Fire-rated sealing and fire stopping

What fire-rated sealing and fire stopping covers

Fire-resisting walls and floors divide a building into compartments so that fire and smoke are held back. Each service that crosses one, whether pipework, cabling or ductwork, leaves an opening, and so do the joints where walls meet floors and soffits. Those gaps have to be sealed with products tested for that use, or the compartment is compromised. Where it is specified, we install fire-rated and intumescent sealant at service penetrations and along linear gaps, to the product’s tested detail. That means matching the product, the wall or floor type, the services passing through, the gap size, the depth and any backing, such as mineral wool if the tested detail requires it. Much of this work follows M&E installations, refurbishments and fit-outs, when new services have been run through existing walls. Fire stopping design and sign-off sit with the designer, fire engineer or building control. We work to the specification and the manufacturer’s installation guidance.

We work across South East England, Greater London and all of Scotland. Our workmanship carries a 12-month guarantee, we’re CHAS accredited and a Constructionline member, and our applicators hold CSCS cards.

Problems we put right

• Holes left around new cables or pipes after M&E work
• Gaps opened up during a fit-out or refurbishment
• Foam or general-purpose sealant in openings the specification marks for a fire-rated product
• Linear gaps at wall heads left open or packed with the wrong material
• Seals that don’t match the product’s tested detail
• No clear picture of what has been sealed and with what

Joints and areas we seal

• Pipe penetrations
• Cable penetrations
• Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
• Linear gaps at wall heads
• Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
• Service gaps in risers

Why it’s worth doing now

Gaps around pipes, cables and ducts in fire-resisting walls and floors can let fire and smoke spread between compartments. They are often opened by later trades and never closed properly. Sealing them with the specified product, to its tested detail, restores what the wall or floor was designed to do.

What affects the quote

We don’t publish set prices, because no two buildings are the same. Send details and we’ll give you a fixed quote before we start. The main things that affect it are:

• How many metres of joint there are, and how many areas, elevations or sites
• How much failed sealant has to come out, and how hard it is
• Joint size, depth and whether backing rod or primer is needed
• Access: height, scaffold or MEWP access arranged by others, occupied areas
• The product the joint needs (and colour, where it matters)
• Programme, phasing and site requirements such as permits and inductions

What a good quote includes

• All failed sealant removed, never sealed over
• The product named for each joint type
• What the 12-month guarantee covers
• When each area can be used again
• Who is doing the work, their CSCS cards and the insurance in place
• What site paperwork and records are included

Aftercare

Keep a record of where fire-rated sealant has been installed and which product was used. Make sure anyone who drills through those walls or floors later knows they must reinstate the seal to a tested detail, and check penetrations after every fit-out or M&E change.