Fire protection

To provide the ultimate fire protection, our fire resistant systems and solutions have gone through the BS 476: Part 22 fire resistance test. When assessing the fire protection performance of a solution, two out of three performance criteria are taken into account for this non-loadbearing structure, namely its integrity and insulation:

Integrity performance

Solutions that have achieved the required level of integrity share the following characteristics:

• Endures the flames and sustains its shape.
• Flaming on the unexposed surface dies out under 10 seconds.
• No through gap into the furnace exceeding 25mm diameter exists or develops.
• The cotton pad test can be conducted and is passed when: 
  • there are minimal levels of radiation.
  • no through gap into the furnace exceeding 6mm in width by 150mm in length exists or develops.
  • the cotton pad does not flame up or glow as a result of flames and/or hot gasses.

Insulation performance

Solutions that have achieved the required level of insulation share the following characteristics:

• The mean unexposed temperature does not increase beyond 140°C of the initial value.
• The temperature throughout the unexposed surface of the solution does not exceed beyond 180°C of the initial mean unexposed face temperature.

Providing up to 4 hours of fire protection, Gyproc gypsum boards, plasters and ceiling tiles are all made using non-combustible materials with 'Class 1' classification of resistance to the surface spread of flames. Additionally, our gypsum-based products are made to evolve in the presence of heat, which causes the calcination that gradually spreads through the gypsum layer until it is fully calcined, allowing the residue to act as an insulating layer while remaining intact.