From FRA action plan to completed works
A fire risk assessment identifies defects but does not fix them. We price the action plan line by line and deliver the works as one coordinated programme, photographed for the record.
Kingston upon Thames, London KT2 6QW [email protected]
Fire safety compliance
Fire Safety Compliance Works London — FRA Actions Completed
Lian Construction carries out fire safety compliance works for London landlords, letting agents and block managers, turning fire risk assessment action plans into completed, documented works. Rather than leaving you to source separate contractors for fire doors, fire-stopping, emergency lighting and alarm work, we price the whole action plan as one job and deliver it as a coordinated programme. Each completed item is photographed against the corresponding entry in the assessment, giving you a clear record for the assessor, freeholder or fire authority.
Service overview
Fire safety compliance in London
Compartmentation and fire-stopping
We reinstate compartment lines that have been broken by service penetrations, missing ceiling sections or altered layouts, using appropriate fire-stopping materials.
Fire doors and means of escape
Fire doors are usually the biggest single item on an FRA action plan for converted flats and HMOs, and they are also the item most likely to fail a follow-up inspection if fitted badly. A fire door only performs to its rating as part of a complete door set: the leaf, frame, intumescent strips, cold smoke seals, hinges and self-closer all have to be matched and fitted correctly, with gaps around the frame kept to roughly 3mm at the head and sides and no more than 8-10mm under the door. On a lot of London conversions the original door leaf has been re-hung, planed down or fitted with a cheap closer at some point, so it looks like a fire door without performing as one. Where a door just needs new intumescent and smoke seals, a compliant closer or ironmongery, we repair rather than replace it, quicker and less disruptive to a tenant. Where the leaf itself isn't fire-rated or the frame has been altered, we fit a certificated FD30 or FD30s door set sized to the opening, with vision panels and signage where the assessment specifies them. We also check that final exit doors and escape routes stay clear and that self-closing devices on communal doors haven't been wedged open, which is a common finding in shared houses.
Emergency lighting and fire alarm systems
Emergency lighting and fire alarms are usually specified in the FRA but sit outside general building trades, so we bring electricians into the same programme rather than leaving landlords to organise a separate contractor for them. In communal stairwells and corridors, emergency lighting generally needs to be non-maintained, giving a minimum of three hours' illumination on loss of mains power in line with BS 5266, with luminaires positioned to cover final exits, changes of direction and staircases. For fire detection, most converted flats and HMOs fall under BS 5839 Part 6, which sets out different grades and categories of system depending on how the building is occupied, from a mains-powered smoke alarm in a single flat up to a Grade A system with a central panel and heat detectors in kitchens across a shared house. We coordinate the installation or repair of these systems alongside fire door and fire-stopping works so the block only needs one set of visits, and the electrician issues the relevant test certificate once the work is complete. That certificate, along with photographs of the completed items, becomes part of the documentation pack we compile against the FRA action plan.
What drives the cost of fire safety compliance works
The cost of a fire safety compliance programme depends mostly on what's on the action plan rather than the overall size of the building. A handful of items in a converted Victorian terrace, such as a couple of fire doors and some fire-stopping around a boiler flue, might come in at a few thousand pounds. A full communal upgrade across a block of purpose-built or ex-council flats, involving multiple door sets, compartmentation to risers and stairwells, and emergency lighting throughout, costs considerably more and usually needs to be programmed over several weeks. Access is a significant factor: fire-stopping in a service riser boxed in behind tiling or plasterboard takes longer to open up and reinstate than one with a removable access panel. Scaffold or tower access for external escape routes adds cost, as does any requirement for an asbestos survey before opening up ceilings or risers in buildings built or altered before 2000. Specification matters too: intumescent paint to structural steelwork is a different cost and skill set to fire-rated board lining, and door sets vary in price depending on whether they're standard sizes or need to be made to fit an unusual opening. We itemise the action plan so each of these costs is visible rather than bundled into one lump sum.
Coordinating works around London's older housing stock
Fire safety works in London most often land on buildings that weren't designed with modern compartmentation in mind: Victorian terraces split into flats, ex-council low and high-rise blocks, and mansion blocks converted decades ago. Lath and plaster ceilings frequently hide voids that run the full width of a house, so a service penetration in one flat can open a path for fire and smoke into the flat above with no visible sign at ceiling level. Rewiring, replumbing or a loft conversion carried out years ago, often before current regulations, has typically cut through party walls or floor structures without anyone reinstating the fire line afterwards. Floor-to-ceiling heights in these buildings vary by several centimetres between rooms on the same storey, which affects standard door set sizing and sometimes means a door has to be made to measure rather than bought off the shelf. In conservation areas, external escape stairs or fire-rated rooflights can be subject to planning constraints, so we check early whether an item on the action plan needs consent before it's programmed in. On leasehold blocks, works to communal areas usually need sign-off from the freeholder or managing agent even where a leaseholder raised the issue, so we're used to working to that approval chain rather than treating it as a delay.
