Shawfair fire stopping
Fire-rated and intumescent sealing of service penetrations and linear gaps in Shawfair. CHAS accredited, Constructionline member, with a 12-month guarantee on workmanship.
- Snag lists that include open service penetrations
- Hidden openings found during inspections
- Damaged fire seals in risers and voids
Fire stopping for Shawfair sites
Tell us what needs sealing and where, with photos or drawings if you have them, and we’ll price it.
Owners, agents and contractors
Main contractors use us as their sealant subcontractor, on new build and refurbishment alike. We work to your programme, your specification and your site rules.
If you look after buildings for someone else, clear figures and clear communication matter. We quote a fixed sum, confirm the scope and walk the finished work with you or your representative, plus a 12-month guarantee.
How we handle fire stopping in Shawfair
Penetration seals are fire tested to BS EN 1366-3 and linear joint seals to BS EN 1366-4. A rating such as EI 60 only holds when the product is installed as it was tested. So our job is to reproduce that arrangement faithfully. We work on pipe penetrations, joints between fire-resisting walls and floors and linear gaps at wall heads, and the usual reasons a site gets in touch are fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated and open linear gaps along the top of fire-resisting walls. Facilities teams, main contractors and managing agents in Shawfair tend to want the same three things: a clear scope, tidy work and joints that don’t fail again.
In smaller Scottish places like Shawfair, buildings with fire-resisting walls typically include schools, care homes, hotels and health centres. Those penetrations are closed with the product the specification names, built up as tested.
The 12-month guarantee covers our workmanship: the preparation, the sealing and the tooling. Damage, later alterations by others and movement beyond what the joint was designed for sit outside it.
- Place
- Shawfair (EH22, EH21, EH15)
- Region
- Midlothian
- Cover
- A 12-month guarantee
- Price
- Quoted before any work starts
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Updated
- 3 November 2026
What affects the price in Shawfair
There’s no standard rate for sealant work, since sites vary so much. What we take into account:
- How much existing material needs removing
- How much there is to seal
- Whether the work must be split into stages
- Backing rod, priming and other preparation
Pricing service penetrations depends on quantities, condition and access. Ask us for a fixed quote.
Details that help us quote
For an accurate fixed quote, we need to understand the site. Useful things to include:
- The product your specification calls for
- Clear photos of the problem areas
- Whether the building will be occupied during the work
- Drawings or a marked-up plan, if available
If there’s a specification, drawings or a tender package, send it with your enquiry, and we’ll price the work to it. Smaller jobs need nothing more than photos and a few notes.
Questions about Shawfair
Is Shawfair too small for you to travel to?
Not at all: smaller places are covered as well as towns. Our area covers all of Scotland, cities, towns and islands alike. Good photos up front let us bring everything on the first visit.
Can work at a site such as Queen Margaret University fit around teaching?
Yes. Education sites typically want the work in vacations or in phases during term, and we plan to suit. Tell us which site documents you need, such as RAMS, our insurance certificate or CSCS details, and they’re confirmed with the quote.
Who decides which product is used?
The specification comes first, if there is one. If there isn’t one, it comes down to the joint: its movement, its surfaces and what it has to cope with.
When can the area be used after sealing?
Curing time varies by product, and we confirm it on the day, and flag anything to keep off until it has cured.
Do you design or specify fire stopping?
No, we don’t design fire stopping. With the designer’s details in hand, we can price the sealant elements.
Do you work to architects’ specifications?
Yes. We follow the specification, along with the manufacturer’s installation guidance, and we raise anything unclear before work begins.
When is resealing likely to be due?
It depends on movement, UV and weather, cleaning, traffic and the product. Treat them as maintenance items and inspect them regularly.
Nearby places to Shawfair
Also in Shawfair
After the work
Regular inspection catches problems early. Specifically:
- Make fire stopping part of every scope that crosses a fire-resisting wall
- Arrange inspection before areas are covered up
- Treat an open penetration as a priority repair
- Leave fire sealant to cure fully before covering it
After every round of M&E works, check that the openings created have been sealed. Building it into each contractor’s sign-off keeps the walls intact.
A simple record of seal locations and products helps. When a new service goes through, everyone knows which product and detail to match.
