Fire Stopping in Keymer
Work needed on a service penetration in Keymer? 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
- Penetration schedules that need working through
Need fire stopping in Keymer?
Send drawings, photos or a joint schedule, or tell us about the site, and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
Common problems we fix in Keymer
Head-of-wall joints and wall-to-wall junctions are frequent weak points. Deflection and building movement can open these gaps, and the wrong product can split as a result. Linear joint details set a width range and movement capability, and the seal has to sit within them.
Look out for the following:
- Penetration schedules that need working through
- Seals disturbed by maintenance and left open
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
- Builders’ foam or ordinary silicone in compartment walls
Hotels like The White Horse Hotel, 0.8 miles to the east of Keymer, are refurbished in phases, and each phase can open up compartment walls.
Questions to ask before you book
- Will failed sealant be removed rather than covered?
- How they handle RAMS and site documents
- Their public liability cover
- Who will actually carry out the work
How we handle fire stopping in Keymer
Where pipes, cables and other services cross a compartment wall or floor, the opening around them has to be closed so fire and smoke can’t move between compartments. Our part is installing fire-rated and intumescent sealant at those openings and along linear gaps, where the specification calls for it. We work to the product’s tested detail for every seal rather than guesswork. We work on small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows, service gaps in risers and linear gaps at wall heads, and the usual reasons a site gets in touch are fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back and openings found when ceilings come down for a refit. A single leaking joint is often how a building in Keymer first comes to us: we check the joints around it and give you an honest view of what needs doing now and what can wait.
In places the size of Keymer, fire-resisting walls and floors are found in schools, care homes, health centres and mixed-use buildings. Specified fire-rated sealant goes around new services there, built to match the manufacturer’s detail.
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 spell out the cover before we begin.
- Where
- Keymer (BN6)
- Region
- West Sussex
- Guarantee
- A 12-month guarantee
- Quote
- A fixed quote before we start
- Phone
- 01277 525 020
- Last updated
- 3 November 2026
What sealant work can’t fix
We seal joints; we don’t mend everything behind them. Sealant alone won’t deal with:
- Approving the work on behalf of building control
- Fire risk assessments, a job for a competent assessor
- Plastic pipes whose detail calls for a collar or wrap
Not sure which it is? You can speak to us on 01277 525 020 or email drawings and photos and we will tell you honestly before you book.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Service gaps in risers
- Pipe penetrations
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Cable penetrations
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
FAQs: Keymer
Will you take on work at estates like Victoria Business Park, close to Keymer?
Yes, sites like Victoria Business Park are within our area, along with the rest of Keymer. Photos and a short description are enough for a first look.
Can you work around term dates at a campus such as University of Sussex?
Yes. Education sites typically want the work in vacations or in phases during term, and we plan to suit. Let us know which documents your site asks for, and we’ll confirm them alongside the quote.
Do the same rules apply to fire stopping in Scotland?
Our work covers Greater London, the South East and every Scottish council area. Scotland’s non-domestic Technical Handbook, clause 2.1.14, expects service penetrations to be fire stopped to at least the wall or floor’s fire resistance.
Do you offer coloured sealant?
In many cases, yes. Many products come in a range of standard colours, and matching to RAL references or surrounding finishes is often possible. We confirm what’s available for the specified product when we quote.
Can you handle several sites?
Yes. We take on portfolio and planned maintenance work, with each site phased to suit its occupants.
Is BS 476 being phased out?
From 2 September 2029, Approved Document B in England drops its references to BS 476 classes. The European route, BS EN 13501-2, then applies. Product selection stays with your designer.
Do you seal on top of existing sealant?
No. Failed sealant is removed and the faces cleaned back to sound, dry material first, because fresh silicone will not bond with aged silicone.
What else we do in Keymer
Maintenance after handover
Once the work is signed off, these steps help:
- Agree the fire-stopping specification before services go in
- Record which product was used where
- Put resealing into every M&E and fit-out package
- Leave fire sealant to cure fully before covering it
Allow the manufacturer’s stated cure time before boxing in or decorating. Some fire-rated sealants accept paint and some don’t, so check the product data first.
