Fire Stopping in Chawton
Fire-rated and intumescent sealing of service penetrations and linear gaps in Chawton and across Hampshire. CHAS accredited and fully insured, with a 12-month guarantee.
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Open linear gaps along the top of fire-resisting walls
- Penetration schedules that need working through
Need fire stopping in Chawton?
Photos, a specification or a quick description of the joints is enough to start a fixed quote.
Fire stopping in Chawton, done properly
Every service that crosses a compartment wall or floor leaves an opening, and that opening needs sealing to hold back fire and smoke. Our job is fitting fire-rated and intumescent sealant at those service penetrations, and along linear gaps, where it is the specified product. Each seal follows the manufacturer’s tested detail. Site teams most often ask us about open linear gaps along the top of fire-resisting walls and snag lists that include open service penetrations, across joints between fire-resisting walls and floors, cable penetrations and pipe penetrations. Whoever orders the work in Chawton, the brief is normally the same: a fixed quote, no surprises on site and a 12-month guarantee behind the result.
Smaller places such as Chawton still have buildings with fire-resisting walls and floors: schools, halls, care homes and commercial conversions. Any service penetration through those walls should be closed with the specified product, set out as its test evidence shows.
We sign every job off with a 12-month guarantee. The promise is simple: if our work fails within that year, we put it right.
- Where
- Chawton (GU34)
- Wider area
- Hampshire
- Cover
- A 12-month guarantee
- Quote
- A fixed quote before we start
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Updated
- 3 November 2026
Our process
We begin with a short walk round with whoever looks after the building, to confirm the scope, the order of work and any areas we must keep clear. Then we strip out anything that has failed, prepare every joint and seal it. If others near Chawton need work, visits can be combined. You will have a fixed quote before work starts.
- First we go through the drawings, schedule or specification for the seals.
- Every penetration is compared with its detail: wall or floor type, service, gap size and depth.
- Unsuitable fillers and loose debris are taken out of each opening.
- We fit the backing the detail asks for, to the stated depth.
- Fire-rated or intumescent sealant is gunned in to the specified depth, then tooled.
- If an opening needs something other than sealant, we tell you instead of improvising.
What we need from you
- Clear stock, furniture or equipment away from the joints
- Send your site hours and access windows
- Let building users know which areas are affected
Get a fixed quote
Photos, drawings or a schedule of the joints and a fixed quote comes back to you. If the job needs a look first, we will arrange a site visit.
Advice
Doing it in-house
A short, simple internal joint is often within reach of a maintenance team. Where it goes wrong is preparation: new sealant over old, damp or dusty faces, or the wrong product for the movement.
What you see is the finished bead, but most of the work is hidden. Correct depth, the right primer and a sealant matched to the movement are easy to get wrong without experience.
Keeping the joints sound
To get the most from the new sealant:
- Report damaged or disturbed seals as soon as they’re spotted
- Arrange inspection before areas are covered up
- Check with the data sheet before painting over fire sealant
- Don’t let anyone top up a fire seal with the wrong product
Never top up a fire seal with foam, ordinary silicone or filler. Repairs need the same product and detail as the original, or a new specification from the designer.
Make reporting new openings part of every permit to work in service areas. It costs little and catches breaches early.
When it isn’t the sealant
A proper diagnosis includes knowing what sealant can’t do. We’ll tell you if the real problem is one of these:
- Construction that lacks the fire resistance the seal relies on
- Deciding what a wall or floor needs, which belongs to the designer
- Plastic pipes whose detail calls for a collar or wrap
Not sure which it is? You can call the office on 01277 525 020 or send photos by email and we’ll tell you honestly.
