You can't clean, inspect or certify ductwork you can't get inside. That's why access doors are the single most important addition to any extract or ventilation system — and why Extract Compliance Ltd now supplies and installs standard and fire-rated access doors for both spiral (circular) and square/rectangular ductwork, anywhere in the UK.
Why Ductwork Access Doors Matter
Under BESA TR19®, a system can only be certified as clean where it can actually be reached and verified. If a duct run has no access panels, large sections stay uncleaned — grease, lint or dust keep building, and your compliance certificate carries caveats your insurer may take issue with.
Correctly positioned access doors mean:
- A genuinely compliant clean — every bend, riser and horizontal run reachable and evidenced
- Proper inspection & grease deposit readings — measured results, not estimates
- Lower fire risk — no hidden fuel load sitting in an unreachable section
- Faster, cheaper future cleans — no dismantling ductwork on every visit
- Insurer and fire risk assessor confidence — full-system evidence, no gaps
Access Doors for Spiral (Circular) Ductwork
Spiral wound ductwork needs curved access doors manufactured to the exact duct diameter, so the panel sits flush and the seal holds. We measure on site, supply the correct radius panel and fit it with a gas-tight gasket — no leakage, no whistling, no loss of system pressure.
Typical uses: air conditioning and ventilation branches, spiral kitchen extract runs, laundry extract risers and AHU connections.
Access Doors for Square & Rectangular Ductwork
Square and rectangular ducts take flat panel doors, sized to give real working access rather than a token opening. We fit hinged and lift-off types with quick-release catches, so future cleans and inspections take minutes.
Fire-Rated Access Doors
Where ductwork passes through a fire compartment wall, floor or protected shaft, a standard panel is not enough — an opening in a fire-rated duct must be closed with a door of matching rating, or the compartmentation is compromised.
We supply and install insulated fire-rated access doors with the correct integrity and insulation performance for the duct they serve, so you keep both access and fire compartmentation.
Fire-rated doors are typically required for:
- Kitchen extract risers passing through multiple floors
- Ductwork crossing compartment walls in hotels, care homes and hospitals
- Protected escape routes and service shafts
- Any system where a fire strategy or fire risk assessment specifies rated penetrations
Installed to NAAD21 Standard
Every door we fit follows the NAAD21 (National Association of Air Duct Specialists) access panel standard, covering:
- Correct sizing — large enough for real cleaning and inspection access
- Correct positioning — at bends, changes of direction, fans, dampers and set intervals along straight runs
- Correct sealing — gas-tight gaskets so system performance and pressure are unaffected
- Clear identification — panels labelled and recorded on your system schematic
You receive a photographic record and an updated duct schematic showing every access point, so future engineers, auditors and insurers know exactly where access exists.
Retrofit or New Install — We Cover Both
Most of our access door work is retrofit: we survey an existing system, identify every unreachable section, and cut and fit panels so the whole run can finally be cleaned and certified. We also install panels on new ductwork installations and during refurbishment projects.
Work is carried out cleanly, with containment in place, and we offer out-of-hours appointments so kitchens, laundries and occupied buildings aren't disrupted.
Book a Free Access Survey
If your last cleaning report mentioned "no access" or "unable to inspect", we can fix that. Extract Compliance Ltd installs standard and fire-rated access doors for spiral and square ductwork across Cheshire, Shropshire, North Wales and nationwide — usually alongside a full kitchen extraction cleaning, air duct cleaning or laundry ductwork cleaning visit.
👉 Contact us for a free access survey and quotation, or call 0330 133 8231.