Fire stopping in Soho
Fire-rated and intumescent sealing of service penetrations and linear gaps in Soho and across Greater London. CHAS accredited and fully insured, with a 12-month guarantee.
- Improvised or mixed-product fire seals
- Openings found when ceilings come down for a refit
- Penetration schedules that need working through
Fire stopping in Soho
Photos, a specification or a quick description of the joints is enough to start a fixed quote.
Fire stopping in Soho
It helps to set out our role at the start. Deciding the specification sits with the designer, the fire engineer and building control; sign-off sits with them too. What we bring is careful installation of the specified sealant, to the maker’s guidance. We work on service gaps in risers, linear gaps at wall heads and joints between fire-resisting walls and floors, and what we are called in for most is head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal and non-fire-rated filler around services. Whoever orders the work in Soho, the brief is usually the same: a fixed quote, no surprises on site and a 12-month guarantee behind the result.
After a fit-out or new cabling in a London building, risers and ceiling voids are where open service gaps tend to be found. Fire-rated sealant goes in where it’s the specified item; where a collar, wrap or batt is called for instead, we flag it.
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.
- Location
- Soho (W1F, W1T, W1D)
- Region
- Greater London
- Cover
- A 12-month guarantee
- Quotes
- Fixed quote, scope in writing
- Call
- 01277 525 020
- Page updated
- 3 November 2026
Surface by surface
Metal pipes
Copper and steel pipes are a common service penetration for fire-rated sealant. Pipe diameter, annular gap, sealant depth and any pipe insulation all have to match the detail and we confirm each before sealing.
Linear joints
Joints at the top of partitions may need to move as the slab above deflects. We use the product and backing the detail names for that movement.
Also in Soho
Leave it or put it right?
The longer openings stay, the more there tend to be: every new cable or pipe adds another. A schedule that is dealt with regularly stays manageable. In a London building, a failed joint rarely affects only one party: water travels through shared structures, and a small leak becomes a dispute between occupiers. Putting it right early is less disruptive than dealing with the consequences.
Access can matter as much as the joints themselves: easy-to-reach joints are quicker than those that need equipment to get to. Mention the access as part of your enquiry.
Why appoint us
- Work carried out by CSCS-carded applicators
- 12-month guarantee on workmanship
- Old sealant cut out, never sealed over
- Sealing commercial buildings since 2005
See our cost guide and how we’re accredited.
What we can’t put right
We seal joints; we don’t mend everything behind them. On its own, sealant can’t deal with:
- Writing the fire-stopping specification
- Signing off or certifying a building’s fire stopping
- Gaps in walls that were never built as compartment walls
Not sure which it is? You can call 01277 525 020 or email drawings and photos and we’ll tell you honestly before you book.
Joints and surfaces we work on
- Small duct penetrations where the tested detail allows
- Pipe penetrations
- Joints between fire-resisting walls and floors
- Linear gaps at wall heads
- Service gaps in risers
- Cable penetrations
Compartment walls and floors in Soho
There are plenty of hotels within about 2 miles of Soho. Bedroom-to-corridor walls in hotels are normally fire-resisting, so new cabling or pipework through them has to be sealed to the tested detail. 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.
In a retail centre such as Brunswick Centre, which lies north of Soho, any fire-resisting wall between units that is crossed by new services needs sealing to the tested detail. Campus buildings at universities such as University of Notre Dame, under half a mile to the south of Soho, see constant changes to data and services, and fire-rated sealant goes in around new penetrations where it is specified.
Soho is about 1 mile east of City of Westminster, in Greater London. We cover commercial sites throughout Soho, whether it’s a single job or part of a planned programme. Our Greater London coverage takes in 764 places, from busy centres to rural villages.
Postcode districts covered here: W1F, W1T and W1D. For a building on Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane or nearby, send details and we will quote for service penetrations. Access to Soho is via the A4 and A301, so getting applicators and materials to site is simple. Just outside Soho, we also work in West End (1 mile east), Chinatown (1 mile south), Seven Dials (1 mile east), St Giles (1 mile north-east) and St James's (1 mile south). A short drive away, we cover Kensington (3 miles west), Walthamstow (7 miles north-east), Whitechapel (3 miles east), Hampstead (3 miles north-west), Ruislip (13 miles west) and Stockwell (3 miles south).
