Project Overview
Dickson Consulting supported hotel fire safety inspection projects in Scotland, including hotel fire door inspection work in Glasgow and Edinburgh, together with compartmentation survey work at a large hotel property in Glasgow.
This anonymised case study combines inspection themes from multiple hotel environments to show how our team supports hotel operators, facilities managers, responsible persons and commercial property teams with practical fire door inspection and passive fire protection reporting.
The projects involved operational hotel buildings with guest bedrooms, reception areas, restaurants, kitchens, back-of-house spaces, staff areas, circulation corridors, stairwells, risers, linen rooms and plant/service areas. These buildings require careful fire safety management because they contain sleeping accommodation, public areas, escape routes and complex service penetrations.
1. Fire Door Inspection
The fire door inspection element covered hotel bedroom doors, circulation doors, linen room doors, riser cupboard doors, kitchen doors, back-of-house doors, storage doors and service/utility doors.
The Glasgow hotel fire door survey included 172 doors in total, including a sample of hotel bedroom doors and communal doors across circulation areas, risers, linen rooms, storage rooms, kitchen areas and back-of-house spaces.
The Edinburgh hotel fire door survey involved a six-storey purpose-built hotel with guest bedrooms on floors one to five, reception, offices, bar, restaurant, kitchen and staff/back-of-house areas at ground floor level.
Fire Door Inspection Scope
- Hotel bedroom fire doors
- Circulation and corridor fire doors
- Stairwell and escape route doors
- Linen room and storage doors
- Electrical riser and service cupboard doors
- Kitchen and restaurant area doors
- Back-of-house and staff area doors
- Door leaves, frames, hinges, closers, locks, smoke seals, intumescent seals, signage and glazing
Fire Door Findings
Across the hotel fire door inspections, the most consistent issue was excessive gaps between door leaves and frames, and excessive threshold gaps. These issues can affect the ability of a fire door to resist smoke and fire spread as intended.
In several locations, threshold gaps exceeded expected tolerances. Some doors required re-hanging, re-lipping, threshold adjustment or replacement of damaged components. Some doors were not sitting correctly against the door stop, and some required closer adjustment to ensure the doors closed and latched effectively.
The surveys also identified issues with damaged or missing smoke seals, loose or missing intumescent seals, damaged frames and architraves, oil leakage from hinges, missing hinge screws, uncertified or unclear components, incorrect signage and damage caused by high levels of hotel use.
Typical Fire Door Defects Identified
- Excessive leaf-to-frame gaps
- Excessive threshold gaps
- Door leaves not sitting flush against the door stop
- Damaged door leaves and leading edges
- Damaged frames, architraves and door stops
- Missing, damaged, loose or contaminated smoke seals
- Missing or loose intumescent seals
- Oil leakage or corrosion to hinges
- Missing or mismatched hinge screws
- Incorrect, missing or one-sided fire door signage
- Unclear certification evidence on some door sets or components
- Glazing bead or glazing seal concerns in selected doors
Fire Door Recommendations
The reports allowed the client team to plan remedial works based on clear defect information. Recommended actions included re-hanging or re-lipping fire doors, adjusting threshold gaps, replacing damaged seals, repairing damaged frames and architraves, correcting signage, replacing non-compliant components and checking fire stopping between frames and supporting construction where necessary.
Where door leaves or frames were significantly damaged, replacement with suitable certified fire-rated door sets was recommended. Where components such as seals, hinges, locks or closers were replaced, repairs were recommended on a like-for-like basis using suitable fire-rated ironmongery.
2. Compartmentation Survey
The compartmentation survey element focused on passive fire protection and fire stopping within a large hotel building in Glasgow. The survey reviewed compartment lines, service penetrations, ceiling voids, protected routes, plant/service areas and areas above fire doors and corridors.
The purpose of the compartmentation survey was to assess whether the building’s passive fire protection arrangements were capable of supporting the intended fire strategy, protecting escape routes and limiting the spread of smoke and fire.
Compartmentation Survey Scope
- Service penetrations through compartment walls
- Ceiling voids above corridors and protected routes
- Wall and soffit junctions
- Fire stopping around electrical, communication and fire alarm cables
- Hot and cold water pipe penetrations
- Air-conditioning pipe penetrations
- Plant room and service area penetrations
- Riser and compartment interfaces
- Fire stopping labels and installation quality
Compartmentation Findings
The compartmentation survey identified multiple areas where fire stopping was missing, incomplete or inadequate. A recurring issue was the lack of a suitable linear seal at wall and ceiling junctions, which can compromise the performance of compartment lines.
The survey also identified open cable routes, cable routes packed with mineral wool, air-conditioning pipes not adequately fire stopped, and service penetrations requiring fire stopping upgrades. In some locations, fire stopping was labelled, but the installation still required review or remedial work.
The report also noted that some fire stopping details around pipe insulation required evidence to confirm whether the installed method was a tested and approved solution. This is important because passive fire protection products must be suitable for the specific application and installed in accordance with tested systems.
Typical Compartmentation Defects Identified
- Missing or inadequate fire stopping
- Open cable routes above ceilings
- Mineral wool used without suitable finishing or tested detailing
- Missing linear seals at wall and ceiling junctions
- Air-conditioning pipes not adequately fire stopped
- Unverified fire stopping details around insulated pipework
- Compromised compartmentation above ceiling tile level
- Riser and frame interfaces requiring further investigation
Compartmentation Recommendations
The recommendations included carrying out approved fire stopping remedial works, using tested and suitable passive fire protection products, and ensuring contractors work from an approved product list. The report also recommended investigating fire stopping between door frames and supporting structures by removing sample architraves where necessary.
For the hotel environment, particular attention was recommended to corridors, protected routes, plant rooms, risers, service penetrations and areas above suspended ceilings, because these are common locations where compartmentation defects can affect the intended fire strategy.
Why This Matters for Hotels in Scotland
Hotels in Glasgow, Edinburgh and across Scotland contain sleeping accommodation, public areas, staff areas, kitchens, risers, plant rooms and escape routes. Fire doors and compartmentation are essential parts of the building’s passive fire protection strategy.
Where fire doors have excessive gaps, damaged seals or poor closing performance, smoke control and fire separation can be compromised. Where compartmentation is incomplete above ceilings or around service penetrations, fire and smoke may spread beyond the intended compartment line.
A detailed fire door inspection and compartmentation survey helps hotel operators identify defects, plan remedial works, prioritise budgets and demonstrate a proactive approach to fire safety management.
UK-Wide Fire Safety Consultancy for Hotels
Dickson Consulting is based in South East England and provides fire door inspections, compartmentation surveys, fire risk assessments and passive fire protection consultancy across the UK, including Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Wales, London and nationwide hotel portfolios.
We support hotel groups, commercial property owners, facilities managers, managing agents and responsible persons with clear, practical inspection reporting and remedial guidance.
Related Services
- Fire Door Inspections
- Fire Compartmentation Surveys
- Fire Risk Assessments
- Contact Dickson Consulting
Need a Similar Survey in Scotland?
If you manage a hotel, commercial property, student accommodation site or residential building in Scotland, Dickson Consulting can provide independent fire door inspections and compartmentation surveys to support compliance, remedial planning and ongoing fire safety management.
Contact us to discuss a hotel fire door inspection or compartmentation survey in Scotland.