Office buildings, museums, hospitals, apartment blocks and homes all now benefit from the fire resistant properties of constructional glazing, while the introduction of aesthetic steel doors has further improved public safety. Refurbishment schemes great and small similarly benefit from the introduction of such modern materials designed to meet the most stringent of fire regulations.
Internal spaces become lighter and brighter with the use of glass balustrades, partitions and atria but in response to increasing demands for glass to provide a passive fire-resisting barrier, there are many products and considerations to weigh. There are a number of considerations to take into account when designing around the fire strategy of your building. Technical Information - Clearline Doors and Screens
Fire Resistant Glazing
The use of fire-resistant glass by today's builders has well advanced beyond the use of Georgian wired glass in doors, even traditional block work walls and solid stud partitions to protect against a fire's radiant heat can be replaced with clear glass products.
Modern buildings rely increasingly on the provision of natural light to the core of the building through internal atria capped with glazed roof areas. Subject to the fire strategy of the building, fire resistant glazing may be required for internal atrium walls to provide compartmentation, yet allowing natural light to penetrate deep into the building. Where external facades require fire protection, for means of escape or boundary wall application, fire-resistant glazing can equal the aesthetic and thermal properties of any non-fire rated glazing system. Technical Information - SlimLine Screens and Partitions
Fire Doors
Doors play an important part in any fire protection strategy. They provide both passive protection and a clear escape route alongside standard access and egress functions. Today’s fire doors can be manufactured in timber or steel with various glass options. Building Regulations and Approved Documents specify periods of fire and smoke protection required but in terms of integrity only. With the development of advanced systems, insulated steel glazed doors can also be offered.
When incorporated into a glazed screen or partition they should be treated as 'door sets' with specific hardware fitted to comply with fire test data. Not all doors can be supplied to site for retrofitting of hardware as these are often predetermined with an ironmonger not familiar with the door system. Fire doors are enshrined within Building Regulations, a vital building element requiring careful consideration throughout design and construction process, so decisions concerning the latest steel or traditional timber alternatives are not to be taken lightly.