My plan is to wall off one end of the basement with steel studs, and then
use double thickness fire-rated sheetrock on both sides of the wall, with
fiberglass insulation between the studs. In addition, the ceiling will be
similar below the joists. The insulation will make the whole room easy to
maintain at the right temperature, and the fire-resistant walls should give
me 4-6 hours of endurance. Nevertheless, I'll still need the door to hold
up. That's why I'm trying to find an industrial fire door that's cheaper
than buying one new.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"Geoff M" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 21:42:32 -0400, Bob Chilcoat wrote:

I'm building a large wine cellar in the basement, and would like to make
it
reasonably fire resistant, since there will be a valuable inventory in
there. A proper steel (metal content) fire door and frame, new, from
Home
Despot is around $300. What are my chances of finding one from a
building
that's being gutted, or from a building materials salvage dealer in the
NYC
area? Any suggestions? Thanks

Shodl be able to. Fire doors are made as a set, with the door, closer,
lock
and frame made and tested as a unit. There is usually a plate on the door
edge with it's fire rating (minutes resistance to a "standard" fire). The
rating of the door has to match or exceed that of the walls surrounding
the
room. Most also have brush seals to keep smoke out of the room - a good
idea in this case to stop smoke damage.
The walls of the room will ahve to be fire rated - light framing with fire
gypsum board (Type X board IIRC in the US) will do. Read and follow the
instructions of the manufactuers regarding framing, installation and
stopping - it is important if you want it to work. Stop and seal all the
penetrations, like cable holes as well.
You could always plumb in some sprinkler heads as well...

Geoff