What happens during the site survey
Before pricing the action plan, we visit the building to check what's actually involved in each item rather than quoting from the FRA text alone. That means measuring door openings against standard FD30 door set sizes, checking riser cupboards and loft hatches for access, and looking at how a service penetration is boxed in before deciding whether it can be fire-stopped through an access panel or needs plasterboard opened up. For buildings built or altered before 2000, we ask whether an asbestos register exists, since opening ceiling voids or riser boxing without one can hold up the whole programme once work starts. We also flag anything the assessor may not have been able to see, a locked cupboard, a loft space without a hatch, or a door that's been re-hung since the FRA was written, and note it separately from the original action plan. Having someone available on the day who can open communal areas, plant rooms and any locked flats speeds the survey up considerably; where that's not possible we schedule a second visit rather than guess at what's behind a locked door. The survey is what the itemised quote is built from, so gaps in access at this stage tend to show up as revised pricing later.
Preparing the property and tenants before work starts
Fire door and fire-stopping work usually means someone working inside individual flats as well as communal areas, so access has to be arranged in advance rather than assumed on the day. For rented flats we work through the landlord or managing agent to give tenants proper notice of which rooms need access and roughly how long each visit will take, a door swap is typically a few hours, fire-stopping around a boiler flue or riser can be longer if boxing needs opening and reinstating. We don't leave a flat or communal entrance without a working door overnight, so where a leaf is being replaced rather than repaired, that work is sequenced within a single visit. Furniture or flooring near a door being replaced is worth clearing beforehand, and any decorating right up to a door frame will usually need touching in afterwards to match the new set. In HMOs with shared kitchens or bathrooms, we try to schedule around the times those spaces are heavily used rather than block them off during the day. For communal stairwell and corridor work, bikes, bins or storage that's routinely left there needs to be cleared beforehand, both to give access and because blocked escape routes are often flagged again at the next inspection.
Testing and servicing once the works are complete
Completing the FRA action plan resets the building to a compliant condition on the day of handover, but fire doors, emergency lighting and alarm systems all need ongoing checks afterwards to stay that way, and that servicing schedule is separate from the one-off remedial works. Emergency lighting under BS 5266 typically needs a monthly functional test and a longer discharge test annually to confirm the batteries hold the required duration, usually carried out by whoever installed or maintains the system. Fire alarm systems under BS 5839 have their own periodic testing and servicing intervals depending on the grade and category installed. Fire doors don't have a fixed statutory test interval in the same way, but a self-closer that's slipped out of adjustment, a smoke seal starting to perish, or a door that's been wedged open, are exactly the kind of defects that show up again at the next FRA review if nobody's checking between assessments. Many managing agents build a rolling check of fire doors and escape routes into routine block inspections rather than waiting for the next formal assessment. We can flag what a sensible interval looks like for the items we've installed, though who carries out ongoing servicing is generally a separate arrangement from the compliance works themselves.
Access, scaffolding and logistics on London buildings
A lot of what affects programme time on fire safety jobs in London has nothing to do with the fire safety works themselves and everything to do with getting people, materials and waste in and out of the building. Where escape route work involves an external fire door, rooflight or steel escape stair, scaffold or a tower needs a licence from the local authority if it stands on the pavement or highway, which can take a couple of weeks to come through depending on the borough. Streets in a Controlled Parking Zone often mean applying for a parking bay suspension to unload materials or set up a skip, and in dense terraced streets with no front access, doors and boarding sometimes have to be carried through a building rather than lifted in. In blocks with a working lift, we use it for moving fire door sets and boarding between floors where the lift size allows; where it doesn't, or the lift is out of action, everything goes up the stairwell, which slows a multi-door job considerably. Old doors, boarding and any asbestos-containing material identified during survey are removed and disposed of through the appropriate waste route rather than left in a communal bin store, which itself needs planning around collection days on some estates.
Signs to look for
Do you need fire safety compliance?
- A communal fire door doesn't close fully on its own or needs a shove to latch, showing the self-closer has failed.
- Gaps around a fire door frame are wide enough to see light through, meaning the smoke and fire seal is compromised.
- Cables, pipes or waste stacks pass through a ceiling or wall with no fire-rated collar or sealant around them.
- The most recent fire risk assessment lists actions still marked outstanding months after the review date given.
- Emergency lighting in the stairwell or corridor doesn't come on when you test it by cutting the power.
- A riser cupboard door is missing, damaged or propped open, exposing service pipework that should sit behind a fire-rated enclosure.
- Bikes, bins or storage boxes are routinely left in the communal hallway or stairwell, blocking the escape route.
- A previous loft conversion or knock-through was carried out without reinstating the compartment line above or around it.
How the work is handled
- Step 1Review the FRA action plan
- Step 2Price each action item clearly
- Step 3Carry out the remedial works
- Step 4Document and photograph completed items
Coverage across London
Lian Construction is based in Kingston upon Thames and covers all 32 London boroughs plus the City of London for fire safety compliance work.
Local coverage
Fire safety compliance in your borough
Dedicated fire safety compliance pages for our priority London boroughs, with local landmarks, access notes and typical property types for each area.
