6 minute read
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
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CLC Contractors, is one of the nation’s most respected refurbishment contractors with over 14 branches across the UK. As a trusted name in the fire prevention industry, CLC has more than 20 years’ experience working within a variety of industry sectors, including the Ministry of Defence (MOD), care homes, healthcare, education, commercial and hotel and leisure. In 2019, we were proud to attain membership of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP).
Our bespoke range of fire protection services includes removal and fitting of fire doors, fire compartmentation surveys, fire protection work (cavity barriers and penetration sealing) and fire door maintenance.
Since evolving our business to include fire precaution works, we have worked with many customers from both private and public sectors such as schools and higher education facilities to residential buildings and multistorey blocks. Our experience in high risk environments extends to working for the NHS at hospitals across the country where infection control is critical, especially when continuing our services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the devastating effects of Grenfell Tower, we have seen a surge in demand for fire protection works. In 2017, we partnered with Southampton City Council to upgrade the passive fire protection to 17 blocks across the city. Our work and dedication to the project led to a ‘Best Customer Impact’ nomination at the National Housing Maintenance Forum (NHMF) Awards in 2018 and again in 2022. As experts in the fire prevention industry, our onsite training school guarantees our 250 third party accredited operatives and management staff remain the best in the industry. We encourage our highly skilled team of operatives to attend one of our many seminars led by our National Fire Protection Manager to help improve their firestopping knowledge. Through the school, we offer CPD hours for seminars. Customers eager to learn more about fire prevention are also welcome to attend. With makeshift doors plaster-boarded to the walls with penetrations, attendees get to practice their skills via hands on activities.
CLC Contractors Limited
Why choose CLC Contractors?
• We are third party accredited • Members of the ASFP • Members of the Fire Protection Association • Hold FIRAS certification • BM Trada Q Mark certified • Work with leading suppliers of fire protection materials such as HILTI and Rockwool
Between 2019-2021 our highly sought after team worked with approximately 70 different clients on fire prevention services. For 2022, we anticipate this number to grow as we provide both new and existing clients with high quality firestopping solutions.
Siderise
Compressibility is a vital consideration for protecting curtain walling. This is because curtain wall systems are constantly moving, due to dynamic forces, such as wind loading, natural movement/deflection during occupation and seismic movement in the ground. In a fire scenario, the high heat load can also cause elements of the structure to expand and distort in all directions. To allow for this movement to happen without damaging the facade or the structure, buildings are typically built with a gap between the curtain wall facade and the floor slab edge.
A fully tested firestop, commonly known as a perimeter edge seal, should be installed in this gap. A curtain wall perimeter seal must be able to withstand continual movement without compromising its compression fit and firestopping ability during the product’s durability and serviceability life span. If it cannot maintain its integrity as a property of the product installation under compression, gaps between the curtain wall facade system and the structure will allow the fire to spread through the building envelope, putting both lives and property at risk. Therefore, it is recommended that curtain wall perimeter seals should demonstrate via fire testing that they can accommodate such movement at the movement joint, allowing both compression and flex. This is a very real requirement, with deflections sometimes being considerably larger in comparison with the void dimension being sealed.
Product innovation
Curtain wall perimeter seals ─ such as the Siderise CW-FS Curtain Wall Firestop System ─ have been developed using innovative vertical stonewool fibre orientation (referred to as Lamella). Via a unique manufacturing process, the products are pre-compressed under quality-controlled factory conditions. When installed with the appropriate level of additional compression suitable to the gap being filled, they can accommodate the movement of the façade for their lifetime. It is also worth noting that, where the designed deflection of the curtain wall system is greater than the standard installation compression of the product, then this should also be considered for additional compression over and above the standard installed compression. As a dry-fit solution, the CW-FS system is both quicker, and easier to install and check than comparable wet systems, requiring no specialist equipment or curing time/conditions.
As with any fire protection product, it is vital to ensure curtain wall perimeter seals are comprehensively tested, following appropriate local building codes ─ for example, in Europe EN 13501-2, which mandates testing to EN1364-4: Fire resistance tests for non- loadbearing elements - Curtain walling. In the UK, the current Approved Document B mandates the classification and testing of products for fire resistance to EN 13501-2: Fire classification of construction products and building elements - Classification using data from fire resistance tests, excluding ventilation services. European Assessment Document EAD 350141-00-1106 for linear joint and gap seals additionally requires ‘cycling’ of the perimeter seal between the maximum and minimum movement capability a minimum of 500 times ahead of the EN 1364-4 fire resistance test.
ASFP Advisory Note 7 advises that EN 1364-4: 2014: is the most suitable fire resistance test for perimeter edge seals used at the periphery of buildings. The test utilises curtain walling in a real life scenario, rather than standard linear gap seals tested to EN 1366-4 and/or BS476 Part 20 or 22, since, these are predominantly static concrete to concrete tests. The Siderise CW- FS Curtain Wall Firestop is the only system on the market that has been tested and certified to EN 1364-4, including pre-test movement cycling of 500 times, as stipulated under European Assessment Document EAD 350141-00-1106 (2.2.14).
Additionally, last year, the product passed the comparable US standard ASTM E2307 Standard Test Method for Determining Fire Resistance of Perimeter Fire Barriers Using Intermediate Scale, Multistorey Test Apparatus with EI 180.
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We also welcome our Individual members:
Jason Challenger
