Fire-rated sealing and fire stopping in Ashford, Kent
Planning work on a service penetration in Ashford? We assess it, carry out the work and guarantee our workmanship for 12 months.
- Expanding foam used as fire stopping
- Penetration schedules that need working through
- Fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back
Fire stopping for businesses in Ashford
Photos, a specification or a quick description of the joints is enough to start a fixed quote.
Fire stopping in Ashford
Facilities managers in Ashford often find open service penetrations when ceilings come down for other work. If a specification already covers those walls and floors, we can reseal to it, matching the product and detail it names. With no specification in place, the first step sits with your designer or fire engineer, not with us. We work on joints between fire-resisting walls and floors, service gaps in risers and pipe penetrations, and the usual reasons a site gets in touch are unsealed penetrations discovered above suspended ceilings and fire sealant pulled out of the opening. Whoever orders the work in Ashford, the brief is typically the same: a clear scope, tidy work and joints that don’t fail again.
Refits on business parks and in shopping centres around large towns like Ashford bring new cables and pipework through compartment walls. Each new penetration needs closing with the product the specification calls for, installed to the manufacturer’s tested detail.
The 12-month guarantee covers our workmanship: preparation, application and finish. It doesn’t extend to damage, other trades’ later work or movement the joint was never designed to take.
Signs you need fire stopping in Ashford
On a busy project, programme pressure can mean fire stopping is rushed or left to whichever trade is closest. That is how unsuitable products and improvised details end up in compartment walls.
Things that typically lead to an enquiry:
- Fire stopping installed outside its tested range
- Openings found when ceilings come down for a refit
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Unsealed joints where partitions meet the slab
At a healthcare site like The One Ashford Hospital, 2 miles east of Ashford, new services through compartment walls are a constant, and each needs the specified seal.
What your quote should include
- Whether old or failed sealant will be cut out, not overlaid
- The terms of the workmanship guarantee
- Who will actually carry out the work
- How they handle RAMS and site documents
Questions about Ashford
Can you work in a care home near Ashford with residents in?
Yes. We work around residents’ routines, a room or two at a time. Noise and disruption are kept to a minimum.
Can you seal around new services in a hotel near Ashford?
Yes, where the specification calls for fire-rated sealant. It goes in to the manufacturer’s tested detail for the wall or floor and the services passing through, and we will tell you if the detail calls for a collar, wrap or batt instead.
Do you guarantee your work?
Yes. Workmanship is guaranteed for 12 months on every job.
Do you have public liability insurance?
Yes. We’re fully insured, including public liability cover.
Do you work to architects’ specifications?
Yes. We follow the specification, along with the manufacturer’s installation guidance.
What site paperwork can you supply?
Tell us what site paperwork you need (RAMS, insurance certificate, CSCS details) and we’ll confirm with the quote.
Can the sealant be colour-matched?
Often, yes. Many products come in a range of standard colours, and matching to RAL references or surrounding finishes is often possible. We will confirm the colours available for the specified product.
When something else is needed
Sealant solves a lot, but not everything, and we are upfront when that’s the case. These need a different solution:
- Writing the fire-stopping specification
- Reviewing a building’s overall fire safety
- Construction that lacks the fire resistance the seal relies on
If in doubt, call the office on 01277 525 020 or email the details over and we will say what we think before you book.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Pipe penetrations
- Service gaps in risers
- Cable penetrations
- Linear gaps at wall heads
Doing it in-house
Paperwork matters too. Many sites expect CSCS cards, RAMS and proof of insurance, and we’ll confirm the paperwork you need with the quote.
Some joints are best left to specialists: for example fire-rated seals that must match a tested detail, trafficked floor joints and external movement joints. A poor seal in places like these tends to cost more to put right later.
Nearby places to Ashford
Also in Ashford
Surface by surface
Cables and cable bundles
Single cables and small bundles are often within a fire-rated sealant’s tested detail. The detail limits bundle size and the gaps between and around cables.
Small ducts
Ducts are only sealed with sealant where the detail allows it. Dampers and ductwork systems themselves are outside our work.
