Common Defects Associated With Fire Separating Components

8/3/2019 Common Defects Associated With Fire Separating Components

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COMMON DEFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH

FIRE SEPARATING COMPONENTSIN CLASS 2 AND 3 BUILDINGS


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BUILDING CLASSIFICATION

The Building Code o Australia (BCA)classies buildings based upon their intendedend use.

A Class 2 building is: a building containing

2 or more sole-occupancy units each beinga separate dwelling. Class 2 buildings mayshare both horizontal and vertical separatingcomponents, such as foors and ceilings.

A Class 3 building is: a residential building,other than a building o Class 1 or 2, whichis a common place o long term or transientliving or a number o unrelated persons.Examples o Class 3 buildings include:

a boarding-house, guest house,hostel, lodging-house or backpackersaccommodation

a residential part of a hotel or motel a residential part of a school accommodation for the aged, children or

people with disabilities a residential part of a health-care building

which accommodates members o sta

a residential part of a detention centre.

This inormation brochure relates to Class 2and 3 buildings only.

PASSIvE FIrE PrOTECTION SySTEMS

A fre saety system is one method or acombination o methods used in a building

to: warn people of an emergency provide for safe evacuation restrict the spread of re extinguish a re.

Fire saety systems include both active andpassive systems or a combination o both. Anexample o an active system is a re alarmwhile a passive system may be the construction

o a re rated wall or re rated column.This inormation brochure concentrates onpassive re protection systems including:external walls; re separating walls; foorand ceiling systems; and commonly occurringdeects BSA sees in passive re protectionsystems.

Class 1 single dwelling(may be one or more

storeys)

Class 2 dwelling

Class 2 dwelling

Elevation

Common wall between Class 1and Class 2 buildings

Class 2building

containing

two or moreseparatedwellings

located oneabove the other


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ExTErNAL WALLS

Deective external wall protection is generallycaused by common misunderstandingsincluding:

Openings constructed in re walls in

contravention o the requirements o SectionC3.2 o the BCA.

Section C3.2 o the BCA states that noopenings whatsoeverare permissible in anexternal wall that is required to have a FireResistance Level (FRL) and where the wall iswithin:

(i) 1 metre o a re source eature (thear boundary o a road adjoining the

allotment, a side or rear boundary o theallotment, or an external wall o anotherbuilding on the allotment which is nota shed, private garage or carport) in abuilding o no more than one storey; or

(ii) 1.5 metres o a re source eature in abuilding o more than one storey.

Inadequate protection of openings withinthe specied distance o re source eatures,including exposed openings on walls thatrun at any angle to the boundary or resource eature.

If a wall containing openings is situatedmore than the minimum distances rom a resource eature, but less than the distancesoutlined below, then the openings in thewall must be provided with re protection.

(i) 3 metres rom a side or rear boundaryo an allotment; or

(ii) 6 metres rom the ar boundary o a roadadjoining the allotment, i not located in astorey at or near ground level; or

(iii) 6 metres rom another building on theallotment that is not Class 10

The type o protection required includes:

(i) For doorwaysEither external wall wetting sprinklers

used with sel closing or automatic

closing doors or -/60/30 sel closing orautomatic closing re doors.

(ii) For windowsEither external wall wetting sprinklersused with windows that are automaticallyor permanently xed in a closed positionor -/60/- re windows or -/60/-

automatic re shutters.(iii) For openings other than doors or

windowsEither external wall wetting sprinklers orconstruction having an FRL o not lessthan -/60/-.

The total area o openings requiring protectionmust not exceed more than one third o thearea o the external wall o the storey.

Exposed windows or other openings thatare within the prescribed distances romthe boundary (as mentioned above) andoccur on a wall running perpendicular orat any other angle to the boundary or resource eature must also be appropriatelyprotected and achieve the required FRL. Thisis a requirement that is requently overlookedwhen buildings are being designed,

constructed and certied.

road

buildingbuilding

rear boundary

sideboundary

sideboundary

lessthan3m

less than 6m

less than 6m

less than 3m


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Inadequate setting o plasteboad joints andoe nail heads

Plasterboard should be set with a plaster-based bonding coat and paper tape coveringthe joints. All nail and screw indentationsshould be lled. Complying with the BCA and

ollowing the manuacturers recommendationsto the ull are essential to achieve the FireResistance Level o the tested wall system.

valle boads cossing a fe sepaating wall

Inadequate potection o: the joint betweenthe top o the wall and the undeside o oosheeting; and metal battens cossing a fesepaating wall that hae not been flled withfe esistant mateial

The insulation should be installed in the metalbatten directly above the block wall - creating acomplete vertical barrier.


