What is the best firestopping solution to use around plastic pipes in a profiled deck? Tested Detail Queries

According to the building regulations ‘Approved Document B’, service penetrations through fire compartment floors need to be equipped with firestopping solution to prevent the spread of fire. In case of plastic pipes penetrating fire compartment floors, there are three solutions available; fire collars, fire wraps and cast in fire collars. When the fire compartment floor is a profiled metal decking, which solution is ideal?

Intumescent fire collar

Intumescent fire collars need to be fitted around the pipe so that they are fixed to a flat surface. In case of profiled decking, depending on the size of the pipe and the details of the metal decking, it is near impossible to find an area that allows this.

Intumescent pipe wrap

When using intumescent pipe wraps, the coordination of different trades (diamond driller, M&E and firestopper) is required and the H&S issues associated with drilling a hole need to be considered. It is also critical that the correct-sized hole is drilled, otherwise shuttering for compound to a curve can pose serious challenges. This is often not the case as installers need to drill a bigger hole to allow some tolerance with the pipe installation.

Cast in fire collar

If opting for the cast in collar, there are a few installation steps that need to be followed, but they are by no means ‘messy’, easy to follow and can be implemented by a single contractor (no specialist skills or equipment is required). Once installed, it’s ready for the pipe to be fitted and no work is required afterwards. The firestopped pipe penetrations will then be easily identifiable for maintenance and inspection purposes. Quelfire’s QuelCast Cast in Fire Collars are covered by test evidence for concrete slab at minimum 150mm thick.

To conclude why we recommend using the cast in fire collar:

• Once installed, installation of pipe is easy and no extra firestop work is required
• No specialist trade is required to install
• No coordination of different trades (diamond driller, M&E and firestopper) is required
• No core drilling required, hence no need to consider the associated H&S issues (falling materials, open holes, water mess, etc.)
• It is covered by test evidence for slab at minimum 150mm thick (rather than only assessment or engineering judgement)
• It is an easily identifiable firestop for ongoing maintenance and fire risk assessment of building

QuelCast Cast in Fire Collar from Quelfire

Read more about the QuelCast Cast in Fire Collar and the specific installation instructions for profiled deck. And, of course, if you have any further questions, please get in touch at technical@quelfire.co.uk.