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SAFETY & SECURITY
How roofi ng industry leaders can help address specifi ers’ insistence on more extensive fi re testing
As architects, clients, building control and other specifi ers are rightly insisting on fi re test certifi cates that directly refl ect the exact roofi ng system being installed, Dean Grady, senior product engineer at Sika, discusses the role of EXAP testing and how industry leaders can help.
W
ithout question, today’s roofi ng industry is experiencing a greater focus on the fi re
performance
of roofi ng systems than ever before. While events of recent years have heavily infl uenced this – and, in part, clients, building owners and insurers have their own criteria to be satisfi ed – changes in regulations have played a major role.
These regulations, while extensive, are reasonably clear, stating that, in general, roof systems must be classifi ed to BS EN 13501-5 BROOF
(t4); the exception being that
‘attachments’ on buildings over a certain height (18m in England and Wales and 11m in Scotland), meaning the insulation must also
be non-combustible. Furthermore, there must not be any ‘views’ offered by manufacturers as to the performance of their products in lieu of testing.
As those within the industry have been leaning on manufacturers to demonstrate performance, rather than make their own judgement or interpretation,
historically,
manufacturers have tended to offer a range of fi re tests considered representative of performance. Historically, in the absence of directly representative test data, there has been a tendency to supplement limited test data that is perceived to be representative and supplement this with opinion and experience.
However, at Sika we fully
support the redundancy of this approach and move towards a purely evidence-based demonstration of fi re performance only, which has been independently verifi ed by an appropriate accredited third party. We have seen for a while now that architects, clients, building control and other specifi ers are
increasingly insisting on fi re test certifi cates that cover the exact system being installed, becoming more commonplace - and moreover it’s something the regulations ask for too. While it is clear the market is becoming acutely aware of fi re safety and that specifi ers are looking to industry leaders for help, the problem for manufacturers is how to test such a large range of possible system permutations, taking into account numerous substrate types, air and vapour control layers (AVCLs), insulation types and thicknesses and waterproofi ng membrane types and thicknesses – the variations are almost endless, as no two projects are ever exactly the
same.Thankfully, the industry is in consultation through its trade bodies and associations to fi nd a fair way forward and establish a simplifi ed and unifi ed approach. However, with issues such as this involving collective agreement between the industry and regulatory bodies often taking a substantial amount of time, Sika has opted to act ahead of this.
Sika had completed Extended Application Assessments, testing to CEN/TS 1187:2012 Test method 4 for the entire Sika Sarnafi l range of PVC single ply membranes
Dean Grady, senior product engineer at Sika
ADF07_Sika Ltd_Safety & Security - Smoke & Fire
Protection_DPSAdv.indd 2
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
04/07/2022 12:14 ADF JULY 2022
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