Fire-rated sealing and fire stopping in Ford, West Sussex
Planning work on a service penetration in Ford? We look at it, seal it with the right product and hand it over with a 12-month guarantee.
- Expanding foam used as fire stopping
- Seals disturbed by maintenance and left open
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
Need fire stopping in Ford?
Send drawings, photos or a joint schedule, or tell us about the site, and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
Fire stopping around Ford: how the place shapes the job
Ford lies roughly 51 miles out from central London. Business park offices in the commuter belt are refitted as tenants change, and each fit-out adds services through compartment walls. In England, Approved Document B covers fire stopping of openings and penetrations. 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. What we install is set by the specification, and it goes in to the tested detail.
Industrial units on estates such as Rudford Industrial Estate (0.8 miles south of Ford) often separate offices from warehouse space with fire-resisting walls, and new services through them need the specified seal. For a school such as The Littlehampton Academy, penetration sealing fits best at the end of the summer works.
Ford is about 2 miles north-west of Littlehampton, in West Sussex. We cover commercial sites throughout Ford. Ford is one of 373 places in West Sussex on our list. We also cover Brighton, some 20 miles away.
Anyone looking for fire stopping in BN18 gets the same process as the rest of our area: details, then a fixed price, then sealing and a 12-month guarantee. Streets here include Station Road, Ford Road and Rodney Crescent. Close to Ford, our area also takes in Tortington (1 mile north), Horsemere Green (1 mile south), Climping (1 mile south), Wick (1 mile east) and Lyminster (1 mile east). Nearby towns on our patch include Worthing (8 miles east), Bognor Regis (5 miles south-west), Chichester (9 miles west), Selsey (11 miles south-west), Shoreham-by-Sea (14 miles east) and Lancing (11 miles east).
Around Ford
Around Ford, our work takes us to commercial buildings near The Arundel Arms Public House At Ford Station and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Ford itself: Ford station. A little further out are Arundel and District Hospital (2.1 miles north) and Rustington Museum (3.5 miles east). Not far away are WWT Arundel.
Fire stopping for commercial buildings in Ford
Fire-rated sealant suits many small service penetrations: copper and steel pipes, cables and some small ducts where the tested detail allows. Larger openings and some plastic pipes call for collars, wraps, batts or boards instead. We use sealant where it is the specified product, and we tell you when a detail calls for something else. If you have builders’ foam or ordinary silicone in compartment walls and old intumescent sealant that has split away, we can put it right, whatever the surface. Sealant applicators who only do sealant are a different proposition from a general trade with a gun in the van: on jobs in Ford, preparation and product choice get the time they need.
Smaller places such as Ford 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 stand behind the joints we seal: 12 months, guaranteed. That covers our preparation and application.
- Place
- Ford (BN18)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Cover
- 12 months on every job
- Price
- Quoted before any work starts
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Page updated
- 3 November 2026
Looking after the joints
A few simple habits keep the new joints working:
- Make fire stopping part of every scope that crosses a fire-resisting wall
- Settle who seals which penetrations at the start of a project
- Get seals inspected before ceilings and boxing close
- Record which product was used where
During planned inspections, look at seals in risers, cupboards and voids. Watch for cracked sealant, new services with no seal and openings that have grown and get them dealt with.
A simple record of seal locations and products helps. When a new service goes through, everyone knows which product and detail to match.
Your questions answered
What happens to BS 476 references for fire stopping in Ford?
From 2 September 2029, Approved Document B drops its BS 476 references in favour of BS EN 13501-2 classification, with transitional arrangements. Whichever applies, we install the specified product to its tested detail; the specification is for the designer to set.
Can work in a care setting near Ford go ahead while residents are there?
Yes. We work around residents’ routines, a room or two at a time. Noise and disruption are kept to a minimum.
What will the job cost?
That depends on the job: the volume of work, the access, the specified product and how it’s phased. Call for a quote and we’ll price it properly.
Are your applicators CSCS-carded?
Yes. Our applicators hold CSCS cards.
Do you hold CHAS accreditation?
Yes. We’re CHAS accredited, we’re a Constructionline member and we use CSCS-carded applicators.
Can one quote cover more than one building?
Yes. Multi-site work and planned programmes are a core part of the service, planned site by site to suit how each building is used.
Will you quote for a small job?
We quote for single jobs as well as large packages and programmes. Send details for a fixed quote.
From enquiry to sign-off
In a busy building, the work is phased so only one area is out of use at a time. Each area is protected, prepared and sealed before we move to the next. Rural sites near Ford may need directions, gate codes or a contact on site. Add it to your enquiry and we’ll build it into the plan.
- We ask for the product and detail your designer has specified.
- Openings are measured and grouped by detail.
- Improvised fillers and failed sealant are removed.
- Where the detail needs backing, it goes in at the stated depth.
- We gun the sealant in to the specified depth around each service and tool it.
- We walk the completed areas with you and confirm the records agreed at quote stage.
Getting the site ready
- Let us know about inductions and permits
- Arrange parking or a loading space
- Send any specification or drawings in advance
Request a quote
If there’s a specification, drawings or a tender package, send it with your enquiry, and we will price against exactly what is specified. For smaller jobs, photographs and a description will do.
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What we can’t put right
A proper diagnosis includes knowing what sealant can’t do. You will hear from us if the cause turns out to be one of these:
- Fire doors, dampers or other fire safety equipment
- Writing the fire-stopping specification
- Plastic pipes whose detail calls for a collar or wrap
Not sure which it is? You can call 01277 525 020 or email drawings and photos and we will tell you honestly before you book.
Where we work in Ford
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Pipe penetrations
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Service gaps in risers
- Cable penetrations
Signs you need fire stopping in Ford
Linear gaps fail where a fire-resisting wall meets a slab, soffit or another wall. Movement in the frame or slab can open the joint. Linear joint details set a width range and movement capability, and the seal has to sit within them.
Site and facilities staff are often the first to spot these:
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Non-fire-rated filler around services
- Improvised or mixed-product fire seals
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
Older community buildings such as The Parish Church of St Andrew that have been rewired or given new heating can have service gaps through walls worth checking against the specification.
Comparing quotes
- How they handle RAMS and site documents
- Their plan for phasing and protecting the area
- Who will actually carry out the work
- Whether primer will be used where the manufacturer specifies it
Towns and villages near Ford
Other services in Ford
Different surfaces, different methods
Risers and ceiling voids
Voids hide a lot of unsealed openings. We follow your schedule area by area, and note anything we find that isn’t on it.
Small ducts
We seal around ducts only within what the tested detail covers. Dampers and ductwork systems themselves are outside our work.
Cost factors for service penetrations
What shapes the price:
- Backing rod, priming and other preparation
- Location, for remote and island sites
- Removal of failed or old sealant
- Phasing around occupants
No two sites price the same: the joint sizes, the specified product, access and working hours each have a bearing. A fixed quote follows once we understand the job.
Details that help us quote
A good diagnosis starts with the right details. Tell us:
- Whether the building will be occupied during the work
- Whether an asbestos survey exists
- Rough lengths or quantities, or drawings if you have them
- Anything awkward about access or site hours
Photos, drawings or a schedule of the joints and a fixed quote comes back to you. Where a site visit makes more sense, we’ll arrange one.