Fireproofing a new steel RSJ

longwalks1

we’ve jus we’ve just had a steel RSJ fitted to open up an external wall.  To keep costs down I’ve just had the beam fitted and I’m disposing of all the waste and doing the making good etc. 

The Building Control checklist asks for an inspection of ‘fire spread prevention before covering’.  Where would I find the requirements to keep BC happy?  I’m fairly competent with DIY but never had to do fire spread prevention before? I’m guessing there’s a specified requirement somewhere? 

Thank you in advance 

Section62

longwalks1 said:

we’ve jus we’ve just had a steel RSJ fitted to open up an external wall.  To keep costs down I’ve just had the beam fitted and I’m disposing of all the waste and doing the making good etc. 

The Building Control checklist asks for an inspection of ‘fire spread prevention before covering’.  Where would I find the requirements to keep BC happy?  I’m fairly competent with DIY but never had to do fire spread prevention before? I’m guessing there’s a specified requirement somewhere? 

Thank you in advance 

Did you get a structural engineer to design the beam?  If they haven't given details of fire protection already then you could ask them to advise.

One of the difficulties with fire protection is that the working methods are just as critical to get right as the materials you need to use.  Apply the right materials in the wrong way and the fire protection is useless.

plumb1_2

Best to ask SE, the last one I did about 5 yrs ago BC wanted it clad in 2 layers of fire rated plasterboard 

stuart45

You could also ask your BCO. 30 minutes is normal for a house, which can be achieved by one 12.5mm fireline board + skim, or 2 standard plasterboard +skim. There are special paints like Zero flame, but the price is really high.

FaceHead

As Stuart says, the 12.5mm pink fireboard is usually the answer. This is just used in place of ordinary plasterboard.

The information should be contained within the building regs specification that your architect and SE have provided. 

Ajmason42

Convinced a project we just did at work applied fire retardant paint to the steel work. As others check with the bco 

stuart45

Ajmason42 said:

Convinced a project we just did at work applied fire retardant paint to the steel work. As others check with the bco 

It probably was. A lot of commercial jobs have the steels painted as they are not covered. On a domestic job the steels are often plastered, so it's not worth the expense of the paint.

GDB2222

We have a huge steel running across the kitchen ceiling and supporting much of the weight of the house. If it were to fail, the house would collapse inwards. I’m sitting directly underneath it at the moment. Its only protection is a couple of layers of plasterboard.

longwalks1

Thanks everyone, apologies for all the questions on the forum, its my first small job at home that I'm managing myself and keeping the costs as low as I can.  I'm competent at actually doing DIY, but obviously need to know requirements.  Council BCO came out yesterday and inspected the new steel in place, and she was happy to advise.  She said either 2 layers of plasterboard, or 1 layer of 12.5mm pink fireboard (which some of you have confirmed)

longwalks1

As this is a MSE forum, I may as well share my successful week. (all I ever seem to do on here is ask questions)  Had quotes ranging from £3500 up to £6000 to remove a back supporting wall and fit a 3m steel ready for bifold doors.  Found a builder who specialises in extensions and opening up walls and volunteering myself as labourer/mixer/barrow guy for the week to keep costs to a minimum (and I had to do 4 runs to the local tip), I managed to get it done for 1/2 the price of the cheapest quote as it was a local and easy job for him.