resulting repairs, remedials, installation and replacement. Our pre-works site assessment confirms remedial scope and is not a formal inspection report.

Guide

Fire Door Damage, Holes & Alterations: Repair or Replace?

Most fire doors are not defective by design — they are defective because of what has been done to them since. This page covers physical damage and site alterations, how each is judged against the tested doorset, and where the repair line honestly falls.

Get a Fire Door Quote Call 07841 613936

Why Alterations Matter More Than They Look

A fire door's evidence describes a specific assembly: a leaf of known construction, with a defined seal arrangement, permitted hardware and permitted apertures. Every hole drilled, aperture cut or component swapped moves the door on site further from the thing that was tested.

That does not make every mark a replacement. It does mean the decision has to be evidence-led rather than cosmetic. The right question is not whether the damage looks bad, but whether the door can be brought back to a condition its construction and documentation support.

What We Are Usually Sent

Often repairable

Redundant screw and fixing holes

Left behind by removed signage, numerals, old closers or hardware. Frequently made good where the construction supports it and the positions are minor.

Depends on the door

Redundant lock and cylinder apertures

A larger breach in the leaf where hardware has been changed. Assessed on size, depth, position and what the doorset documentation permits.

Often repairable

Impact damage and chipped lippings

Trolley strikes, kick damage and edge chipping. Repairable where the core is sound and the damage does not sit where seals and hardware must work.

Usually wider works

Cut-in letterplates, cat flaps and vents

Apertures added on site without supporting evidence. Rarely made good convincingly; on flat entrance doors this usually points to replacement.

Usually replacement

Exposed or degraded core

Water damage, delamination or breaks that expose the core along an edge or face, where making good cannot restore the construction.

Assess first

Doors trimmed or planed on site

Leaves cut down to clear floors or frames. How much, if anything, may be removed depends on the construction and documentation.

How We Decide Repair or Replacement

We work from the same reasoning on every door, so the answers stay consistent across a building rather than varying by whoever attended.

Establish what the doorset is and what evidence exists for it
Locate the damage relative to seals, hardware, glazing and the leaf edge
Judge whether the core and construction remain sound at that point
Check whether the documentation supports the making-good method proposed
Weigh the door's role — escape routes and flat entrances carry less latitude
Where a sound repair cannot be evidenced, quote replacement rather than patching

Getting Damage Items Priced and Completed

Damage entries are usually mixed in with hardware and seal items on the same doors, and often with glazing findings where apertures have been altered. Pricing them together is what keeps a programme affordable.

Where identity cannot be established, our guide to certification and traceability sets out the options, and repair or replacement covers the wider decision. Send us your report or action list for an itemised quotation.

Damage and alteration findings connect to most other remedial items.

Repair or replacement?Locks, latches & letterplates Certification & traceability Glazing & vision panels Fire door repairs & remedials Fire door installation

Frequently Asked Questions

Damaged or Altered Doors to Resolve?

Send us your inspection report, FRA action list or photographs of the doors concerned, and we will come back with an itemised repair or replacement quotation door by door.

Get a Fire Door Quote 07841 613936