Space, the final frontier... Well, not space as such. But spacing requirements are by far the biggest issue which crops up multiple times every single day on new build and refurbishment sites alike. Spacings alone are the single most cause of an installation been rejected as compliant, against the product manufacturers tested details. The installation of passive fire products require that the spacings between services are a minimum of 100mm, as per BS EN1366 testing. There are some product test data which can reduce the required spacing, eg. putty pad, ablative batt patress seals, etc. but these vary by manufacturer. The cost of a simple direct to wall mastic seal is a few quid. The remedial cost required to make it compliant, can be far more due to a significant uplift in labour time, and materials used. #quantitysurveyor #qs #passivefireprotection #firesafety #fireprotection #lifesafety #firestop #buildingmaintenance #propertymaintenance #propertymanagement
The odd thing about this is that the test standard requires that these openings need to be 100 mm apart yet if the three openings were made into one opening the three bunches could be moved closer together. Fire testing-funny old world.
This is becoming more and more apparent. The key is the main contractor needs to bring on board a fire battling contractor early (when appointing services contractors) and also confirm the product and rules that are to be utilised. Without this information for coordination it turns very difficult from day one. Bringing the rules out when the MEP contractor SOS results in re-work and turns to on site coordination which obviously nowadays is something the industry is moving away from. Communication is the key and ensuring fire engineers and main contractors/architects and MEP contractors are looking at this early doors to alliviate issues on handover. With out this pre planning then issues will always occur.
It is also worth noting that the drywall manufacturer may also have their own requirements for openings made in their walls. Dependent on the situation, the drywall manufacturer may wish for openings to be 200mm or 300mm apart. The 100mm distance in the test standard is just a “minimum” so there is a lot of other factors to consider.
No short cuts here Leigh, keep up the good work.
Senior Firestop Specification Engineer Hilti (Gt. Britain) Ltd
9moEasy to fire stop cables , install CFS D25 they can get very close to each other ,tested Easy inspection preformed product , no mistake on mastic thickness inside the wall. How many times have you check the mastic thickness?