Incorporating fire protection into the planning stage of any construction project is crucial.
Building materials must be assessed individually to ensure they sufficiently resist heat and meet statutory requirements relating to ignitability, fire propagation and surface spread of flame.
When considering dry wall applications for partitions, floors and ceilings, re resistance should rank as highly as sound insulation and impact resistance. Fermacell Gypsum Fibreboard is a high-performance, multi- purpose building board made from recycled materials, offering a superior alternative to plasterboard, due to its wide range of applications that combine excellent levels of resistance against fire, sound and impact.
A single layer partition of 12.5mm Fermacell can achieve 60 minutes resistance to fire with the addition of stone wool. By combining Fermacell’s flooring solutions with its ceiling systems, superior re protection can be achieved from above and below the structure of a room.
Fermacell can also be used as a passive re protection material to timber frame constructions whilst they are under construction. For residential buildings, Fermacell has a single skin solution for spandrel panels made up of only one 15 mm sheet in replace of two sheets of plasterboard. This not only reduces the costs and turnaround time of the programme, but significantly reduces any chance of damage during installation due to the high density of fermacell gypsum fibreboard.
Fermacell’s dry lining solutions all carry Class 0 classification under the UK’s ‘reaction to fire’ and ‘fire resistance regulations’. The board is also certified with Euroclass A2, the highest performance level under EU rules surrounding appropriately tested gypsum wallboards.
The durability of Fermacell’s range of dry lining solutions means they can be integrated within a timber or steel structure. The level of fire protection provided will depend on the height of the walls and if there is insulation present. Fermacell is able to react to given design requirements and can tailor solutions for walls up to 10 metres, 12 metres and higher.
Combining convenience with versatility and safety is at the heart of Fermacell’s ethos. This is supported by the firm’s commitment to assess the blueprint of each project it has been specified for and the ability to calculate the best possible levels of re resistance that can be achieved. Where a number of dry lining boards aren’t versatile enough to provide superior performance in certain settings, Fermacell prides itself on the ability to closely gauge an individual project and work out how the existing benefits of its solutions can be combined and exceeded.