Around Soho
We work on buildings around Bar Soho, St Anne's Churchyard and Harris Westminster Sixth Form. Nearby too are LITE Regal International School (0.6 miles west) and London Library (0.5 miles south-west). Soho has its own railway station: Tottenham Court Road station. Nearby you will also find Kingly Court (under half a mile west) and Montfichet's Tower (1.3 miles east). The countryside around Soho includes St. James's Park Lake and Ludgate Hill.
Work for main contractors and building owners
Planned maintenance programmes are welcome: resealing failed joints building by building, on a schedule that suits your budget. Soho can form part of a wider programme.
Agents, factors and owners’ representatives all follow the same route: send the details, accept a fixed quote, and we carry out and guarantee the work. We can agree access arrangements and keyholder contacts beforehand.
How a job runs
Inspect, seal, sign off: every visit follows that pattern. First comes an inspection and agreement on scope, then the work is carried out to the specified product and detail, and we finish with a walk round so the work can be signed off. Planning a London job such as one in Soho starts with access. Give us the hours we can be on site and we will schedule to suit.
- First we go through the drawings, schedule or specification for the seals.
- Every penetration is compared with its detail: wall or floor type, service, gap size and depth.
- Anything that doesn’t belong in the opening, such as expanding foam or general-purpose filler, is removed.
- 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.
- Openings that need a collar, wrap, batt or other product are flagged to you rather than filled with sealant.
Preparing the site
- Flag any permit to work we’ll need
- Tell staff and tenants when we will be in
- Send asbestos survey details if the building is pre-2000
Ask for a quote
Quotes are fixed against the scope you send, so you know the figure before anyone is on site. To ask for one, call the office on 01277 525 020 or send details through our quote form.
Related advice
Questions about Soho
Do you cover business parks and estates near Soho, such as Grand Vitesse Industrial Estate?
Yes. We cover Soho and the area around it, including industrial estates, business parks and retail parks such as Grand Vitesse Industrial Estate. To start, just call 01277 525 020 or use the quote form with the unit, the joints involved and your access times.
Can you take on a job at a hospital such as Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine?
Yes. Healthcare sites are among the places we work. We follow the site’s permits, sign-in and infection-control procedures in every area.
Who decides which product is used?
A specification, where there is one, decides it. Without one, the joint decides: how much it moves, what it bonds to and whether it’s wet, trafficked or fire-rated.
Are you fully insured?
Yes. Mastic Doctor is fully insured, public liability included.
Can you tell us what fire stopping our building needs?
No. Deciding what is needed sits with the designer, fire engineer and building control. Our role is installing what they specify, to the product’s tested detail.
Can you quote from photographs?
Many jobs can be quoted from photos, drawings or a joint schedule. If the job needs a look first, we’ll arrange a visit.
Do you certify or sign off fire stopping?
No. Sign-off belongs to the designer or building control, not the installer. We’ll confirm the products and details used, and you can tell us what other records you need at quote stage.
Common problems we fix in Soho
A common fault is a product that was never fire-rated in the first place: builders’ foam or ordinary silicone used to fill a hole. It may look closed, but it has no tested fire performance in that position, so it has to come out.
Any of the following is a good reason to get the joints checked over:
- Head-of-wall gaps with no fire seal
- Old intumescent sealant that has split away
- Seals disturbed by maintenance and left open
- Service penetrations left open after M&E works
Colleges such as Westminster Kingsway College Soho Centre (less than half a mile west of Soho) add IT and services as courses change, and each new penetration through a fire-resisting wall needs sealing with the specified product.
Questions to ask before you book
- Do they follow the manufacturer’s priming guidance?
- Who will actually carry out the work
- Will RAMS and insurance details be available?
- Is depth set with backing rod, or bond-breaker tape in shallow joints?