Fire Rated Frames

Q: I work in an old hospital and we have quite a few fire rated openings that are missing labels, I'm having a company come in and rate the frames for us, of course, there are many different ratings but I want to have all the frames rated at the highest rating (90 mins). Is there any reason I should not do this?

A: As I understand it, most frames are not labeled the same as fire-rated doors. Frames are simply rated as being a fire-rated frame, and there is typically no hourly or minute rating that is listed. Now, there are exceptions to this general rule, but as I have learned over the years, frames are not necessarily rated in hourly (or minute) terms like doors. One exception that I am aware of, is fire-rated door assemblies that are 3-hours or greater. I’ve been told by individuals smarter than me that frames used on 3-hour assemblies (or greater) are required to be rated with an hourly rating. So, you can expect the company that does your field inspection to provide a label that simply states the frame is a fire-rated frame, and not have an hourly rating.