Fire-rated sealing and fire stopping in Coates, West Sussex
Planning work on a service penetration in Coates? We assess it, carry out the work and guarantee our workmanship for 12 months.
- Open linear gaps along the top of fire-resisting walls
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Penetration schedules that need working through
Fire stopping in Coates
Share the site address and what’s failing, and we’ll reply with a fixed quote or arrange a visit.
Fire stopping in Coates, done properly
We are commercial sealant applicators, CHAS accredited and a Constructionline member, with CSCS-carded applicators on site. We hold no third-party fire-stopping installer certificate, and we won’t pretend otherwise. What we offer is careful installation of the specified sealant to its tested detail, with a 12-month guarantee on our workmanship. If you have seals disturbed by maintenance and left open and fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back, we can put it right, on joints between fire-resisting walls and floors, cable penetrations and small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows alike. Facilities teams, main contractors and managing agents in Coates tend to want the same three things: a fixed quote, no surprises on site and a 12-month guarantee behind the result.
Around smaller places like Coates, penetration seals come up in schools, halls, pubs with rooms, care homes and farm buildings used as offices. Any service penetration through those walls should be closed with the specified product, set out as its test evidence shows.
What our 12-month guarantee covers is the way we did the job: the preparation, the sealing and the tooling. It doesn’t extend to damage, other trades’ later work or movement the joint was never designed to take.
- Where
- Coates (RH20)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Cover
- 12 months on our workmanship
- Quotes
- A fixed quote before we start
- Telephone
- 01277 525 020
- Last updated
- 3 November 2026
What we can’t put right
Some faults sit outside our scope, and we point that out rather than sealing over them:
- Approving the work on behalf of building control
- Plastic pipes whose detail calls for a collar or wrap
- Walls or floors that aren’t fire-resisting to begin with
If you’re not sure, just call the office on 01277 525 020 or email the details over and we’ll give you a straight answer before you book.
What we seal
- Pipe penetrations
- Service gaps in risers
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Cable penetrations
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
FAQs: Coates
Is a smaller place like Coates outside your area?
No. Small places get the same service as large ones. Our area covers London and the South East counties. Good photographs up front let us bring everything on the first visit.
What happens to BS 476 references for fire stopping in Coates?
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. The designer or fire engineer sets the specification, and we install the product to the manufacturer’s tested detail.
Will you just go over the old sealant?
No, never. Sealing over old material is one of the classic causes of early joint failure, so it all comes out first.
Can staff carry on working while you’re here?
In most cases, yes. Phased work can be planned so areas stay in use, with each area protected and signed.
Is colour matching possible?
It depends on the product specified. Some ranges offer many colours, others very few, so we will confirm the colours available for the specified product with the quote.
How do you deal with asbestos in old sealant?
Managing asbestos is the dutyholder’s responsibility, so we’ll ask for the register before work on an older building. Work pauses if suspect material is found, until it has been tested.
Do your applicators hold CSCS cards?
Yes. Should the site need card details in advance, tell us and we will confirm them with the quote.
Fire-rated sealing for Coates buildings
For England, the fire stopping of penetrations is dealt with in 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. We install whatever has been specified, to the product’s tested detail. At about 43 miles from central London, Coates is within reach of the capital. Business park offices in the commuter belt are refitted as tenants change, and each fit-out adds services through compartment walls, and the gaps need sealing with the specified product.
For a unit at a site such as Quell Farm Industrial Estate, 2.4 miles to the south-east of Coates, new power or data runs between office and warehouse can breach a compartment wall. Hotels like The Swan Hotel (to the north-east of Coates) are refurbished in phases, and each phase can open up compartment walls.
Coates is about 10 miles north of Littlehampton, in West Sussex. We send applicators to Coates for service penetrations. Across West Sussex, 373 places are covered, Coates among them. We also cover Brighton, around 21 miles from Coates.
