What does an intumescent seal do?
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What does an intumescent seal do?
Intumescent strips are fitted to fire doors, and when exposed to extreme heat they expand to close any gaps or edges that might facilitate the spread of smoke and fire.
What is intumescent fire seal?
Firestop intumescent door seals are designed to close the gap between the fire door and frame in the event of a fire thereby preventing the spread of smoke and hot gasses. Once installed our seals can lay dormant for many years only activating when exposed to the rising temperatures and pressures in a fire situation.
How do you fit intumescent seals?
How To Fit An Intumescent Strip
- Clean frame with damp cloth, removing dirt and grease.
- Measure the height of the fire door, noting the position of the lock – and cut the smoke seal strip to fit accordingly.
- Before using any adhesive, open and close the door with the seal in place.
Do all fire doors have intumescent seals?
All fire doors must be fitted with the appropriate seals designed to expand under heat. These are commonly referred to as ‘intumescent seals’. The Building Regulations set guidance on fire door resistance and smoke leakage across different building types.
How do fire seals work?
An intumescent strip is chemically designed to expand when exposed to extreme heat. Usually placed around door frames. Once a fire breaks out in a room, the heat causes the strip to expand and seal the gap around the frame to contain the fire.
Where do intumescent strips go?
Intumescent strips are generally fitted into the door frame but are sometimes into grooves in the door itself. If you don’t have grooves in your fire door or frame, you can use a router to make a groove suitable for the intumescent strip.
What are intumescent materials?
An intumescent is a substance that swells as a result of heat exposure, thus increasing in volume and decreasing in density. Intumescent materials used in fire protection will increase their volume significantly under the influence of heat (approximately at 200°C).
What are fire seals?
These seals are designed to be used within fire door assemblies, this is extremely important to controlling fire spreading through buildings. Using an Intumescent Seal helps to control the fire, it is assembled with PVC casings, which contain an expandable graphite or soduim silicate based compound.
How thick is intumescent strip?
10mm to 15mm thick
Intumescent Strips for Fire Doors This time variation depends on the thickness of the seal used. An intumescent seal measuring 10mm to 15mm thick can be expected to resist a fire for 30 minutes, while one that is least 20mm thick will be able to hold out for 60 minutes.
Where does the intumescent strip fit?
It’s designed to be fitted around a doorframe or to the top and sides of the door itself. In the event of a fire or extreme heat, the intumescent strip expands to close any gaps around the door.
Do I need intumescent strips?
In the event of a fire, without the intumescent strips, the door would not prevent the spread of fire for half as long, thus putting the residents or occupants of that building at much higher risk of injury and/or death. Fire doors play a crucial role in preventing the spread of fire and smoke.
What are intumescent strips made of?
An intumescent material is a substance that does not burn immediately on exposure to heat but usually expands in volume while decreases in density. Intumescent seals can be made from a wide range of synthetic polymers and resin binders such as silicone or epoxy.
What is the maximum gap around a fire door?
Gaps between fire doors and the door frame should never be more than 4mm or less than 2mm. It’s recommended to aim for a 3mm gap to ensure adequate room for the intumescent strips to activate in the event of a fire, and for the smoke seal strips (if installed) to not get damaged by the opening and closing of the door.
What is intumescent putty?
Intumescent Putty Pads provide fire resistance for electrical socket. boxes which penetrate fire resisting constructions. Using the latest. technology, they can help to reduce noise transfer through the construction.
What does non intumescent mean?
Non-intumescents don’t swell up, but can work in a couple different ways. Normally, these are saturants that are watery and soak into the wood. When exposed to high heat, they actually increase the charring level of the wood, but they simultaneously release water vapor.
How do fire door seals work?
Intumescent seals can be located in the door edge or frame. They expand when heated by a fire and seal the gap between door and frame, stopping the passage of the fire.
How does smoke seal work?
A smoke seal is a brush that goes around a door, or a door frame, to prevent smoke from passing through the gaps. The smoke seal is an integral part of preventing toxic smoke from passing into the areas of the building which are not on fire.
Do FD30 fire doors need intumescent strips?
The minimum rating of a fire door is now predominantly FD30, with intumescent seals being necessary to achieve this rating. This change came about in recognition that very tight edge gaps were necessary to achieve a FD20 fire rating when doors were subjected to fire resistance testing without intumescent strips.
Do all fire doors require intumescent strips?
ALL fire doors MUST be fitted with the appropriate seals. Intumescent seals may be placed into grooves machined in the two vertical sections and top edge of the door frame.
