Appointed in October 2020 by a client that we have worked with for 20 years, we set about specifying a suite of Fire Protection products to correctly and compliantly seal the numerous and varied penetrations and linear gaps over 4 new build accommodation blocks. Products from three manufacturers were selected for this project due to their testing data with the types of pipe and other materials that penetrated the compartment walls.

One common problem in buildings such as this is the firestopping materials compatibility with cPVC sprinkler pipes. This type of pipe is extremely sensitive to most chemicals that are present in standard fire stopping products and can have a breakdown in the chemical composition of the pipe in a relatively short period of time if the correct, tested products are not used. On this project, all sprinkler pipe penetrations were sealed with FSi PyroHPE as this product has been tested with the specific manufacturer of the cPVC pipe used. In order to maintain compliance, any seals that contained multiple penetrations but included a cPVC pipe were sealed the with full suite of FSi products as different manufacturer’s materials cannot be mixed in the same penetration. We also extensively used products from Protecta on this product. Protecta’s technical team were instrumental in the bespoke design of some very intricate seals for this project. Over 1000nr Tenmat FF109+ duct sleeves were used throughout the project with support and back up from Tenmat as required.

This was a fast paced project with up to 14 operatives on site for us at any one time. The record keeping was thorough and methodical. Each individual seal was recorded on Bolster Systems software by the installers and signed off on-site by our supervisor prior to the ceilings being closed in by the main contractor, ensuring that the electronic information is available to satisfy the requirement of Golden Thread record keeping.