Regular walk-rounds of service areas are worth the time. Catching a damaged seal early keeps the fix small compared with dozens found at once.
Diagnose, treat, sign off
When we get to site, we report to your site contact and complete whatever induction the building runs. Floors, finishes and fittings next to the joints are covered before anything is cut or cleaned, and the work normally takes longer where risers, ceiling voids or occupied floors have to be worked through in sequence. Several jobs near Keymer can be grouped on one trip. Tell us your site hours and we’ll plan around them.
- The specification and schedule come first, so we know which details apply.
- Access, permits and the order of areas are agreed with the site team.
- Each opening is checked for wall or floor type, service, gap and depth.
- Unsuitable material is removed and the opening cleaned.
- The specified backing and sealant go in to depth and are finished neatly.
- We tell you about openings that need a different product.
What we need from you
- Tell us your opening times and when work is allowed
- For older buildings, check the asbestos register before work
- Agree which areas must stay open
Getting a fixed quote
Tell us about the building, the joints and when you need the work done, and a fixed quote will follow. The easiest way is to call the office on 01277 525 020 or email a schedule or drawings.
Related advice
Service penetrations in Keymer buildings
Two care or nursing homes sit less than 2 miles from Keymer. Care homes rely on fire-resisting walls and floors, and maintenance work that breaks through them leaves openings to seal. Where that’s fire-rated sealant, we install it to the manufacturer’s tested detail. For England, the fire stopping of penetrations is dealt with in Approved Document B. Its BS 476 references are being withdrawn from 2 September 2029, with BS EN 13501-2 classification taking over, subject to transitional arrangements. Our part stays the same: the specified product, installed to its tested detail.
Wherever services are added at a hospital such as The Dene Hospital, 3.2 miles to the north-west of Keymer, the compartment line has to be made good with the specified product. Colleges such as Plumpton College, 3 miles to the south-east of Keymer, add IT and services as courses change, and each new penetration through a fire-resisting wall needs sealing with the specified product.
Keymer is about 2 miles south of Burgess Hill, in West Sussex. We cover Keymer, with the same fixed quotes and 12-month guarantee as everywhere else. 373 places across West Sussex fall within our area, including Keymer. Sites around Brighton have their own page, roughly 6 miles from Keymer.
Business premises anywhere in BN6 are within our area. We cover commercial and managed buildings on Flowers Close, The Quadrant and Kymer Gardens. Nearby places we also cover include Hassocks (1 mile west), Ditchling (1 mile east), Clayton (1 mile south-west), Hurst Wickham (1 mile north-west) and Westmeston (2 miles south-east). A short drive away, we cover Crawley (13 miles north), Horsham (13 miles north-west), Worthing (14 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (5 miles north), East Grinstead (15 miles north) and Shoreham-by-Sea (8 miles south-west).
Near you in Keymer
Recent enquiries here include premises near The Greyhound Public House and Downlands Community School and the streets around them. The closest station to Keymer is Hassocks station, roughly 0.5 miles west. Other landmarks nearby include The Dene Hospital (3.2 miles north-west) and Clayton Castle (1.2 miles south-west). Open spaces near Keymer include Ditchling Beacon and Bedelands Farm Nature Reserve.
What happens if it’s left?
An open or wrongly sealed service penetration lets fire and smoke reach the next compartment much sooner than the building was designed for. Putting it right is typically a modest job when the openings are accessible. Left until ceilings are closed or a tenant moves in, the same work costs more access and more disruption. For buildings in places like Keymer, one well-planned visit beats several small ones, so it’s worth dealing with every failing joint at once.
No two sites price the same: joint size, product, access and site hours all play a part. A fixed quote follows once we understand the job.
Why appoint us
- Commercial sealant work since 2005
- Failed material removed, not covered up
- A Constructionline member, so easy to vet
- Public liability insurance in place
Read what affects the cost and our accreditations and insurance.
Should maintenance staff do it?
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.
Certain joints really need a specialist: for example fire-rated seals that must match a tested detail, trafficked floor joints and external movement joints. Getting these wrong normally costs more in the end than doing them right.