Fire stopping in Rochester
Fire stopping for Rochester, from a contractor working since 2005. Fully insured and CHAS accredited.
- Old intumescent sealant that has split away
- Openings found when ceilings come down for a refit
- Seals that don’t match their tested detail
Fire stopping for businesses in Rochester
Send drawings, photos or a joint schedule, or tell us about the site, and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
Cost factors for service penetrations
Sealant work doesn’t have a standard rate, since sites vary so much. What we look at:
- How much there is to seal
- Removal of failed or old sealant
- Phasing around occupants
- Backing rod, priming and other preparation
The product called for affects the cost, as does the preparation each joint needs, from cutting out to priming and backing rod. Access, phasing and site rules also count.
What to include in your enquiry
Good information means a firmer quote. Helpful details to send:
- Clear photographs of the problem areas
- The postcode of the building
- Asbestos survey details if the building is older
- Anything awkward about access or site hours
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, ring 01277 525 020 or email us.
Fire stopping in Rochester
Fire-rated sealant suits many small service penetrations: copper and steel pipes, cables and some small ducts where the tested detail allows. Other openings need collars, wraps, batts, pillows or boards. If the detail calls for something other than sealant, we say so rather than force sealant into it. Most enquiries involve openings left by services added after handover and old intumescent sealant that has split away, across small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows, cable penetrations and service gaps in risers. Sealant contractors, mastic applicators, sealant specialists: whatever the job title on the order, in Rochester it comes down to the same thing: failed joints cut out, faces prepared and the right sealant laid to the right depth.
Many town-centre buildings in places like Rochester have had layer upon layer of new services, with gaps around pipes and cables left after each change. Intumescent or fire-rated sealant is used wherever the specification asks for it, built up exactly as tested.
What our 12-month guarantee covers is the way we did the job: the preparation, the sealing and the tooling. Damage, later alterations by others and movement beyond what the joint was designed for sit outside it.
Fire stopping in Rochester: the local picture
Rochester is about 27 miles from central London. Business park offices in the commuter belt are refitted as tenants change, and each fit-out adds services through compartment walls. Approved Document B is the English guidance that covers fire stopping around openings and penetrations. 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. We install whatever has been specified, to the product’s tested detail.
In a hotel such as Royal Crown Hotel, under half a mile east of Rochester, new pipework or cabling through bedroom and corridor walls needs sealing with the specified product. At a healthcare site like Medway Maritime Hospital, which lies east of Rochester, new services through compartment walls are a constant, and each needs the specified seal.
Rochester is about 27 miles east of London, in Medway. Any commercial site in Rochester is covered. We work across 54 places in Medway, from busy centres to rural villages. London is covered too, around 27 miles from Rochester.
Postcode districts covered here: ME2, ME1, ME3 and ME4. Buildings on High Street, Gundolph Square and Station Road are within our area for service penetrations. With the A2 and A226 nearby, Rochester is straightforward for us to reach. Just outside Rochester, we also work in Strood (1 mile west), Borstal (1 mile south-west), Cuxton (2 miles south-west), Lower Bush (3 miles west) and North Halling (3 miles south-west). A short drive away, we cover Gillingham (4 miles east), Chatham (3 miles south-east), Rainham (5 miles south-east), Park Wood (5 miles south-east), Lordswood (4 miles south-east) and Twydall (4 miles east). As one of the bigger centres in Medway, Rochester has a broad mix of commercial, public and industrial buildings, and we cover them all.
Near you in Rochester
Around Rochester, our work takes us to commercial buildings near Former Ordnance Store At Chatham Gun Wharf, Fort Pitt Grammar School and Broomhill Park, among other places. Nearby too are Temple School (1.2 miles north) and Royal Crown Hotel (under half a mile east). There’s a railway station in Rochester itself: Rochester station. Other landmarks nearby include Rochester Castle (less than half a mile east) and Huguenot Museum (less than half a mile east). The countryside around Rochester includes Gad's Hill and Rede Common.
Rochester: questions and answers
Can you seal around new services in a hotel near Rochester?
Yes, where fire-rated sealant is the specified product. Each seal follows the tested detail, and rooms are done in turn.
Is a hospital such as Medway Maritime Hospital somewhere you can work?
Yes. We work in healthcare settings as well as offices and schools. Before anything starts, the estates team agrees permits, inductions and infection-control measures with us.
Can you work while the building is occupied?
Yes, with some planning. We agree a sequence with your contact so just one area at a time is disrupted.
Is Rochester in your area?
Yes. We cover Rochester, and you can ring 01277 525 020 or email the details over to get started.
Are you insured?
Yes. We are fully insured, including public liability cover.
What will the job cost?
Each job is quoted on its own details. To get one, ring 01277 525 020 or email drawings and photos with a description of the work.
When can the area be used after sealing?
That comes down to the sealant and the temperature. Some products skin over quickly but need longer to cure fully, so we will confirm the curing time on the day.
When it isn’t the sealant
Not every problem is a sealant problem, and we are upfront when that’s the case. These need a different solution:
- Large openings beyond what any sealant detail covers
- Designing or specifying fire stopping, which sits with the designer or fire engineer
- Fire risk assessments, a job for a competent assessor
If you’re not sure, just phone 01277 525 020 or use the quote form and we’ll give you a straight answer.
Where we work in Rochester
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Service gaps in risers
- Pipe penetrations
- Cable penetrations
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
When to call us in Rochester
Physical damage is another reason seals stop doing their job. Maintenance work can knock a seal, cut it back for an extra cable or remove it with an old pipe and the opening isn’t always resealed.
Look out for the following:
- Openings left by services added after handover
- Fire stopping installed outside its tested range
- Old intumescent sealant that has split away
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
For a site team at a college like MidKent College Gillingham Campus, 1.9 miles east of Rochester, fire-rated sealing is best scheduled after the summer works.
What your quote should include
- Whether old or failed sealant will be cut out, not overlaid
- Whether their applicators hold CSCS cards
- The named product and why it was chosen
- How long is the guarantee, and what does it include?
Nearby places to Rochester
Also in Rochester
Owners, agents and contractors
CHAS accredited and a Constructionline member, we are straightforward to vet for your supplier list. Our insurance certificate can be sent along with the quote.
Planned maintenance programmes are welcome: resealing failed joints building by building, on a schedule that suits your budget. Rochester can form part of a wider programme across Medway.
Diagnose, treat, sign off
Site rules come first: signing in, inductions and any permit to work. With the paperwork done, the joints are worked through in the order agreed with your site contact. For a town like Rochester, we try to group jobs for the same client into one visit. Give us your access times and we will fit the work in.
- 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.
- 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.
Preparing the site
- Arrange parking or a loading space
- Tell staff and tenants when we’ll be in
- Tell us your opening times and when work is allowed
Request a quote
Every job follows the same four steps: send details, get a quote, we seal, guaranteed. To take the first step, ring 01277 525 020 or send photos by email.
Related advice
After the work
After handover, a little attention goes a long way:
- Check with the data sheet before painting over fire sealant
- Brief every trade that openings they make must be sealed
- Don’t let anyone top up a fire seal with the wrong product
- Arrange inspection before areas are covered up
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.
Write fire stopping into the scope of any work crossing a compartment wall or floor. Then the seal goes in while the area is open, not months later.