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FIrE SEPArATING FLOOrS ANDCEILINGS

Under the BCA Class 2 and 3 buildingsmust be constructed with various FRLs,depending upon the height o the buildingbeing constructed. Floors are commonlyconstructed rom cast in situ concrete, orpre-cast or pre-stressed concrete panels withsuitable topping screeds, but they may alsobe timber ramed and lined on the undersidewith re rated plasterboard or a similarproduct.

Deects in these re separating foors are notcommon, but the re stopping or protection openetrations is oten poorly constructed. The

methods o treating penetrations and some othe associated problems will be discussed laterin this inormation booklet.

Class 2 and 3 buildings o Type B or Cconstruction are required to be constructedto achieve: a foor/ceiling system thatincorporates a ceiling which has a resistanceto the spread o re to the space above oat least 60 minutes; or an FRL o not less

than 30/30/30; or they must be constructedto have a re protective covering on theunderside o the foor, incorporating beams, ithe foor is combustible or o metal.

Internal walls that are required to have an FRLmust extend to the underside o re resistantceiling system or the re resistant undersideof the oor above. Internal walls on the topfoor must extend to the underside o the roo

covering i it is non-combustible (except orroo battens o 75mm x 50mm or less andsarking), or 450mm above the roo i the roocovering is combustible.

Many manuacturers produce re resistantceiling systems which they have had testedand accredited. These ceilings must be

installed strictly in accordance with thesetested systems. BSA has noted the eect othe ceilings is severely compromised by somepoor installation practices and excessivepenetrations. Most manuacturers will allowceilings to be penetrated, provided thepenetrations are installed with proprietarytested systems.

BSA oten nds penetrations that have notbeen installed in accordance with the testeddata, and even penetrations that have no reresistance whatsoever!

Other common construction deects include:sheeting systems xed to non-tested and

non-resistant ceiling suspension systems;screw xings being inconsistent withthe manuacturers tested systems; andinadequate or inappropriate sealing at thewall to ceiling junctions.


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PENETrATIONS THrOUGH FIrESEPArATING WALL AND FLOOrSySTEMS

To ensure that the overall FRL o the wall hasnot been compromised, any penetration

through re separating wall and foor systemsmust be installed strictly in accordance withthe tested system.

There are a number o proprietary systemssuch as re collars, re pillows, re shutters,re dampers, re doors, and re ratedsealants which are commonly used or treatingpenetrations through re resisting elements.BSA has ound that these systems are veryoten incorrectly installed, which signicantlycompromises the FRL o the wall or foor.

Fie Collas

In order to maintain the required FRL of thewall and foor, re collars must be installedin accordance with the tested data. Certiersshould be checking to ensure the installationo collars is consistent with the tested dataprior to certiying the constructions.

It is important that the holes for xing thecollar to the slab are positioned in such away that suspended pipework and otherobstructions dont impede access to drill theholes or xing the collar.

Fire collar systems are deisgned to perormin a very specic way. Failure to install thecollar in exactly the same manner as the tested

prototype will not result in a deemed to satisyinstallation and may compromise the FRL othe wall or foor.

One o the most common deects BSA identieswith the installation o re collars is the use oinappropriate xings or xing methods. Forexample, malleable xings that will melt atlow temperatures signicantly compromise theintegrity o the re resisting wall or foor andmust not be used.

No screws? No problem - use silicone.

Alternative fxing method!

Another issue sometimes encountered wheninstalling re collars is that the holes inthe fange o the collar line up with cast inreinorcing steel and prevent holes rombeing drilled in these locations.

Although some collars meet necessary FRL

requirements with one xing missing it isusually better to drill another hole throughthe fange and into the concrete to acilitatethe installation o the nal xing. Rememberthough, any departure rom the tested systemmust be checked with the manuacturer andcertied by the certier.


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The ollowing examples are almostunbelievable and demonstrates either a totallack o understanding o how re collars workor lazy and negligent installation practices.You also have to wonder about the certierwho passed these constructions!

Fie Pillows

Fire pillows are typically used to protectpenetrations through re separating wallsand foors that are an irregular size andshape and thereore dicult to protect.

The most common deect associated withre pillows generally relates to pillows beinginadequately compressed into the openingthey are protecting.

