Sevenoaks fire stopping
Sealant work in Sevenoaks for main contractors, managing agents and facilities managers: fire-rated and intumescent sealing of service penetrations and linear gaps, with a fixed quote first.
- Improvised or mixed-product fire seals
- Unsealed penetrations discovered above suspended ceilings
- Unsealed joints where partitions meet the slab
Fire stopping across Sevenoaks
Send drawings, photos or a joint schedule, or tell us about the site, and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
Fire stopping in Sevenoaks
A lot of fire-stopping work comes after M&E installation, a refit or a tenant fit-out. Each new cable, pipe or data route cut through a fire-resisting wall leaves an opening behind, and they are easy to forget. We close the openings listed on your schedule, using the specified sealant and detail. We work on small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows, linear gaps at wall heads and service gaps in risers, and the usual reasons a site gets in touch are non-fire-rated filler around services and head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal. One point of contact handles commercial sealant work in Sevenoaks from the first photos to the final walk-round, whether it’s one building or several.
Many town-centre buildings in places like Sevenoaks 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.
We stand by our work with a 12-month guarantee. It covers how we prepared and applied the sealant, and if something we did falls short, we return to it.
Looking after the joints
For the best life from the joints:
- Ask the designer to confirm details early on refits
- Flag new cables with no seal around them
- Ask which product is in place before decorating
- Have penetrations checked while they can still be seen
Give the sealant its full cure time before ceilings, boxing or decoration go over it. Some fire-rated sealants accept paint and some don’t.
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.
How a job runs
We begin with a short walk round with whoever looks after the building, agreeing which joints are in scope, where to start and what must stay open. Then we strip out anything that has failed, prepare every joint and seal it. Parking and loading for town-centre jobs in Sevenoaks are worth mentioning when you send details. Industrial and business units usually have yard or car park space.
- We start with your penetration schedule, drawings or specification.
- Access, permits and the order of areas are agreed with the site team.
- We compare every service penetration with its tested detail before sealing.
- Unsuitable material is removed and the opening cleaned so the seal starts clean.
- The specified backing and sealant go in to depth and are finished neatly.
- Anything outside the detail is reported to you rather than sealed.
Getting the site ready
- Have the specification and drawings to hand
- Send asbestos survey details if the building is pre-2000
- Point out parking and an unloading spot
Ask for a quote
Pricing a project or setting a maintenance budget? Send the scope and any drawings, and we’ll return a fixed quote you can plan around. For a chat about it beforehand, phone 01277 525 020 or email us.
Advice
Common problems we fix in Sevenoaks
Openings in fire-resisting walls usually appear when services are added or changed. New cabling, rerouted pipework or a data route drilled through a riser can leave the hole behind. Over a few years of fit-outs, a wall can collect a lot of these.
Clients normally get in touch after noticing one or more of the following:
- Snag lists that include open service penetrations
- Seals that don’t match their tested detail
- Unsealed penetrations discovered above suspended ceilings
- Damaged fire seals in risers and voids
For a school such as Sevenoaks Primary School, penetration sealing fits best at the end of the summer works.
Comparing quotes
- How the existing material will be dealt with
- Can the work be phased to keep areas open?
- Who will actually carry out the work
- The terms of the workmanship guarantee
What happens if it’s left?
Open penetrations multiply: each new service adds to the list. A schedule that is dealt with regularly stays manageable. For businesses and landlords in Sevenoaks, a tidy, sound joint also matters for appearance. Fresh sealant makes a building look maintained.
We don’t publish prices, since every building and every scope is different. Call for a quote and we’ll price your job on its own details.
Why appoint us
- Sealing commercial buildings since 2005
- Workmanship guaranteed for 12 months
- Fully insured, including public liability cover
- CHAS accredited contractor
Read what affects the cost and our accreditations and insurance.
Questions about Sevenoaks
Can you take on a job at a hospital such as Sevenoaks Hospital?
