The Autumn update from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed that nearly half of the UK’s high-rise buildings with dangerous ACM cladding still have it in place. The Government has provided millions of pounds for funds to support the refurbishment of both private and public sector housing developments, much of which remains unclaimed. Under new building regulations, only specified buildings are required to use noncombustible materials in the external wall structure, but the MHCLG confirms that “most dangerous forms of ACM cladding and insulation are unsafe on buildings of any height.” They have also admitted that they do not know how many buildings 11m to 18m high (upwards of 85,000) are clad with flammable materials such as used in Grenfell Tower.
Providing the solution for flame retardant, long-term protection to the building envelope is the FlameOut range of FR breather membranes and vapour control layers from Industrial Textiles & Plastics (ITP). Both FlameOut Breathe and FlameOut Block are independently tested to EN 13501-1, rated Class B-s1,d0. This exceeds the fire safety requirements specified in Approved Document B of the UK’s Building Regulations. For the highest fire safety protection in facade construction, ITP offers the Safe One noncombustible breather membrane, which is rated A2-s1,d0. Full technical support, detailed installation instructions and a RIBA approved CPD back up the technologically advanced materials; read project case studies featuring FlameOut and Safe One on the ITP website. For more information, technical data and product samples, please contact ITP, one of the UK’s leading producers of flame retardant materials for building and construction.