Slutshole fire stopping
Planning work on a service penetration in Slutshole? We assess it, carry out the work and guarantee our workmanship for 12 months.
- Fire seals cut back for extra cables and never reinstated
- Old intumescent sealant that has split away
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
Fire stopping for Slutshole sites
Tell us what needs sealing and where, with photos or drawings if you have them, and we’ll price it.
How we handle fire stopping in Slutshole
A lot of fire-stopping work comes after M&E installation, a refit or a tenant fit-out. New cable runs, replaced pipework and extra data routes all punch holes in compartment walls, and they are easy to forget. We close the openings listed on your schedule, using the specified sealant and detail. Most enquiries involve non-fire-rated filler around services and hidden openings found during inspections, across pipe penetrations, small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows and joints between fire-resisting walls and floors. Most enquiries from Slutshole start with one failed joint and grow into a wider look at the building: we check the joints around it and give you an honest view of what needs doing now and what can wait.
Around smaller places like Slutshole, penetration seals come up in schools, halls, pubs with rooms, care homes and farm buildings used as offices. Any service penetration through those walls should be closed with the specified product, set out as its test evidence shows.
Our 12-month guarantee is about workmanship, not wear and tear. Sealant wears with time, and movement, weather, cleaning and use decide how fast, so we spell out the cover before we begin.
- Where
- Slutshole (ME13)
- Region
- Kent
- Cover
- A 12-month guarantee
- Price
- Fixed quote, scope in writing
- Telephone
- 01277 525 020
- Last updated
- 3 November 2026
When something else is needed
A few problems need another trade or a different fix, and we point that out rather than sealing over them:
- Reviewing a building’s overall fire safety
- Approving the work on behalf of building control
- Plastic pipes whose detail calls for a collar or wrap
If in doubt, phone 01277 525 020 or send photos by email and we’ll say what we think.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Service gaps in risers
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Pipe penetrations
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Cable penetrations
Fire stopping in Slutshole: the local picture
In England, Approved Document B covers fire stopping of openings and penetrations. Its BS 476 references are being withdrawn from 2 September 2029, with BS EN 13501-2 classification taking over, subject to transitional arrangements. We install whatever has been specified, to the product’s tested detail. Central London is about 47 miles from Slutshole. Business park offices in the commuter belt are refitted as tenants change, and each fit-out adds services through compartment walls, and the gaps need sealing with the specified product.
For a building such as Church of St Michael, new heating or data runs are the usual reason penetrations need sealing. Theatres, wards and plant rooms at sites like Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr (to the east of Slutshole) all have compartment walls crossed by services.
Slutshole is about 3 miles east of Faversham, in Kent. We send applicators to Slutshole for service penetrations, handled exactly as we handle every other area. We work across 931 places in Kent, large and small. There’s a separate page for London, about 47 miles away.
Postcode districts covered here: ME13 for service penetrations. Close to Slutshole, our area also takes in Hernhill (1 mile north-east), Staplestreet (1 mile south-west), Dargate (1 mile north-east), Goodnestone (1 mile north-west) and Culmers (1 mile north-west). A short drive away, we cover Ashford (12 miles south), Canterbury (6 miles east), Sittingbourne (10 miles west), Whitstable (5 miles north-east), Faversham (3 miles west) and Herne Bay (9 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in Slutshole
In Slutshole, that means premises near Red Lion pub and Mount Ephraim Gardens. The nearest railway station is Selling station, roughly 2.1 miles south of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Tower keep castle at Chilham (4.3 miles south) and Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr (5.5 miles east). Green spaces nearby include Blean Woods RSPB Reserve.
Why deal with it now?
Inspections and handover checks often pick up fire stopping. Finding unsealed or improvised openings late can hold up a programme which is why earlier is better. For buildings around smaller places like Slutshole, water damage can go unnoticed for longer, especially where a building isn’t used daily, which gives a failed joint time to do damage. Resealing early avoids that.
