Door Manufacturer in China for Global Projects
For a construction project, simply writing “fire-rated steel door” in a BOQ is rarely enough to place a production order.
A complete fire-rated door specification involves much more: door type, opening size, frame dimensions, wall thickness, handing, hardware, fire rating, certification requirements, finish, installation conditions and project identification.
This becomes even more important for large projects involving hundreds or even thousands of doors.
At TOF DOOR, we have worked with project requirements ranging from relatively complete BOQs and drawings to inquiries containing only basic dimensions, quantities and the words “fire-rated.” Based on this experience, here are the key points buyers, contractors, developers and building-material distributors should confirm when purchasing fire-rated steel doors for projects in the Philippines.
Some projects provide a complete package including:
Others may provide only a door size, quantity and a general requirement such as “fire-rated steel door.”
The second situation requires much more clarification before production.
For example, a supplier may still need to determine:
For larger projects, our project team first organizes the available BOQ, drawings and door schedules, then separates fire-rated doors from other steel doors and identifies missing information.
The objective is simple:
Turn project information into a door schedule that can actually be manufactured.
One common purchasing mistake is to focus only on the door leaf.
A fire-rated steel door should be considered as an assembly.
Depending on the project, this may include:
This matters because changing one component may affect the original door configuration.
For example, replacing a specified lock, panic device, glazing system or internal construction without technical confirmation should not be treated as a simple cosmetic modification.
Therefore, when comparing quotations from different suppliers, buyers should check what is included in the complete door set, rather than comparing only the price of the door leaf.
This is one of the most important dimensions to clarify before ordering.
A drawing might simply state:
900 × 2100 mm
But what does that dimension represent?
It could refer to:
Opening Size
The prepared structural or masonry opening.
Door Leaf Size
The actual width and height of the door leaf.
Frame Size
The overall dimensions of the manufactured frame.
These dimensions are related, but they are not interchangeable.
In actual projects, we frequently need to reconfirm what the customer’s stated dimensions represent before preparing production drawings.
A good RFQ should therefore avoid writing only:
Size: 900 × 2100 mm
Instead, identify the dimension clearly:
Opening Size: 900 × 2100 mm
or
Door Leaf Size: 900 × 2100 mm
This small clarification can prevent a much larger installation problem later.
Wall thickness is another parameter that should not be assumed.
Different areas of the same project may use different wall constructions and thicknesses. The frame therefore needs to be coordinated with the actual wall condition.
The same applies to door swing and handing.
For a large building, a simple mistake in handing can be repeated across dozens of doors if it is not discovered before production.
Our project drawings therefore clearly indicate door opening direction and handing.
Before production, drawings are reviewed and signed by both TOF DOOR and the customer. Depending on the project, the local design institute, consultant or the customer’s external designer may also participate in the approval process.
For complex projects, this multi-party drawing approval is much safer than relying only on descriptions in emails or messages.
Another important distinction is between the required fire performance and the project’s certification requirement.
A project specification may simply state:
Fire-Rated Door
or specify a rating such as 60, 90 or 120 minutes.
However, buyers should also determine whether the project acceptance procedure requires a particular certification or tested configuration.
This is especially important when the requested door involves:
If a project requires a specific certification for acceptance, the applicable door size, construction and components need to remain within the relevant tested or certified scope.
If the project does not require a particular certification, there may be greater flexibility to discuss customized fire-resistant door solutions according to the project’s actual requirements.
These two situations should not be confused.
A customized fire-resistant construction should not automatically be described as being covered by an existing certification unless it actually falls within that applicable scope.
For this reason, certification requirements should be clarified early—not after the doors have already entered production.
Typical hardware used with our fire-rated steel doors includes:
Hardware selection should ideally be confirmed together with the door construction.
However, some customers prefer to purchase particular hardware locally in the Philippines or specify hardware brands themselves.
In this situation, TOF DOOR normally asks the customer to send us an actual hardware sample.
There are two important reasons.
First, we need to verify the required cut-outs, drilling positions and installation dimensions before manufacturing the door.
Second, our team can conduct internal functional checks using the customer’s specified hardware to verify compatibility with the door assembly.
This additional step helps reduce the risk of discovering hardware compatibility problems only after the doors arrive at the project site.
Large projects require much more information than simply “model + quantity.”
For project orders, the final door schedule may include fields such as:
Door No. / Opening Size / Door Size / Frame Size / Wall Thickness / Swing / Handing / Fire Rating / Hardware / Finish / Quantity / Floor / Location
This becomes the link between:
Architectural requirement → drawing approval → production → QC → packing → site installation
For a project containing more than 1,000 doors, this level of organization becomes especially important.
Without a clear door numbering system, two doors that look almost identical may actually have different handing, hardware, dimensions or installation locations.
For large project orders, TOF DOOR can organize doors according to project information such as:
Project → Building/Tower → Floor → Door Number
The relevant door identification can then appear on the outer packaging and packing list.
This allows the receiving team to identify where different doors belong when containers arrive on site.
Imagine a project with several towers and more than 1,000 doors.
Without systematic numbering, workers may need to open packages and manually identify doors one by one.
With a structured door schedule and packaging identification, doors can instead be sorted according to building, floor and installation location.
Project management is therefore not separate from manufacturing quality.
For large door orders, traceability is part of delivery quality.
Even an approved drawing cannot guarantee that the final construction site matches the drawing perfectly.
We have encountered a project where the customer provided opening dimensions and the doors were prepared according to the confirmed project information.
However, the openings actually constructed on site were smaller than the dimensions shown in the drawings.
The result was straightforward: installation became difficult when the doors arrived.
This illustrates an important principle:
A signed drawing confirms what should be produced. A site measurement confirms what can actually be installed.
Whenever the construction schedule allows, key openings should therefore be measured or rechecked after the relevant wall construction has been completed, especially before final mass production.
For large projects, checking representative or critical openings can prevent a dimensional discrepancy from being repeated hundreds of times.
Based on our project experience, several problems appear repeatedly.
The supplier does not have enough information to determine the complete configuration.
A dimension is provided without defining what it represents.
The frame, hardware, glazing and other components are not considered together.
A seemingly small change may affect the complete door configuration.
Left/right or opening direction information is misunderstood.
Doors for different buildings, floors or locations become difficult to distinguish during installation.
The actual constructed opening may differ from the approved drawing.
Most of these problems can be prevented before production.
For project orders, product quality is only one part of successful delivery.
Documentation is equally important.
Depending on the project requirements, TOF DOOR can prepare and organize documents such as:
Different door numbering systems can also be coordinated according to the customer’s project-management requirements.
For developers, contractors and distributors handling large projects, these documents make communication between purchasing, warehouse, site and installation teams much easier.
Before requesting a quotation, try to provide as many of the following items as possible:
If some of this information is not yet available, that does not necessarily prevent the project from moving forward.
It simply means these points should be clarified during the drawing-development stage rather than being left until production or installation.
Purchasing fire-rated steel doors for a Philippine project is not simply a matter of finding a door with the required fire rating.
The real task is converting architectural and engineering requirements into a clearly defined, manufacturable and traceable door assembly.
For a small order, one incorrect dimension may affect one opening.
For a project with 1,000+ doors, the same unclear specification can be repeated across an entire building.
That is why TOF DOOR places particular emphasis on project information review, detailed door schedules, drawing approval, hardware verification, door numbering, QC documentation and packing identification.
If you are preparing a fire-rated steel door project in the Philippines, you can send us your BOQ, drawings or existing door schedule. Even if the information is not yet complete, our team can review it and identify the key specifications that need to be confirmed before quotation and production.
