Commercial Fireproofing: What You Need to Know

Need to fireproof your commercial building or structure? Here are a few things you need to know to make sure you are protected and prepared.

What is Fireproofing?

To ensure that in the case of a fire, the critical structure keeps operating until the fire is under control. Fireproofing provides resistance to materials and structures in the case of an accidental fire and/or adding materials to minimize the escalation of a fire. Fireproofing makes structures and materials resistant to fire or incombustible. 

What Material is Used for Fireproofing?

There are a few materials that are considered more dense or have specialized chemical treatments that can increase their resistance to fire. Concrete and plaster are considered better fire resistive materials, compared to natural building materials like cotton and lumber. You will want to use one of the following pieces of material when building or fireproofing your building.

Fire-resistant windows, such as dual-paned glass windows, would provide more protection from fire because it would take twice the amount of time for the fire to break through both of the windows. Tempered glass is four times more heat resistant than normal glass due to it being heat-treated…this is also an option. One of these options would be a great choice for your structure.  

Insulation is typically in every building for sound-proofing and to maintain heat, it can also be very flammable. Instead of using common insulation made from fiberglass or cotton, consider using a treated cellulose insulation, which is a flame-resistant alternative. 

Concrete is another typical material used to build but is noncombustible and has low thermal conductivity. Concrete lasts a long time against fire before it affects its load-bearing ability. It is more fire-resistant than steel so it is used to protect steel from fire. 

Another quality fireproofing material is plaster, or more specifically, Stucco. Stucco is a durable flame-resistant finish material, made of cement, sand and lime, for buildings. Stucco can be used as a decorative coating to make the interior or exterior of a building more aesthetically pleasing.

To receive a decent fire-resistant rating, many structural materials will require gypsum sheathing. Gypsum is more commonly known as drywall. Type X gypsum board is a specially treated type of drywall made with additives to further improve fire-resistance. 

And finally, one of the top materials to fireproof your structure is brick. Brick is made with fire which makes them already resistant from the second they are created. This is an excellent material to confine or resist fires. 

What is Intumescent Fireproofing?

In most cases, your building structures (for example your steel columns) will need an intumescent paint. Fireproofing steel is very important to ensure your building passes building code. Intumescent paint/coating will help increase a building’s resistance to fire.

Intumescent coating is a spray applied fireproofing and is probably one of the best ways you can protect your commercial structure. There are a few types of fireproofing spray or films  you should know about to protect your building and bring it up to building code. Cementitious fireproofing is the most commonly used spray to provide protection to structural steel  but can also be used to protect structural concrete. Intumescent coating is a thin film used for fireproofing that will have a chemical reaction and swell to many times its original thickness as a result of heat exposure. The final option is firestop fireproofing which is when fire dampers are installed to fill the ductwork holes and seal where they cross firewalls. 

Once you choose the best spray applied fire retardant or thin film intumescent fire-resistive material, you will need to test your choice. To test by using the Thickness Test, a pin is inserted into the material to see if it passes. The level of thickness required will be determined by the higher the hour of resistance desired. The density test will be done in a lab and will be done by removing a specific volume from the material and drying it to determine the weight per volume and if it is high density. The Adhesion and Cohesion testing is going to determine the bond strength or the material to the steel structure. To learn more about the testing required for fireproofing, check here. 

These are just a few spray applied fire resistive materials and their necessary tests. This is just some of what you will need to know when thinking about building a safe and fire resistance structure.