Fireproofing
At present there are 3 certified products used to make a thatched
building fireproof.
Thatchbatts
Aluminum
Barrier Foil (reccomended)
Fire Retardant
Spray
Used in combination, these three products give maximum fire
protection and will provide an AA fire rating (as certified
by the UK's largest safety laboratory, The Loss Prevention Council,
in Test Report #TE86794). We also keep ourselves constantly
updated on fire safety products. As they become certified we
will offer them.
While the highest fire rating is needed for public and commercial
properties, less stringent requirements are usually in place
for homes. A combination of one or more fireproofing technologies
will often suffice to meet local fire codes.
The Thatchbatts and Foil work by physically insulating the house
interior from the thatch. The Spray protects the thatch itself
with a non-toxic, bio-degradable, and odourless fire retardant.
Thatchbatts
"Thatchbatts are non-combustible, high quality resin bonded
lightweight Rockwool slabs, designed to provide fire protection
to the underside of thatched roofs on new builldings and/or
extensions to existing buildings. They will also provide thermal
and acoustic insulation." (Thatching Advisory Services
Limited)
As shown in this diagram, thatchbatts are installed between
the roof rafters. When used in conjunction with Aluminum Barrier
Foil, Thatchbatts provide a total fireproof barrier between
the thatch and the house. While thatchbatts won't prevent thatch
from catching fire from external sources, they effectively shield
the thatch from wiring and internal sources of fire.
Most importantly, they provide a wide margin of time to safely
evacuate a thatched building whose roof has caught fire. Just
as a fireproof door gives twenty or thirty minutes protection
in a conflagration, so too the Thatchbatts provide effective
safety margins for building evacuation.
Aluminum Barrier Foil
Barrier Foil acts as both a fire resistant barrier and a thermally
reflective insulator. An added advantage is that, once it is
fixed to the roofing laths, the foil provides a weatherproof
covering to the the roof during the thatching operation, thus
avoiding the necessity of using tarpaulins, etc.
Barrier Foil contains no flammable materials. It is a heavy
guage aluminum foil specially selected for its combination of
strength and fire resistance. The foil is applied in exactly
the same manner as traditional roofing felt. Like felt, the
foil has minimum of 50mm overlap between horizontal joints so
that there is no avenue for rain or fire to penetrate.
Sidson Craftworks uses Barrier Foil 341 which has been tested
in accordance with specification BS476: Part7:1971, Surface
Spread of Flame. In this test, conducted by the UK's largest
safety laboratory, The Loss Prevention Council, Barrier Foil
341 achieved a classification of Class 1, the highest possible.
When combined with Thatchbatts, the level of protection to
the interior of a building is the highest possible. On its own,
the Foil provides a high degree of protection, but evacuation
times would not be as long as with the thatchbatt/foil combination.
Fire
Retardant Spray
Sidson Craftworks uses the same safe sprays which protect the
rebuilt Globe Theatre in London. As a certified operator with
team members specially trained in the application of this spray,
we will be able to supply you with a certificate of application
detailing the size and volume of solutions used. This is crucial
for insurance purposes.
We use Magma TAS Firestop sprays, two fire retardants designed
and tested specifically for use on thatched buildings. There
are two varieties - an indoor and outdoor spray.
The outdoor spray is sprayed directly onto the surface of the
roof. Not only does it provide fire retardant capabilities,
but it is also water repellent. This impregnation product cannot
be washed out and is a special protection against leaching.
The indoor spray is used on the internal surface of the thatch
and the supporting timbers.
Magma TAS Firestop has been tested not only to NEN 6063 in
the Netherlands, DIN 4102/7 in Germany but also BS 476 Part
3 (1958) in the United Kingdom and achieved EXTS:'BA' rating
(Test Report TE 85766). This is the highest rating achieved
by a fire retardant designed for thatch. In the British test,
Magma TAS Firestop achieved the highest rating 'A' for its ability
to retard the spread of flame and protected the roof for well
over half-an-hour. It also scored 'B' in the penetration assessment.
While the protection may last for up to 10 years, we recommend
testing the roof every 5 years to assess the degree of protection
with a view to respraying if necessary. The internal spray does
not require any assessment or retreatment provided the thatch
is maintained in good order.
Magma TAS Firestop is non-toxic, bio-degradable, odourless,
non-shrinking, and does not affect other materials in any way.
It is fast penetrating and drying (maximum 3 hours) and has
minimal environmental impact. It is produced to ISO 9002 standards.
Smoke Alarms - Don't forget them!
No matter what your roof material, you should have an adequate
number of smoke alarms in your house. Sidson Craftworks leaves
installation of smoke alarms to your electrician, but just wants
to remind you that any house of any type without smoke alarms
is a danger to its inhabitants.
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