Fire Stopping in Freemantle
Fire stopping in Freemantle, backed by over 20 years in commercial sealing. Fully insured and CHAS accredited.
- Old intumescent sealant that has split away
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Unsealed openings around new pipes and cables
Fire stopping for businesses in Freemantle
Photos, a specification or a quick description of the joints is enough to start a fixed quote.
General trades versus a specialist
Redoing a failed joint typically costs more than getting it right at the outset, because the whole bead must be removed and the faces cleaned back again. That’s why many clients bring in a specialist from the beginning.
The visible bead is only part of the job. Correct depth, the right primer and a sealant matched to the movement are where general trades tend to cut corners.
Fire stopping in Freemantle, done properly
Opened ceilings and riser doors often reveal service openings nobody sealed. Where the walls and floors already have a fire-stopping specification, we can work to it using the product and detail it sets out. With no specification in place, the first step sits with your designer or fire engineer, not with us. If you’re dealing with fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back and openings left by services added after handover, we can put it right, on joints between fire-resisting walls and floors, linear gaps at wall heads and small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows alike. For commercial sealant work in Freemantle, you deal with one contact from quote to sign-off, for single jobs and planned programmes alike.
In places the size of Freemantle, fire-resisting walls and floors are found in schools, care homes, health centres and mixed-use buildings. Around those penetrations, fire-rated sealant is installed if specified, with depth, backing and gap all as tested.
Our 12-month guarantee is about workmanship, not wear and tear. How long a sealant joint lasts depends on movement, exposure, cleaning and use, so we are clear about what is covered before work starts.
- Location
- Freemantle (SO15, SO16, SO17)
- Wider area
- Southampton
- Guarantee
- 12 months on our workmanship
- Quote
- Quoted before any work starts
- Telephone
- 01277 525 020
- Updated
- 3 November 2026
For managing agents and facilities managers
As a CHAS accredited contractor and Constructionline member, we’re straightforward to vet for your supplier list. Our insurance certificate can be sent along with the quote.
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.
What happens if it’s left?
An improvised seal can look finished while offering no tested performance. Correcting it means cutting it out and starting again with the specified product, so it makes sense to get it right first time. Small buildings around Freemantle suffer from failed joints as much as large ones. Catching it early means a reseal rather than repairs.
A quote for service penetrations depends on quantities, condition and access. Call for a quote.
What you get with us
- Work carried out by CSCS-carded applicators
- Products installed to the manufacturer’s instructions
- One phone line for London, the South East and Scotland
- A Constructionline member, so easy to vet
Take a look at how commercial sealant jobs are priced and how we’re accredited.
Our process
The first thing on site is a walk round with your contact, agreeing which joints are in scope, where to start and what must stay open. After that, any old or failed material is removed, each joint is prepared and the new sealant goes in. What matters most for a job in Freemantle is a clear list of what needs doing, so send photographs of each area. You’ll then get a fixed price for the work.
- First we confirm the product and tested details named in the specification.
- Openings are measured and grouped by detail.
- Old or wrong materials are cut out.
- Mineral wool or other backing is fitted where required.
- 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.
Before we start on site
- Warn occupants and staff about the work
- Have the specification and drawings to hand
- Clear stock, furniture or equipment away from the joints
Quotes
Quotes are fixed against the scope you send, so you know the figure before anyone is on site. To ask for one, ring 01277 525 020 or email us.
Advice
Freemantle: questions and answers
Can you work around term dates at a campus such as Southampton Solent University?
Yes, holiday working periods are the norm on campus jobs. Any paperwork you need, from RAMS to our insurance certificate and CSCS details, is confirmed with the quote.
How does the removal of BS 476 from Approved Document B affect fire-rated sealing in Freemantle?
Approved Document B loses its BS 476 references from 2 September 2029, and BS EN 13501-2 becomes the route, subject to transitional arrangements. Our part doesn’t change: the specified product, to its tested detail.
How long do sealant joints last?
Nobody can honestly give a figure in years, because life depends on how much the joint moves, how exposed it is and how it’s cleaned and used. Regular inspection is the best way to catch problems early.
How do you deal with asbestos in old sealant?
Asbestos is possible in some older mastics, particularly in buildings from before 2000. We check the asbestos register before cutting out old sealant in an older building, and if asbestos is suspected, work stops until it’s tested. Removing asbestos is a job for asbestos specialists, not us.
How long does a typical visit take?
The duration is planned around your programme and the access we are given. You will have an expected duration with the quote.
Will you come and look before quoting?
Many jobs can be quoted from photos, drawings or a joint schedule. If the job needs a look first, we will arrange a visit before quoting.
Can weather delay the job?
For external joints, yes. Sealant needs a dry joint and a temperature within the product’s range, so damp, frosty or very cold days can stop external work. Internal work is rarely affected.
Surface by surface
Masonry and concrete
Core-drilled holes are neat; broken-out ones rarely are. The gap is measured at the widest point so we know it sits within the tested range, and any outside it are raised with you.
Drylining partitions
Service holes through plasterboard are frequently oversized or ragged. If the gap exceeds the tested range, sealant alone won’t do.
Fire stopping around Freemantle: points for this area
The area within 2 miles of Freemantle holds a good number of hotels. A hotel refit often runs new services through compartment walls between bedrooms and corridors, and each opening needs the specified seal. Fire stopping of openings and penetrations in England falls under Approved Document B. 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 hospital such as Royal South Hants Hospital (1.3 miles east of Freemantle), penetration sealing is normally phased ward by ward, with infection-control rules agreed first. Residences at universities like Southampton Solent University, 1.1 miles to the east of Freemantle, have compartment walls that must be resealed whenever services change.
Freemantle is about 1 mile west of Southampton, in Southampton. If you’re looking for fire stopping in Freemantle, we can help, as we do across Southampton. Our Southampton coverage takes in 30 places, from busy centres to rural villages.
Commercial sites across SO15, SO16 and SO17 are covered for service penetrations. Among the streets we cover are May Road, Park Road and Pitt Road, and sites on any of them can send details for a fixed quote. Access to Freemantle is via the A33. If your building is just outside Freemantle, we cover Shirley (1 mile north), Regents Park (1 mile north-west), Millbrook (1 mile west), Maybush (2 miles north-west) and Coxford (2 miles north-west). Nearby towns on our patch include Midanbury (3 miles east), Thornhill (4 miles east), Harefield (4 miles east), Itchen (3 miles east), Sholing (3 miles east) and Woolston (3 miles south-east).
Around Freemantle
We work on buildings around St Anne's Catholic School, Blechynden Terrace Park and The Brass Monkey pub, among other places. There’s a railway station in Freemantle itself: Millbrook (Hants) station. Other landmarks nearby include Western Community Hospital (1.3 miles north-west) and Foresters Museum & Archive (less than half a mile east). Not far away are Testwood Lakes.
What we’re called out for in Freemantle
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.
It’s worth sending us details if you spot any of the following:
- Improvised or mixed-product fire seals
- Fire sealant pulled out of the opening
- Hidden openings found during inspections
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
On estates like Liners Industrial Estate, which lies north of Freemantle, the wall between office and warehouse is often fire-resisting, and cables through it need the specified seal.
Before you book anyone
- How they’ll work around occupants
- Are they CHAS accredited or on Constructionline?
- Proof of insurance
- Whether old or failed sealant will be cut out, not overlaid