Questions
Common fire safety compliance questions
Can you work from our fire risk assessment report?
Yes. We use the FRA action plan as the brief and price each item for a clear, itemised quote.
Can this work be done with tenants in place?
Yes. We plan compliance works around occupied HMOs and rented buildings with proper notice.
What counts as evidence that the FRA action has been completed?
We photograph and document each completed action against the corresponding item in the assessment, so you have a clear record to show the assessor, freeholder or fire authority that the works have been carried out.
Do you only carry out the works, or can you also advise on what the FRA means?
We work from the assessment as written and price each action item, and can talk through what a particular finding involves in practical terms, though the fire risk assessment itself remains the assessor's document.
How do you fire-stop a service penetration through a compartment wall or floor?
We use appropriate fire-stopping materials and methods matched to the penetration, such as intumescent collars around pipework or fire-rated sealant around cabling, so the compartment line is properly reinstated rather than just packed with general filler.
Do you supply and fit fire doors that meet current regulations, or just install what we already have?
We supply and fit FD30 and FD30s fire doors as certificated door sets, complete with intumescent strips, cold smoke seals and compliant self-closers, rather than adapting standard doors on site. Where the FRA specifies a fire-rated door for a flat entrance or cupboard, we match the set to that rating and fit it with the correct ironmongery and signage. If existing doors just need seals, closers or vision panel repairs to bring them up to standard, we can do that instead of a full replacement, which is usually cheaper and less disruptive for tenants already living behind them.
How much does a typical fire safety compliance programme cost?
It varies a lot with the size of the FRA action plan, the number of fire doors involved and whether scaffold or extensive fire-stopping to service risers is needed. A short list of six or seven items in a converted Victorian house might run to a few thousand pounds, while a full communal upgrade across a block of flats, with door sets, compartmentation and emergency lighting, costs considerably more. We price the action plan line by line so you can see what each item costs before deciding whether to proceed with all of it at once or stage the works over a few visits.
Do we need building control sign-off for this kind of work?
Some items, such as replacing fire doors or altering compartment walls, fall under Part B of the Building Regulations, and whether building control needs to be involved depends on the scope and whether the work is notifiable. We can flag where an item is likely to need building control or a competent person scheme certificate and factor that into the programme, though confirming which works are notifiable ultimately depends on the specific building and falls to the client or their agent to establish.
What happens if the managing agent or freeholder raises an issue that wasn't in the original FRA?
This comes up fairly often, particularly on older buildings where an assessor couldn't access every area. If something is flagged after our survey, such as a riser cupboard or loft space that was locked at the time of the FRA, we price it as an addition to the works and note that it falls outside the original assessment, so there's a clear paper trail showing what was in the assessor's report and what was added afterwards by agreement.
Can you handle emergency lighting and fire alarm work, or only the building fabric side?
We coordinate electrical elements such as emergency lighting and fire alarm installation or repair through electricians working as part of the overall programme, so a block doesn't end up with separate contractors on separate visits for what is really one job. The electrical testing and certification is carried out and issued by a qualified electrician, and we make sure it's collected alongside the rest of the photographic and documentary evidence for the completed action plan.
How long does a typical fire safety compliance job take?
It depends entirely on what's on the action plan. A handful of items in a converted terrace, a couple of fire doors and some fire-stopping, can usually be done in a few days on site. A full communal upgrade across a block, with multiple door sets, compartmentation to risers and emergency lighting throughout, is typically programmed over several weeks, partly because of the volume of work and partly because access to each flat has to be arranged individually. Scaffold licences or parking suspensions, where needed, can add lead time before work even starts.
Do you need access to every flat, or just the communal areas?
It depends on what's on the action plan. Compartmentation and fire-stopping to risers, communal fire doors and stairwell emergency lighting are usually all in communal areas, so individual flats aren't affected. Where a flat entrance door needs upgrading, or a service penetration runs from inside a flat into a shared void, we do need access to that specific flat, arranged with proper notice through the landlord or agent. We flag exactly which items need in-flat access at survey stage so it can be planned rather than discovered on the day.
What happens to the old fire doors and materials you remove?
Removed doors, frames and general building waste are taken off site and disposed of through the appropriate waste route rather than left in a communal bin store, which is often already at capacity on managed blocks. Where a survey identifies asbestos-containing material, in older boxing around a riser or behind a door frame for instance, that's handled separately under the correct removal and disposal procedure rather than mixed in with general waste, and this gets factored into both the programme and the price once it's confirmed.
Will scaffolding or a parking suspension be needed for this work?
Only if the action plan includes external items, such as an escape stair, external fire door or rooflight that can't be reached from ground level or through the building. Most fire door, fire-stopping and internal emergency lighting works don't need external access at all. Where scaffold or a tower is required, a licence is usually needed from the local authority if it stands on the pavement, and in a Controlled Parking Zone a bay suspension may be worth arranging for unloading. We'll flag this at survey stage since it can add lead time before works start.
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