Fire Stopping in Hitchin
Fire-rated and intumescent sealing of service penetrations and linear gaps in Hitchin. CHAS accredited, Constructionline member, with a 12-month guarantee on workmanship.
- Service penetrations left open after M&E works
- Improvised or mixed-product fire seals
- Seals disturbed by maintenance and left open
Fire stopping near Hitchin
Tell us what needs sealing and where, with photos or drawings if you have them, and we’ll price it.
On site: what to expect
Diagnose, treat, sign off: every visit follows that pattern. First comes an inspection and agreement on scope, then we prepare and seal each joint with the specified product, and the job ends with a walk round and sign-off. If you have more than one building in Hitchin, they can often be done on the same visit. Give us your access times and we will fit the work in.
- First we go through the drawings, schedule or specification for the seals and raise any questions before we price.
- On site, each opening is checked against the tested detail it is meant to follow.
- Unsuitable fillers and loose debris are taken out of each opening.
- Mineral wool or other backing goes in wherever the detail asks.
- We apply the specified sealant to the depth and around the services as the detail shows.
- Openings that need a collar, wrap, batt or other product are flagged to you rather than filled with sealant.
Preparing the site
- Warn occupants and staff about the work
- Share the asbestos register for older buildings
- Have the specification and drawings to hand
Get a fixed quote
Need a figure for a tender or a budget? Send the scope and any drawings, and we’ll return a fixed quote that you can work with. For a chat about it beforehand, call 01277 525 020 or send details through our quote form.
Advice
Fire stopping in Hitchin
No fire sealant works on its own: the evidence covers a specific product, wall or floor type, service, gap, depth and backing. We match each opening to that detail before any sealant goes in, and raise it with you if it falls outside. If you have fire-stopping items raised at inspection or handover and openings left by services added after handover, we can help, whatever the surface. A specialist sealant contractor works differently from a general builder: in Hitchin, that means joint design, primers and backing rod as standard.
For a facilities manager in Hitchin, fire-rated sealing tends to follow other work: a new data cabinet, a heating upgrade, a kitchen refit. Checking after M&E works is good practice, and we will seal what’s found where fire-rated sealant is the specified product.
The 12-month guarantee is for workmanship rather than wear and tear. How long a sealant joint lasts depends on movement, exposure, cleaning and use, so we spell out the cover before we begin.
- Place
- Hitchin (SG4, SG5)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Cover
- 12 months on our workmanship
- Price
- Fixed quote, scope in writing
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Last updated
- 3 November 2026
Surface by surface
Drylining partitions
Holes in board are often cut larger than needed. An oversized hole may be outside the sealant’s range, and the detail may call for board patching or another product.
Risers and ceiling voids
Service risers and the voids above ceilings are where openings collect. Access is often tight, so we agree it with you in advance along with any permits your site needs.
Leave it or put it right?
An open or wrongly sealed service penetration lets fire and smoke reach the next compartment much sooner than the building was designed for. While the openings can be reached, sealing them is normally straightforward. Left until ceilings are closed or a tenant moves in, the same work costs more access and more disruption. In a town such as Hitchin, a lot of buildings are older and have been altered over time, so joints between old and new are often the first to go. Resealing them early protects the building behind.
What a job costs comes down to the quantity of joints, how much old material needs removing and the access. Call for a fixed quote once you have the details.
What you get with us
- CHAS accredited
- One phone line for London, the South East and Scotland
- A Constructionline member, so easy to vet
- 12 months’ guarantee on every job
Take a look at how commercial sealant jobs are priced or how we’re accredited.
Your questions answered
Could you schedule work at a campus like North Hertfordshire College - Hitchin Campus for the vacation?
Yes. Tell us the term dates, vacation periods and access windows, and we’ll plan the work around them. Tell us which site documents you need, such as RAMS, our insurance certificate or CSCS details, and they’re confirmed with the quote.
What happens to BS 476 references for fire stopping in Hitchin?
Approved Document B loses its BS 476 references from 2 September 2029, and BS EN 13501-2 becomes 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.
How long does a typical visit take?
We plan the time on site around your programme and access. We will give you an estimate of time on site when we quote.
When is resealing likely to be due?
Nobody can honestly give a figure in years, since movement, weather, cleaning and use all affect it. Regular checks let you plan resealing before leaks or damage.