How a job runs
Before any cutting starts, the area is protected: tape along each joint edge and covers over finishes, stock and equipment close by. On site, the work usually takes anything from one day to a planned run of visits, depending on the number of seals and the access, and our waste is bagged and taken away as we go. Bigger buildings in Ashford are usually done in phases agreed with the site or facilities manager, so the building keeps working. Send drawings or photographs and we’ll set out a phasing plan with the quote.
- We read the specification, drawings or penetration schedule you send and raise any questions before we price.
- Every penetration is compared with its detail: wall or floor type, service, gap size and depth.
- Anything that doesn’t belong in the opening, such as expanding foam or general-purpose filler, is removed.
- Mineral wool or other backing goes in wherever the detail asks.
- Fire-rated or intumescent sealant is gunned in to the specified depth, then tooled.
- Openings that need a collar, wrap, batt or other product are flagged to you rather than filled with sealant.
Preparing the site
- Agree which areas must stay open
- Tell staff and tenants when we’ll be in
- Clear stock, furniture or equipment away from the joints
Ask for a quote
Quotes are fixed against the scope you send, so you know the figure before anyone is on site. To start the process, speak to us on 01277 525 020 or send photos by email.
Related advice
How the quote is worked out
Each job is priced on its own details. The things that drive the figure:
- Joint width, depth and condition
- Access and working height
- Quantities, in metres or numbers
- Specialist products, such as fire-rated or hygienic sealants
A quote for service penetrations depends on quantities, condition and access, and any specification that applies. Call for a quote.
What to include in your enquiry
It doesn’t need to be a full survey. A few details are enough to get going:
- How the joints are reached, and at what height
- Asbestos survey details if the building is older
- A wide shot and a close-up of the area
- Specification clauses that apply
To get a fixed quote, call the office on 01277 525 020 or email the details over with the site address and an outline of the work. You can also send details through our quote form.
Fire stopping around Ashford: how the place shapes the job
The 2 miles around Ashford include two care or nursing homes. Care settings depend on compartmentation, so service penetrations made during maintenance or refurbishment need sealing with the specified product. Fire stopping of openings and penetrations in England falls under Approved Document B. The national BS 476 classes are due to drop out of it from 2 September 2029, leaving the European BS EN 13501-2 route, subject to transitional arrangements. Our part stays the same: the specified product, installed to its tested detail.
Colleges such as Ashford College, 0.5 miles to the north-east of Ashford, add IT and services as courses change, and each new penetration through a fire-resisting wall needs sealing with the specified product. Shop fits on retail sites such as Gallagher Retail Park (to the south-east of Ashford) can bring new services through fire-resisting walls between units, to be sealed with the specified product.
Ashford is in Kent. Any commercial site in Ashford is covered, for single jobs and planned programmes alike. Ashford is one of 931 places we cover in Kent. For work in that direction, see our London page (48 miles or so).
If you need fire stopping in TN23, TN24, TN25 and TN26, the process matches everywhere else we work: details, then a fixed price, then sealing and a 12-month guarantee. Streets here include Market Lane, Church Road and Station Road, and sites on any of them can send details for a fixed quote. Being close to the A20 and A28, Ashford is easy to get to with materials and equipment. Close to Ashford, our area also takes in Stanhope (1 mile south-west), Newtown (1 mile south-east), South Willesborough (1 mile south-east), Godinton (1 mile north-west) and Willesborough (1 mile east). Nearby towns on our patch include Canterbury (13 miles north-east), Sittingbourne (15 miles north), Folkestone (14 miles east), Faversham (12 miles north), Hythe (10 miles south-east) and Davington (12 miles north). Ashford is one of the busier places in Kent, and its commercial and public buildings are all within our area.
What’s near Ashford
Around Ashford, our work takes us to commercial buildings near The Locomotive pub, Ashford Green Corridors and Ashford School, among other places. There’s a railway station in Ashford itself: Ashford International station. A little further out are William Harvey Hospital (2.1 miles east) and Ashford Designer Outlet (0.6 miles south-east). The countryside around Ashford includes Hatch Park.