The closers were selected for their ability to close these fire-rated doors
efficiently while at the same time being unobtrusive, hard wearing and reliable. In addition,
there is a closer in the 3000 Series for any size of door – no matter how narrow – making the
doors eminently usable for tenants, no matter how able.
The upgrade of the flats on the Fore Street Estate has included the installation of new gas
boilers, double glazed windows, and a new insulated roof and walls. Enfield Homes also took
the opportunity to re-decorate the block internally and externally, including fitting Secured
by Design Accredited flat entrance doors from PDS featuring the Astra 3000 Series
concealed closers.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO) came into force in October 2006
and brought the common parts of blocks of flats within the scope of mainstream fire safety
legislation for the first time. Since flat entrance doors are critical to the safety of the
common parts in the event of a fire within a flat, the FSO requires them to be fire-resisting
and self-closing.
The 3000 series of concealed door closers from Astra is manufactured in the UK, in four
different power sizes with adjustable closing speed and latching action for different size and
weights of doors. In the case of the Fore Street Estate, 3001 (Size 1) and 3002 (size 2) Astra
closers were specified to give the perfect combination of ease of use by residents with
reliable closing and latching on narrow entrance doors where a Size 3 closer would have
made the door too “heavy” and unusable by tenants.
“There are lots of reasons why we chose the Astra 300 series concealed closers on this
project,” says Paul Goggins from PDS. “First of all they need to close the door efficiently but
in a controlled manner which the Astra closers do reliably, every time. Astra concealed
closers are much more discrete than overhead closers which can look rather institutional. As an extra bonus, these Series 3000 closers can’t be tampered with so they remain safe in
use.”
PDS offers the unique service of factory prepping the door to accept the Astra closer on site.
“This saves time and hassle for the contractor and means that the closers are fitted right
first time every time,” says Paul Goggins.
The Astra closer have distinct space saving advantages over overhead closers too. “It is
often the case with entrance doors to flats, that they cannot open much beyond 90 degrees,
making it impractical to fit an overhead closer to the inside. Because Astra’s closers are
tucked on the hinge edge, they take up no additional space,” says Paul Goggins.
The quality design and build of the Astra 3000 Series closers makes them perfect for
applications like this Enfield House project. Unlike other concealed closers on the market,
the Astra 3000 series is fully controlled and adjustable, making it a really viable alternative
to overhead products at a sensible price. This adjustability helps specifiers to achieve doors
which comply with the Equality Act 2010, Building Regs and PAS 24 for entrance doors and
the RRO for fire doors.
Astra is well known for its door closer range including the popular Gibraltar range. The
Lancashire-based company can demonstrate many years experience in the sector and
carries out all of its own R&D in-house. It exports its British door closers all across the globe
via a network of distributors and partner companies.