What will the job cost?
We don’t publish prices, because every site is different. With photographs or drawings, we can give you a fixed quote.
Can you handle several sites?
Yes. Several buildings can share a single quote, with one point of contact.
What’s the quickest route to a quote?
You can use the quote form on this site; alternatively, give us a call on 01277 525 020 or email the details over. Include photographs or drawings if you have them.
What else we do in Hitchin
What we are called out for in Hitchin
Some seals fail because the wrong product went in: expanding foam or a general-purpose sealant pushed into a gap to tidy it. The opening looks sealed but has no fire test evidence behind it.
Things that usually lead to an enquiry:
- Open linear gaps along the top of fire-resisting walls
- Fire stopping installed outside its tested range
- Fire sealant pulled out of the opening
- Seals disturbed by maintenance and left open
For a building such as Church of the Holy Saviour, new heating or data runs are the usual reason penetrations need sealing.
What to look for in a quote
- Their public liability cover
- Which product they’ll use, and why it suits the joint
- Is depth set with backing rod, or bond-breaker tape in shallow joints?
- Their plan for phasing and protecting the area
What we can’t put right
Sealant solves a lot, but not everything, and we’re upfront when that’s the case. These need a different solution:
- Approving the work on behalf of building control
- Large openings beyond what any sealant detail covers
- Construction that lacks the fire resistance the seal relies on
If you’re not sure, just speak to us on 01277 525 020 or send photos by email and we’ll give you a straight answer.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Cable penetrations
- Pipe penetrations
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Service gaps in risers
Penetration seals near Hitchin
Hitchin has two care or nursing homes no more than 2 miles away. Care homes rely on fire-resisting walls and floors, and maintenance work that breaks through them leaves openings to seal. In England, Approved Document B covers fire stopping of openings and penetrations. From 2 September 2029, BS 476 references are being taken out of Approved Document B, leaving BS EN 13501-2 classification as the route, subject to the Government’s transitional arrangements. What we install is set by the specification, and it goes in to the tested detail.
At a healthcare site like Pinehill Hospital, less than half a mile to the east of Hitchin, new services through compartment walls are a constant, and each needs the specified seal. Hotels like The Sun Hotel, less than half a mile south-west of Hitchin, are refurbished in phases, and each phase can open up compartment walls.
Hitchin is about 5 miles north-west of Stevenage, in Hertfordshire. Commercial clients in Hitchin use us for work on service penetrations, as part of our coverage of Hertfordshire. Across Hertfordshire, 371 places are covered, including Hitchin. Our London page has more on work in that area.
Work on service penetrations is covered throughout SG4 and SG5, whatever the building. Streets here include Market Place, London Road and Harrison Close, and sites on any of them can send details for a fixed quote. Being close to the A505 and A600, Hitchin is straightforward for us to reach. Just outside Hitchin, we also work in Benslow (1 mile east), Poets Estate (1 mile east), Bearton (1 mile north-west), Walsworth (1 mile north-east) and Westmill (1 mile north-west). A short drive away, we cover Stevenage (5 miles south-east), St Albans (14 miles south), Welwyn Garden City (11 miles south), Harpenden (10 miles south), Hatfield (13 miles south) and Hertford (13 miles south-east). As one of the bigger centres in Hertfordshire, Hitchin has a broad mix of commercial, public and industrial buildings, and we cover them all.
Landmarks near Hitchin
Around Hitchin, our work takes us to commercial buildings near Highbury Infant School and Nursery, Butts Close and Kingshott School and the streets around them. Other local landmarks include Radcliffe Arms (less than half a mile north-east) and St Mary's Church (under half a mile south-west). Hitchin has its own railway station: Hitchin station. Other landmarks nearby include Wymondley Castle (1.7 miles east) and Lister Hospital (3.1 miles south-east). Open spaces near Hitchin include Purwell Ninesprings and Markham's Hill.
Site staff or a sealant specialist?
Putting right a botched joint often costs more than sealing it well at the start, since all of it has to come out and the faces be cleaned back again. For that reason, many FMs and contractors use a sealant specialist from the outset.
Site maintenance staff can often handle a short internal joint. Where it goes wrong is preparation: new sealant over old, damp or dusty faces, or the wrong product for the movement.