Anyone looking for fire stopping in RH20 gets the same process as the rest of our area: details, then a fixed price, then sealing and a 12-month guarantee. Close to Coates, our area also takes in Lower Horncroft (1 mile east), Fittleworth (1 mile north-east), Bedham (1 mile north-east), Watersfield (2 miles south-east) and Coldwaltham (2 miles south-east). Nearby towns on our patch include Horsham (14 miles north-east), Worthing (12 miles south-east), Bognor Regis (12 miles south-west), Chichester (12 miles south-west), Littlehampton (10 miles south) and Lancing (14 miles south-east).
Landmarks near Coates
Around Coates, our work takes us to commercial buildings near The Swan Hotel. For rail, the closest station is Pulborough station, about 2.7 miles east of the centre. A little further out are Coates Castle (0.5 miles south-west) and Coultershaw Heritage Site (2 miles north-west). Not far away are Bignor Hill and Amberley Wild Brooks.
Cost factors for service penetrations
Before we quote, we look at:
- Which sealant the job calls for
- Induction, permit and paperwork requirements
- The size and state of each joint
- Any access equipment needed
Access often affects the price as much as the sealing: easy-to-reach joints are quicker than those that need equipment to get to. Tell us how the joints are reached and 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:
- The type of building and who uses it
- Drawings or a marked-up plan, if available
- Clear photographs of the problem areas
- Whether an asbestos survey exists
Send details, get a quote, we seal, guaranteed: that’s how every job runs. The first step is to call 01277 525 020 or email a schedule or drawings with what you know.
Doing it in-house
Paperwork matters too. Many sites expect CSCS cards, RAMS and proof of insurance, and our CSCS-carded applicators are used to working under those rules.
General builders and handymen seal joints, but it isn’t their main trade. A specialist brings correct preparation, depth control with backing rod and a product suited to that particular joint.
What we’re called out for in Coates
Mixing products or improvising a detail breaks the link with the test evidence. An oversized gap, too shallow a bead, missing backing or two makers’ products combined are what we find most often.
Typical triggers for a call:
- Openings found when ceilings come down for a refit
- Fire sealant pulled out of the opening
- Open linear gaps along the top of fire-resisting walls
- Fire stopping installed outside its tested range
Older community buildings such as Church of St Agatha that have been rewired or given new heating can have service gaps through walls worth checking against the specification.
Questions to ask before you book
- What the guarantee covers, and for how long
- Whether their applicators hold CSCS cards
- How the existing material will be dealt with
- Is depth set with backing rod, or bond-breaker tape in shallow joints?
On site: what to expect
We bring the products specified for the job, along with primers and backing rod. Joint faces are cleaned back to sound, dry surfaces, primer goes on where the manufacturer specifies it, and the sealant is tooled off neatly. Jobs in and around smaller places like Coates are typically planned as a single visit, so we ask for photographs and rough sizes first. That way the right products come on the day.
- First we go through the drawings, schedule or specification for the seals and ask about anything unclear.
- 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.
- 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.
- Openings that need a collar, wrap, batt or other product are flagged to you rather than filled with sealant.
Before we start on site
- For older buildings, check the asbestos register before work
- Send any specification or drawings in advance
- Make sure the joints can be reached
Getting a fixed quote
We quote a fixed sum against the scope you give us, so you know the figure before anyone is on site. To start the process, phone 01277 525 020 or email us.
Advice
Also in Coates
Why it’s worth doing now in Coates
An improvised seal can look finished while offering no tested performance. The fix is to remove it and reinstall to the detail, and doing it once, properly, is cheaper. Older rural buildings around Coates move with the seasons, and rigid or tired sealant can’t keep up. The right product, sized to the joint, copes much better.
A quote for service penetrations depends on how many there are, their condition and the access. Ask us for a fixed quote.
Why clients in Coates choose us
- Fully insured, including public liability cover
- One number for every site we cover
- CSCS-carded applicators
- Health and safety: CHAS accredited