First Solid Conservatory Roof to Pass Full Fire Testing
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, fire safety has understandably made its way to the forefront of the minds of people looking to improve their property. To make sure all Ultraframe customers can offer the very best in consumer confidence, we can confirm that all Ultraframe solid roof systems have been fully fire tested and are certified to meet current building regulations. Both Livinroof and Ultraroof380 have been stringently tested, by Exova Warringtonfire, to ensure compliance with fire safety testing. In each case, the entire solid conservatory roof has been tested rather than the separate components which other suppliers have relied on.
Andrew Thomson, Design and Development Director here at Ultraframe is concerned that there is still a “significant” proportion of the industry that wilfully ignore the Building Regulations that govern the fire safety performance of solid roof structures, either as a new build or replacement roof system.
Andrew expands on the issue: “we have seen many examples of roof system manufacturers share the fire performance data of the tile (or finishing material?) that sits on top of the roof, but never have we seen test data that supports the entire structure. There is a very clear lesson from Grenfell and one that we acknowledged during the development phase of both Livinroof and Ultraroof380, we mustn’t assume that materials perform the same in isolated material tests as they do when they’re sandwiched together with other components such as insulation, membrane and plasterboard. The message is simple - components that are assembled together must be fire tested together.”
The Ultraframe Approach to the Solid Conservatory Roof
Grenfell tower has taught us that using high quality components is a must, and that fire safety is something that should not be compromised in the search for value. We believe that components that are assembled together should be fire tested together, allowing you to offer your customers a sense of peace of mind that stays consistent across the board.
There are two specifications that need to be addressed to ensure rigorous fire performance - the penetration of flame and the spread of flame. Combined the two tests give the roof an overall rating of two letters in accordance with BS476-3:2004. The first letter relates to the penetration and dictates that roofs within 6m of any boundary must be classified as ‘A’ which means they will last at least 1 hour before penetration of the flame. The second letter relates to the spread of flame and roofs within 6m of any boundary must be classified as ‘A,B or C’. Installers must be able to show a home owner the test certificate for both A and at least C to confirm compliance. B-roof is the European equivalent of the AC rating that is required for UK Building Regulations.
Ultraframe is making all of their test certificates easily available to installers to allow them to clearly demonstrate the fire safety performance of both Livinroof and Ultraroof380. As Andrew concludes, home owner safety has to be paramount in the development of any new roof system: “as an installer it’s your responsibility to check the compliance of the roof system you are installing. One of our core design principles at Ultraframe is health and safety and if it costs us more to develop a safe roof, then that’s a small price to pay in protecting the home owner that lives beneath an Ultaframe roof.”
To download The Fire safety certificates for LivinRoof and Ultrafrme please click here.
