For today’s apartment renters, a gleaming lobby, state-of-the-art fitness center and deluxe pet wash station are amenities that may seal the deal. But for Jeffrey Hamilton, firestop product manager at HoldRite, a Reliance Worldwide Corporation brand, the most important elements of multifamily design and construction are hidden behind walls and under floors.
According to Hamilton, today’s multifamily buildings rely heavily on the Internet of Things and are wired with smart-home technology – creating additional wall and floor intrusions and potential pathways for fire, smoke and toxic gases.
“Any time a plumber or electrician pokes a hole through a fire-rated wall or floor, that’s an area that needs attention,” Hamilton says. “If fire can get through those holes, it’s going to spread and cause more damage. Firestop systems prevent fire, smoke and gases from spreading by sealing those openings.”
What Firestop Systems Do
Firestop sealants, wrap strips, collars and putty pads are life safety products that seal intrusions to stop fire, smoke and toxic gases from spreading rapidly through a building. When heated, these intumescent materials swell up to protect the voids around various pipes, conduit tubes and wiring bundles.
The behind-the-scenes nature of firestop components often doesn’t grab the attention of building owners like the marquee amenities that sell leases. Often, it’s up to the general contractor to make sure a building’s firestop systems are adequate. From Hamilton’s perspective, that needs to change.
“Once the job is done, and all the contractors are gone, owners are the ones left with the building,” Hamilton says. “In the case of fire, they’re also the most liable when it comes to the safety of their residents.”
Frequent Installation Mistakes
Common contractor missteps include being unfamiliar with firestop products; incorrect product placement leading to unintended interactions between firestop systems and building materials; and designs with inadequate spacing to ensure the proper placement of firestop systems in enclosed places.
For instance, the orange CPVC piping used in fire suppression sprinkler systems is under constant pressure and can be weakened if an FBC System Compatible sealant is not used.
To ensure there is enough room in enclosed spaces to install firestop products, more contractors are using Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. BIM uses highly accurate, data rich 3-D models to make certain systems behind the walls don’t ‘clash,’ such as those orange CPVC pipes and acrylic-based sealants being installed together. For that reason, HoldRite has a vast BIM object library, which includes firestop products, allowing design programs like Autodesk Revit to identify potential clashes before they become costly problems.
“Oftentimes, jobs will get stopped if conflicting products are touching each other,” said Hamilton. “That causes delays, which equates to lost time and money.”
By being firestop system savvy, owners of today’s complex multifamily buildings can ensure that systems behind walls and under floors are safe, while protecting their most valuable asset – the residents they’re trying to wow.
The term FBC is a licensed trademark of the Lubrizol Corporation.
To learn more about how to protect your assets in the event of a fire, visit https://holdrite.com/firestop-systems/.