What we seal
- Pipe penetrations
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Cable penetrations
- Service gaps in risers
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
Fire stopping around Chawton: what changes locally
A 2-mile radius around Chawton takes in several hotels. Hotels are divided into compartments, and refurbishments that add pipes and cables through bedroom and corridor walls leave gaps to close. In England, Approved Document B covers fire stopping of openings and penetrations. References to the older BS 476 classes are being removed from it from 2 September 2029, after which the European classification, BS EN 13501-2, is the route, subject to transitional arrangements. Our part stays the same: the specified product, installed to its tested detail.
For a building such as Church of St Nicholas, new heating or data runs are the usual reason penetrations need sealing. On a site such as Farringdon Business Park (1.5 miles south of Chawton), every fit-out that runs new services through a compartment wall leaves penetrations to seal with the specified product.
Chawton is about 1 mile south-west of Alton, in Hampshire. We cover Chawton and the rest of Hampshire, and jobs here get the same fixed quote and 12-month guarantee as anywhere else. Chawton is one of 723 places we cover in Hampshire for service penetrations. Sites around Reading have their own page, roughly 22 miles from Chawton.
Commercial sites across GU34 are covered. Among the streets we cover are Winchester Road and Wolf's Lane, and sites on any of them can send details for a fixed quote. Just outside Chawton, we also work in Alton (1 mile north-east), Upper Farringdon (2 miles south), Lower Farringdon (2 miles south), Farringdon (2 miles south) and Hartley Mauditt (2 miles south-east). Nearby towns on our patch include Basingstoke (10 miles north-west), Winchester (15 miles west), Farnborough (15 miles north-east), Fleet (12 miles north-east), Aldershot (13 miles north-east) and Petersfield (9 miles south).
Around Chawton
We work on buildings around The Greyfriar pub and Amery Hill School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Alton station, about 1.6 miles north-east. A little further out are Allen Gallery (1.3 miles north-east) and Alton Community Hospital (less than half a mile north). Green spaces nearby include King's Hill.
What we are called out for in Chawton
Linear gaps fail where a fire-resisting wall meets a slab, soffit or another wall. Deflection and building movement can open these gaps. Linear joint details set a width range and movement capability, and the seal has to sit within them.
Most enquiries start with something like this:
- Builders’ foam or ordinary silicone in compartment walls
- Hidden openings found during inspections
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
- Fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back
For a school such as Chawton Church of England Primary School, penetration sealing fits best at the end of the summer works.
What to look for in a quote
- How long is the guarantee, and what does it include?
- Their approach to joint depth and backing
- What site paperwork they can supply
- Who will actually carry out the work
Common questions from Chawton clients
How does the move away from BS 476 affect penetration seals in Chawton?
References to BS 476 classes are being removed from Approved Document B from 2 September 2029, after which BS EN 13501-2 classification is the route, subject to transitional arrangements. Whichever applies, we install the specified product to its tested detail; the specification is for the designer to set.
Will you take on work at estates like Farringdon Business Park, close to Chawton?
Yes, sites like Farringdon Business Park are within our area, along with the rest of Chawton. Send details of the unit and the work through our quote form for a quick quote.
Do you seal on top of existing sealant?
No, never. Overlaying old sealant is a frequent cause of early failure, so it all comes out first.
How long do sealant joints last?
It depends on movement, UV and weather, cleaning, traffic and the product. Treat them as maintenance items and inspect them regularly.
Will your applicators have CSCS cards?
Yes. Our applicators hold CSCS cards, which many sites require.
Can you follow the specification on our project?
Yes. The specification and the manufacturer’s installation guidance are what we work to.
How long does a typical visit take?
It depends on the scope, but the work normally takes a single visit for a short list of penetrations, or a phased programme for a whole building. For bigger or phased jobs, we’ll set out a timescale with the quote.
Commercial clients in Chawton
Facilities managers want contractors who arrive with the paperwork sorted. Tell us what site paperwork you need, such as RAMS, an insurance certificate or CSCS details, and we’ll confirm with the quote.
For main contractors, we work as the sealant subcontractor, on new build and refurbishment alike. We work to your programme, your specification and your site rules, and our applicators hold CSCS cards.