FOCUS
Hard work ahead With many buildings still having material related fire safety issues,Dorian Lawrence outlines the scale of the problem and what must be done
relating to the materials used in the construction of their external wall systems, poor quality of workmanship and substandard or non existent facade compartmentation. We have discovered countless instances of highly combustible materials used as external cladding or infi ll panels, and a variety of combustible thermoplastic insulation, both above and below 18m. When relating our findings to the Building Regulations (namely Regulation B4(1), which stipulates no height exclusion) from the time of construction, it all points to a lack of understanding or corner cutting on the part of developers and installers, along with insuffi cient quality assurance and sign off from building control or equivalent. However, the advisory provisions of the Building Regulations before significant amendments in 2018 and 2019 were ambiguous and confusing in places, leaving room for interpretation and creating a careless culture due to misunderstanding of the requirements.
T 42 JUNE 2020
www.frmjournal.com
HROUGHOUT OUR work in the last three years, we have discovered a large number of buildings with signifi cant fi re safety issues
Nonetheless, in many cases it would appear that a building’s aesthetic design and thermal performance has been prioritised over, and regularly at the expense of, fi re safety. This has often been cost driven, with a design and build contractual method creating opportunities for value engineering or value omission.
Scale of problem
Figures 1 and 2 (see p43) are two of the examples we have come across, which illustrate the scale of the issue the UK is facing regarding fi re safety and require urgent remediation. Sadly, these examples are not uncommon, and show dry and dilapidated timber cladding with a small open cavity to a 75mm thick expanded polystyrene insulation board. No cavity barriers were found surrounding the uPVC window penetration. As these materials are combustible, they
would not meet the requirements of the mandatory Building Regulation B4(1), which states: ‘The external walls of the building should adequately resist the spread of fire over the walls and from one building to another, having
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