Yes. Healthcare sites are among the places we work. We follow the site’s permits, sign-in and infection-control procedures in every area.
Does your area include sites such as Sevenoaks Business Centre, near Sevenoaks?
Yes. Estates, retail parks and business parks around Sevenoaks, Sevenoaks Business Centre among them, are all within reach. Send details of the unit and the work through our quote form for a quick quote.
How long does a typical visit take?
We plan the time on site around your programme and access. You’ll have an expected duration with the quote.
What about RAMS and site documents?
Requirements differ from site to site, so list what you need, whether RAMS, insurance or CSCS details, and we will confirm with the quote.
Can you tell us what fire stopping our building needs?
No. The specification comes from your designer, fire engineer or building control. Our role is fitting the specified fire-rated sealant, following the maker’s tested details.
How long do sealant joints last?
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.
Do you offer coloured sealant?
It depends on the product. Some ranges offer many colours, others very few, so we’ll confirm the colours available for the specified product with the quote.
Surface by surface
Linear joints
Linear joints run along the head of a wall, at a slab edge or between two fire-resisting elements. BS EN 1366-4 testing sets the joint widths, depths, backing and movement a seal covers.
Metal pipes
Metal pipes conduct heat, so their details often call for extra measures along the pipe, and the tested detail may ask for insulation beyond the wall. If the detail needs something beyond sealant, we tell you.
When something else is needed
Some faults sit outside our scope, and we point that out rather than sealing over them:
- Deciding what a wall or floor needs, which belongs to the designer
- Fire risk assessments, a job for a competent assessor
- Construction that lacks the fire resistance the seal relies on
If you are not sure, just call 01277 525 020 or send details through our quote form and we’ll give you a straight answer.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Service gaps in risers
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Pipe penetrations
- Cable penetrations
- Linear gaps at wall heads
Service penetrations in Sevenoaks buildings
For England, the fire stopping of penetrations is dealt with in Approved Document B. 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. A number of hotels sit less than 2 miles from Sevenoaks. A hotel refit often runs new services through compartment walls between bedrooms and corridors, and each opening needs the specified seal.
Hotels such as The Royal Oak Hotel, 1.1 miles south of Sevenoaks, rely on fire-resisting walls between bedrooms and corridors, and refits that add services leave penetrations to seal where fire-rated sealant is specified. Older community buildings such as St John the Baptist that have been rewired or given new heating can have service gaps through walls worth checking against the specification.
Sevenoaks is about 19 miles south-east of London, in Kent. We cover commercial sites throughout Sevenoaks, whether it’s a single job or part of a planned programme. Sevenoaks is one of 931 places in Kent on our list for service penetrations. Sites around London have their own page, about 19 miles away.
Business premises anywhere in TN13, TN14, TN15 and TN8 are within our area. Buildings on London Road, High Street and Church Road are within our area. Main routes into Sevenoaks include the A21 and A25, useful when we plan access and materials. Sites close to Sevenoaks are covered too, including Riverhead (1 mile west), Kippington (1 mile south), Dunton Green (1 mile north-west), Bessels Green (1 mile west) and Chipstead (2 miles west). A short drive away, we cover Maidstone (15 miles east), Dartford (11 miles north), Royal Tunbridge Wells (11 miles south), Gravesend (13 miles north-east), Tonbridge (7 miles south-east) and Northfleet (13 miles north-east). As one of the bigger centres in Kent, Sevenoaks has a broad mix of commercial, public and industrial buildings, and we cover them all.
Landmarks near Sevenoaks
Locally, jobs take us to sites close to The Rifleman pub, New Beacon School and Knole Academy, among other places. There’s a railway station in Sevenoaks itself: Sevenoaks station. Other landmarks nearby include Sevenoaks Hospital (0.6 miles north-east) and Kemsing Castle Bank (2.6 miles north-east). For a walk, there’s Dryhill Nature Reserve.