For those who may not be familiar, intumescent materials are widely used in passive fire protection. The dictionary definition of intumescent is as follows: An intumescent substance is one that swells when exposed to heat, resulting in an increase in volume and a decrease in density. Intumescence refers to the swelling process. Intumescent materials are typically used in passive fire protection, where the swelling is a chemical reaction that forms a char, which continues to expand and seals off openings.

Many people consider the cavity gap is just a control, movement joint, or linear gap seal and want to use the same fire resistance/fire testing data prescriptive (or deemed to satisfy provisions) regulations use for these control joints. Why can’t we, or can we? What is different with rainscreen cavity barriers joints to conventional control joints?A conventional control joint is a gap between two fire rated elements – example concrete to concrete. A horizontal cavity barrier joint is typically a gap between a………

Without over complicating things, this ductwork needs to turn of automatically when a building is in fire mode. This is to stop the heating & air conditioning system spreading smoke to all parts of the building. Where the ductwork passes through a fire barrier, there is a requirement for a fire damper. A fire damper is a failsafe means of protecting these openings….

In Australia, we have the NCC/BCA which outline the technical design provisions for a compliant building.

Some of us know AS3000, the primary design standard used for NCC/BCA compliance; this is our wiring rules for electrical installations. We all respect those electrical contractors who are trained to design and install our cabling and deal with the hazards of live electricity.