Description
The 44mm Halspan Optima FD30 Ash Veneered Graduated Density Chipboard Door Core is a fire door blank made for joiners and fabricators who want a real timber face on an internal fire door. It arrives unlipped and square cut in a generous 2135 x 915mm (7×3) sheet, so you cut and lip it to suit your exact opening. The faces are pre-veneered in natural ash, which gives a pale, straight grain that is ready to finish rather than paint over.
Why graduated density
The core is Halspan’s three-layer graduated density particleboard. The outer layers are denser than the centre, and that is the detail that does the real work. Denser faces grip screws, hinges and lock fixings far better than a uniform low-density board, while the lighter middle keeps the overall weight in check. A full sheet this size is still a substantial two-person lift, so plan to handle and position it with help rather than alone.
FD30 fire rating
FD30 means the finished doorset is intended to hold back fire for up to 30 minutes. The Optima core is fire tested to BS 476 Part 22 and BS EN 1634-1. These standards are used to assess the fire performance of complete door assemblies. That 30 minute figure applies to a complete, correctly built doorset, not to the bare blank on its own. To reach the rating in practice, you combine this core with a compatible frame, intumescent fire and smoke seals and the right ironmongery, all installed to Halspan’s certification.
Ready for finishing
Because the show faces are real ash veneer, this blank suits a natural finish rather than spray paint. Ash has a light, open grain that takes clear lacquer, oil or a soft stain beautifully. Give the faces a fine sand, finish both sides equally to keep the door balanced, and seal every edge once it is lipped.
Edges and lipping
- Supplied unlipped, so you apply your own timber lippings to the edges
- Square cut faces make squaring and trimming straightforward
- Flat timber lippings from 6mm to 18mm thick suit single doors
- Rebated lippings from 18mm to 28mm are used where double doors meet
- Seal and finish all four edges to protect the exposed core
Where it works best
- Flats and apartments, where communal and entrance doors need a 30 minute fire separation to protect escape routes
- Hotels and student accommodation, where many fire doors are required, and a warm timber face lifts the interior
- Offices and commercial fit-outs, where fire compartmentation has to sit alongside a premium look
- Care homes and public buildings, where fire regulations and a welcoming natural aesthetic both matter
- Higher end home refurbishments, where a real ash door is wanted in place of a painted one
Halspan is a specialist fire door blank manufacturer, and the Optima core carries a low E1 formaldehyde rating that keeps emissions down in occupied rooms. You get tested fire performance and a genuine ash veneer face from a recognised maker.
Sizing and trimming
The 2135 x 915mm (7′ x 3′) format is deliberately oversized so you can cut down to standard UK door sizes with trimming margin to spare. Let the blank acclimatise flat in the room where it will hang before you work on it, so the timber settles before fitting.
Internal use only
This is an interior, non-structural fire door core. It is not moisture resistant, so keep it well away from bathrooms, wet rooms and any external opening. The ash faces and chipboard core are built for dry, heated internal spaces.
