Fire-Rated Air Transfer Grille InstallationIntumescent Grilles in Doors, Walls & CeilingsLondon, Kent, Sussex & Surrey
Install fire-rated intumescent air transfer grilles — sized and fitted to the manufacturer's certified schedule — so ventilation is delivered across a compartment line without compromising the fire strategy, evidenced with product datasheets on handover.
5 years' passive fire experience. Certified schedule, correct sizing, documented handover.
What this service is — and when you need it.
Supply and installation of fire-rated intumescent air transfer grilles in fire doors, compartment walls and ceilings — sized to the ventilation requirement and rated to the required fire minutes of the element they penetrate.
HRB duty holders, housing associations, healthcare estates, commercial fit-out contractors, plant room and ventilation designers, and duty holders needing air movement across compartment lines.
During plant room and cupboard fit-out, following a ventilation strategy that requires air transfer across a compartment line, on refurbishment of communal risers, and where FRA has flagged uncertified 'holes' cut through doors or walls for ventilation.
An uncertified vent in a fire door is a hole in the compartment line. A certified intumescent grille closes in fire while allowing airflow in normal use — but only when sized, sited and fixed to the manufacturer's schedule.
The consequence of leaving it.
- A hole cut into a fire door for ventilation, without a certified grille, invalidates the doorset's certification and breaches the compartment line.
- Undersized or oversized grilles fail to meet the ventilation requirement, or exceed what the certified detail allows.
- Grilles installed without the certified fixing detail may not close correctly in fire.
What we see go wrong.
- Fitting a grille chosen by size alone, without matching to the door or wall's rating.
- Cutting the aperture on-site without confirming the grille's certified aperture tolerance.
- Not retaining product datasheets — the grille is invisible from the door's paintwork but the certification depends on the paperwork.
- Using a decorative louvre instead of a certified intumescent grille.
A step-by-step system, from survey to handover.
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Step 1Requirement review
Ventilation requirement and compartment element (door, wall, ceiling) reviewed against the fire strategy and rating.
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Step 2Grille selection
Certified intumescent grille selected to match the ventilation requirement, the element's rating and the manufacturer's certified fixing schedule.
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Step 3Aperture preparation
Aperture cut to the certified tolerance for the selected grille.
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Step 4Certified installation
Grille installed to the manufacturer's schedule — fixings, seal, retention plate as specified.
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Step 5Handover pack
Grille datasheets and certification retained and issued with the doorset or compartment element records for the safety file.
Specific outcomes, not vague promises.
Certified intumescent detail closes in fire while allowing normal-use airflow.
Grille sized against both the ventilation need and the certified aperture allowance.
Fixings and seal detail follow the manufacturer's certification, not general judgement.
Certified aperture kept within the doorset's own certification limits — no invalidation.
Grille datasheet retained alongside the doorset or compartment element records.
Doorset, aperture, grille and evidence delivered by one team.
Materials, methods and where each applies.
The technical detail behind how fire-rated air transfer grille installation is scoped, specified and installed to certified detail.
Door-mounted intumescent grilles
Certified intumescent grilles installed into fire doors have a specific certified aperture size and fixing detail for each door manufacturer. The doorset's certification includes an allowance for a certain grille size and type in a certain location — outside that envelope, the doorset is no longer certified as installed.
Wall and ceiling grilles
Wall and ceiling grilles have their own certified details for the substrate — drylining, blockwork, plasterboard ceiling — including the aperture size, backing detail and fixing arrangement. The intumescent element closes in fire, restoring the compartment line.
Sizing to the ventilation requirement
Grille sizing is a two-sided calculation — the free area required for the ventilation strategy, and the maximum aperture allowed by the certified system in the element it's installed into. The smaller of the two governs, and if the ventilation requirement can't be met inside the certified aperture, the strategy has to change (not the grille).
Common applications — cupboards, plant, communal risers
Typical applications are electrical cupboards, gas cupboards, boiler and plant spaces, and communal riser ventilation. Each has its own combination of door or wall element, rating and ventilation requirement.
What we do not offer
We do not offer a warranty on the grille beyond the manufacturer's own certification. Our commitment is to install to the certified schedule and hand over the product datasheets that support the doorset or compartment element records.
Straight answers on cost, timing and process.
How much does a fire-rated air transfer grille cost, installed?+
Priced by grille size and installation location. Cupboard door grilles are the most common and are priced per unit; wall and ceiling grilles are priced by aperture size and substrate.
How long does installation take?+
A single door grille is typically a same-visit install. Wall and ceiling grilles depend on substrate preparation.
Do you provide a warranty on the grille?+
The grille carries the manufacturer's certification and any product warranty from that manufacturer. We do not offer an additional warranty; our commitment is to install to the certified schedule.
How long does a fire-rated grille last?+
The certified life of the product provided the grille is not damaged, painted over or removed. Grilles found in poor condition on inspection are repaired or replaced.
Can a grille be retrofitted into an existing fire door?+
Yes, provided the doorset's certification allows a grille of that size and location. If it doesn't, the aperture invalidates the doorset — the doorset itself may need to be replaced instead.
Do you install in occupied buildings?+
Yes — most installations are in occupied residential and commercial premises.
Can grilles be installed in walls and ceilings as well as doors?+
Yes — the certified system depends on the substrate and rating of the element the grille penetrates.
Do you supply the grille or just install?+
Both — grilles are supplied from certified manufacturers only, and installed to that manufacturer's schedule.
Which areas do you cover?+
London, Kent, Sussex, Surrey and surrounding boroughs including Croydon, Sutton, Bromley, Sevenoaks and Crawley.
Get a fixed quotation for fire-rated air transfer grille installation.
Send the FRA action list, drawings or a short scope description. You'll speak to Michael directly — not a call centre — and get a scoped, priced programme back.
Ready to scope your fire-rated air transfer grille installation works?
Send the FRA or a short brief. You'll get a priced, evidenced programme back — not a template quotation.