What sealant work can’t fix
Our job is the joint, not everything around it. Sealant alone won’t deal with:
- Gaps in walls that were never built as compartment walls
- Openings that need collars, wraps, batts or boards rather than sealant
- Reviewing a building’s overall fire safety
Not sure which it is? You can phone 01277 525 020 or email us and we’ll tell you honestly.
Where we work in Shawfair
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Service gaps in risers
- Pipe penetrations
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Cable penetrations
What we’re called out for in Shawfair
Head-of-wall joints and wall-to-wall junctions are frequent weak points. Deflection and building movement can open these gaps. The tested detail for a linear joint states the width and movement it covers.
It’s worth sending us details if you spot any of the following:
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
- Hidden openings found during inspections
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Builders’ foam or ordinary silicone in compartment walls
In a retail centre such as Craigmillar Shopping Centre, which lies north-west of Shawfair, any fire-resisting wall between units that is crossed by new services needs sealing to the tested detail.
What your quote should include
- What site paperwork they can supply
- Their pre-qualification and accreditations
- Is the sealant right for the movement and the substrate?
- How they’ll work around occupants
Compartment walls and floors in Shawfair
The 2 miles around Shawfair include three care or nursing homes. Care settings depend on compartmentation, so service penetrations made during maintenance or refurbishment need sealing with the specified product. We install fire-rated sealant to the tested detail where it is specified. In Scotland, clause 2.1.14 of the non-domestic Technical Handbook expects service penetrations to keep at least the fire resistance duration of the wall or floor, using products tested for the way they’re used. We install fire-rated sealant to that tested detail where it is specified.
Workshops and IT rooms at colleges like Edinburgh College - Milton Road Campus, 1.4 miles north of Shawfair, are re-serviced often, leaving penetrations to seal. Residences at universities like Queen Margaret University (to the north-east of Shawfair) have compartment walls that must be resealed whenever services change.
Shawfair is about 2 miles south-west of Musselburgh, in Midlothian. Any commercial site in Shawfair is covered, for single jobs and planned programmes alike. Shawfair is one of 34 places we cover in Midlothian for service penetrations.
Anyone looking for fire stopping in EH22, EH21 and EH15 gets the same process as the rest of our area: details, then a fixed price, then sealing and a 12-month guarantee. For a building on Redcroft Road, Archway Avenue and Whitehill Road or nearby, send details and we’ll quote for service penetrations. Main routes into Shawfair include the A6106, which helps when planning parking and deliveries for the job. Nearby places we also cover include Newton Village (1 mile south), Millerhill (1 mile south-east), Newcraighall (1 mile north), Old Craighall (1 mile east) and Joppa (2 miles north). Nearby towns on our patch include Bonnyrigg (4 miles south), Penicuik (8 miles south-west), Loanhead (4 miles south-west), Gorebridge (6 miles south), Newtongrange (4 miles south) and Mayfield (4 miles south-east). Shawfair is one of the busier places in Midlothian, and its commercial and public buildings are all within our area.
What’s near Shawfair
Recent enquiries here include premises near Drum Park and the streets around them. Shawfair has its own railway station: Shawfair station. Nearby you will also find Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (1.7 miles west) and Craigmillar Castle (1.9 miles west). Open spaces near Shawfair include Duddingston Loch and The New Leaf Co-op.
Diagnose, treat, sign off
Diagnose, treat, sign off: every visit follows that pattern. We inspect the joints and confirm what’s in scope, then the work is carried out to the specified product and detail, and the job ends with a walk round and sign-off. Jobs near Shawfair are often grouped with others in the same area, to make the most of each trip. Let us know if your dates have any give.
- We start with your penetration schedule, drawings or specification.
- 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.
- Foam, ordinary sealant and debris come out first.
- Backing and fire-rated sealant are installed to the detail and tooled.
- We tell you about openings that need a different product.
What we need from you
- Let building users know which areas are affected
- Have the specification and drawings to hand
- Clear stock, furniture or equipment away from the joints
Getting a fixed quote
Photos, drawings or a schedule of the joints and a fixed quote comes back to you. Where a site visit makes more sense, we will arrange one.