When applied to structural steel, intumescent coatings form a protective layer on the surface. If exposed to fire or excessive heat, the protective layer will begin to char and expand. As the coating chars and expands it will insulate and slow down the transfer of heat to the structural steel. This will increase the time that the steel remains structurally sound during a fire to enable the building to be evacuated.
FIREPROOF PAINT FOR STEEL
We work closely with our client and intumescent coating suppliers to analyse plans and drawings to ensure that we produce a steel loading report for each job. This is to ensure that the correct amount of intumescent coating is applied to each steel member to meet the fire protection requirements for each job.
INTUMESCENT SPRAY FIREPROOFING
We follow a strict testing and record keeping regime to ensure that all our coatings are spray applied to the correct film thickness and that all conditions during time of the intumescent coating are within the manufacturers technical guidelines. It is imperative that this record keeping is done throughout any intumescent coating project so that we can insure that the applied system will last for the lifetime of the building. Our record keeping includes – testing the primer compatibility and thickness, testing storage temperature of intumescent coating material, constant testing of air temperature, substrate temperature, dew point and relative humidity. These tests will run from start to finish of the entire job and all records are stored by using an Elcometer 319 dew point meter.
INTUMESCENT COATING APPLICATION
During the intumescent coating application, we will also test all wet film thicknesses on all steel members to ensure that the correct amount of material is being applied. When the intumescent coating is dry we will then use and Elcometer 456 coating thickness gauge to make sure that all specified dry film thicknesses are correct. Again, all readings will be stored and presented in a report at completion of the works. This strict record keeping will ensure peace of mind that all intumescent coatings have been applied correctly and to the manufacturers specification.
We are also able to apply a fully tested topseal to any exposed steel beams so that your desired colour scheme and finish can be met.
LIFETIME GUARANTEE
Upon completion of the job along with our record keeping report, we will supply a fire certificate and a guarantee that the intumescent coating system will last for the lifetime of the building.
