Summary
• Wolman launched Wolmanit Firestop in the UK earlier this year.
• Arch’s Dricon is the only timber fire protection recognised by London Underground.
• The company’s Non-Com Exterior has been accepted by the NHBC for timber cladding.
• Osmose is working with the UKTFA on a new category of fire retardants.

Fire retardants are a hot topic. In what is a relatively diverse market, there has been significant activity both in terms of market needs and the products to meet them.

There’s no doubt that the increased move towards greater regulation and construction industry fire safety awareness and strategies are fuelling developments in the FR market.

One of the latest developments on this front comes from the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA). Following the introduction of its Site Safe contractors’ code of conduct, it has been working with the Health & Safety Executive and Fire Protection Association on “fire growth testing”. The resulting guidance on separation distances for timber frame was unveiled by the UKTFA last week. The Design Guide on Separation Distances for Timber Frame Buildings During Construction details recommended distances that different types and sizes of timber frame structure should be from other buildings for maximum fire safety. It includes information on latest fire retardant products and approaches.

Among the companies responding to such initiatives, is Wolman Wood Protection, which launched its high-pressure impregnation product Wolmanit Firestop in the UK, working with WJ Timber Treatments of Hull.

“We have seen a real take-up of Firestop,” said Richard Gulland, technical sales UK for Wolman. “It’s tested to meet Euroclass B and C criteria and gives a clean finish, which is important for aesthetic timbers like cladding.”

New accreditations

Arch Timber Protection’s long-established products Dricon, used for interior and weather-protected solid timber and sheet materials, and Non-Com Exterior have both recently received new accreditations.

Dricon is currently recognised as the only fire protection for timber by London Underground Ltd on its updated approved product register to give the required Euroclass B classification for rail-related projects.

Meanwhile, Non-Com Exterior has recently been accepted by the National House Building Council Building Control service for timber cladding in situations adjacent to boundaries or above 18m in newbuild projects.

“Both products are performing well,” said marketing services manager David Law. “This relates to their long and proven track record but particularly to the requirements of the new European Standard EN 13501-1 to comply with both national Building Regulations and the Construction Products Directive.”

Osmose, meanwhile, has seen steady growth for its vacuum pressure impregnated FirePRO for interior above-ground applications, from joinery to cladding, sheathing and joists. The product is BS EN 13501-1:2002 compliant and claimed not to compromise timber’s “engineering qualities”, including hygroscopicity.

Importance of projects

“Fire retardants are a specialist market and tend to be project-driven rather than by volume,” said Gordon Ewbank, commercial director UK, Osmose Europe. “So if there are a number of projects – such as the Olympics – it can have a significant impact on the market, because it’s not big to start with.

“It has been a growth area for us, however, in the last five years, whereas general preservatives going into the housebuilding market have been depressed.”

But it is in timber frame protection where much of the current activity is focused.

Arch, for example, is offering a new service treatment for AQUA FR WR, a fire retardant protection for timber frame components, from its Preston service treatment centre. The product is also being used and offered by one of the company’s key timber frame technology customers – Intelligent Wood Systems – which markets it as IWS-FR.

“There is now a growing interest in an effective and proven treatment choice for timber frame components that will complement the current UKTFA fire risk management initiative and provide a solution for impending new legislation formulated through the HSE/industry stakeholders,” said Mr Law.

“The government has said to industry that it would like it to develop a self-regulation regime to improve the fire security of timber frame buildings, particularly medium-rise where the projects are in built-up or residential areas,” explained Mr Ewbank.

Osmose, whose low-pressure impregnated Protim Frameguard is tested to BS 476 pt 7, has been working closely with the timber frame industry and the UKTFA in particular on the evolution, testing and commercialisation of a “new category of fire retardants aimed at supporting the industry in meeting the demand”.

“We are providing a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that allows timber frame to be continued to be used in those high-rise and residential situations,” added Mr Ewbank. “It has been made very clear that if the timber frame industry does not change what it is doing, it will not be allowed to build in those sorts of situations.”

Mr Gulland believes the big issue is to protect timber frame housing during the development of the house, especially in the two to four-week window where the frames are exposed.

“The best protection,” he said, “is probably a combination of added security and a high standard of vacuum-pressure treatment which ensures that the timbers will char slowly rather than burn, within time constraints of course.”

The continued interest in timber from specifiers and how fire retardant treatments help them to meet building standards and regulations has led to new treatment companies being established and more products coming to market in recent years.

Thermowood trials

One product that’s been making inroads is HR Prof, supplied by Fire Retardant UK. Director Chris Dilks said that business recently had been “extremely good” and new test data from Sweden and Latvia and trials with HR Prof on Thermowood were expected to create more interest. The water-based product, he said, stood out as it could be “post-applied when the timber is in situ and is easy to apply”.

Also now targeting the UK is US supplier BluWood. The company exhibited at Timber Expo and its UK licensee, BluWood NGA, has had the BluWood NexGen Advanced product tested by Chiltern International Fire, in co-ordination with BM TRADA. The company said that wall units coated with the spray-on coating withstood nearly 1,000ºC and fire for more than 119 minutes. Chief executive Robert Seaman said the retardant could “revolutionise the way homes are built”, adding that it also protects against mould, rot, water damage and insects. He also said that BluWood was continuing to work with TRADA and other certification bodies to “establish its credentials with independent verification”.

But while there may be a wider choice of fire retardants, says Arch, the essential criteria for selecting the right product for the job have not changed. They must be certified as fit for purpose and meet latest regulation.

“Relevant, approved and proven products that are applied in a controlled environment with independent certifications and accreditations – these will all give real peace of mind,” said David Law.