Fie Shuttes

Fire shutters in Class 2 and 3 buildings arenot common, but they are occasionally used toprotect windows in external walls. The shuttersare triggered by either activation o a usible

link or by motorised closing devices activatedby the early warning evacuation system.

The most common deect observed with theseinstallations is excessive clearances betweenthe frame and the re resisting wall. It isimportant to ensure that the particular reshutter being used is compatible with and hasbeen tested in the type o wall into which it isproposed to be installed.

Fie Dampes

Intumescent re dampers generally consist ofparallel slats incorporating intumescent materialin a metal rame. They are generally usedto provide re containment through ducting.When subjected to heat the intumescentslats swell to orm a rigid barrier against thepassage o fames and hot gases.

It is important that dampers are installedstrictly in accordance with the manuacturersspecications and that the damper is suitableor the location in which it is being used andis o the correct FRL.


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Fie Doos

The FRL o re doors applies to the overallinstalled door assembly or system, not theindividual components o the door. Fire doorsystems typically include the door, rame,lock, hardware, seals, any packing and

xing to the wall, and the wall the door isbuilt into.

Dierent re doors are suitable or and havebeen tested in dierent wall materials suchas concrete, masonry (including lightweightblocks), plasterboard and other proprietarywall types.

Some common deects in the installation o

re doors and their rames include issuessuch as:

operational forces being either inadequateor too orceul

doors not self-closing or self-latching doors being altered from the tested system door seals being inappropriate or

unctioning inappropriately; and in some cases re doors being tted with

inappropriate door urniture such as

deadbolts.The most common deect, however, is theattainment o allowable clearances around thedoor. Perimeter clearances must not exceedthe allowed 3mm and the clearance at thebase o hinged doors must not exceed 10mm.

Although there are some similarities betweenthe properties o dierent re doors, they area proprietary product and the re test dataand eld application o each type is dierent.Most re door manuacturers provide usermanuals which detail installation proceduresand provide inormation o the doorhardware that has been tested and approvedfor each door. It is essential these instructionsare strictly ollowed, to ensure the requiredFRL o the wall and door is achieved.

On completion o all re door assemblies

re doors must be inspected, certied andtagged with their respective FRL.

Something oten overlooked with re doorsystems is the requirement to ensure theoperation o the doors and door hardwareis regularly inspected and tested. If anycomponents are inadequately unctioning,adjustment and lubrication or replacemento moving parts should occur immediately.Although maintenance o re door systemsis oten out o the builder or contractorscontrol, the builder and contactor still have aduty o care to ensure that maintenance andinspection requirements are documented andgiven to the building owner on completion.

Striker plates cut into fre door rame


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Fie Stopping and Sealants

Fire proong openings or services,particularly smaller penetrations like one ormore electrical cables, poses a particularproblem or builders and contractors becausethe penetration is oten an irregular shape.

Numerous re stopping products arereadily available rom hardware retailersand specialist re stopping manuacturers.It is essential that builders, contractorsand certiers obtain the test data andmanuacturers installation procedures prior toselecting stopping or sealant or a particularapplication.

Fire resistant sealants or caulks otenincorporate intumescent additives which swellup and provide an eective re stoppingbarrier.

BSA has identied numerous deects causedby the inadequate sealing o penetrations orby the contractor using sealants and stoppingnot suitable or the purpose. For example, itis not a compliant system i a penetration issealed with a particular product that is largerthan the penetration used in the tested system.

As a general rule, re stopping will complyi it is used in a penetration smaller thanthe tested system, but not in penetrationslarger than the tested system. BSA sees manyopenings which have no stopping or sealingbecause it has been overlooked by both thecontractor and the builder and the breachhas not been identied by the certier.

No stopping or sealing

Untested methods!


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Another important consideration whenlooking at the compliance o re stoppingsystems is the number and proximity oservice penetrations within the opening andthe type o conguration o any support orthe services, such as cable trays.

Some o the areas o concern include:

A lack of coordination and cooperationbetween the designer, builder andcertier o re separating components.

Fire separating components notconstructed in accordance with testeddata.

Fire separating components notconstructed in accordance with tested

systems and not appropriately assessedas alternative solutions.

A random BSA audit discovered several frerated shats coming through a rated ceiling that

had been signed o. The contractor wasrequested to rectiy the deect.

Unbelievably, this was theirrectifcation attempt!

?Who knows what BSAs buildinginspectors will discover when theynext inspect the site?

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www.bsa.qld.gov.au

1300 272 272

www.beconstructive.com.au

1800 798 488

Common Defects Associated With Fire Separating Components

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