The work involved drives the cost: removing old material, preparing the joints, the product, the access and how the work is phased. Call for a fixed quote.
What you get with us
- One contact handling all your sites
- Constructionline member for supplier checks
- Fixed quotes based on photos, drawings or a visit
- Failed material removed, not covered up
See our cost guide and our accreditations.
Common problems we fix in Slutshole
Plenty of openings were simply never closed because they sat out of sight above a ceiling or inside a riser. Inspections, refurbishments and ceiling access usually bring them to light.
Most enquiries start with one or more of the following:
- Openings left by services added after handover
- Fire-rated sealant that has cracked or shrunk back
- Unsealed joints where partitions meet the slab
- Unsealed penetrations discovered above suspended ceilings
Hotels such as Cave Hotel and Golf Resort (1 mile south-west of Slutshole) rely on fire-resisting walls between bedrooms and corridors, and refits that add services leave penetrations to seal where fire-rated sealant is specified.
What to look for in a quote
- The named product and why it was chosen
- Is depth set with backing rod, or bond-breaker tape in shallow joints?
- How they handle RAMS and site documents
- Whether primer will be used where the manufacturer specifies it
Our process
We begin with a short walk round with whoever looks after the building, to confirm the scope, the order of work and any areas we must keep clear. Then we strip out anything that has failed, prepare every joint and seal it. Rural sites near Slutshole may need directions, gate codes or a contact on site. Send that with the details and we’ll confirm the plan with the quote.
- We read the specification, drawings or penetration schedule you send.
- Every penetration is compared with its detail: wall or floor type, service, gap size and depth.
- Unsuitable fillers and loose debris are taken out of each opening.
- We fit the backing the detail asks for, to the stated depth.
- Fire-rated or intumescent sealant is gunned in to the specified depth, then tooled.
- If an opening needs something other than sealant, we tell you instead of improvising.
What we need from you
- Point out parking and an unloading spot
- Confirm the product named in the specification
- Agree which areas must stay open
Get a fixed quote
To get a fixed quote, call 01277 525 020 or email a schedule or drawings. You can also send details through our quote form.
Related advice
Maintenance after handover
Your facilities or cleaning team can help the joints last. Share these points with them:
- Settle who seals which penetrations at the start of a project
- Check with the data sheet before painting over fire sealant
- Include service cupboards in routine inspections
- Treat an open penetration as a priority repair
After the work, brief anyone else working in the area that the openings are now sealed. If a seal has to be opened for a new service, it should be reinstated to the same detail, by someone who knows the system.
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 instead of being left for someone else.
Questions we are asked in Slutshole
Could you schedule work at a campus like University of Kent for the vacation?
Yes. Tell us the term dates, vacation periods and access windows, and we will 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.
Is a smaller place like Slutshole outside your area?
Not at all. Slutshole is within our area. London and every South East county are within our area. Send photos and a list of what needs doing, and we’ll plan the job to need as few trips as possible.
How do we ask for a quote?
There are four steps: send details, get a quote, we seal, guaranteed. The first step only needs photos and a postcode.
How do you deal with asbestos in old sealant?
Asbestos is possible in some older mastics, particularly in buildings from before 2000. We check the asbestos register before cutting out old sealant in an older building, and if asbestos is suspected, work stops until it’s tested. Removing asbestos is a job for asbestos specialists, not us.
How many days will you need on site?
It depends on the scope, but the work usually takes a single visit for a short list of penetrations, or a phased programme for a whole building. Larger or phased jobs take longer, and we will give you a timescale with the quote.
What does an EI 60 rating mean?
In short, BS EN 1366-3 and 1366-4 are the fire tests and BS EN 13501-2 is how results are classified. An EI 60 seal kept its integrity and insulation for 60 minutes as tested.
How soon can the area be used again?
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.
Places near Slutshole
Other services in Slutshole
How the job changes by surface
Cables and cable bundles
Single cables and small bundles are often within a fire-rated sealant’s tested detail. Bundle size, cable type and the space between cables all matter.
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.