INDUSTRY
Case Studies
A former cotton mill, now home to multiple businesses, required critical upgrades after a recent fire risk assessment identified deficiencies in its escape routes. To ensure occupants could evacuate safely, we installed 30-minute fire-rated walls and ceilings to form fully protected escape routes.
Older buildings pose unique challenges — cable runs, historic beams, and other penetrations can compromise fire integrity. Rather than attempting to seal each individual weak point, our approach created a complete fire-rated ceiling system alongside the new walls. This solution not only enhanced protection but proved more cost-effective than traditional patch-sealing methods.
A stylish hotel featured a decorative timber-panelled entrance adjacent to a main escape corridor. The fire service raised concerns over its combustibility, but the client wished to retain this character feature.
Our solution: a specialist colour-matched fire-retardant coating that achieved Class B fire rating, approved by the fire department. The work was completed to a high finish, maintaining the aesthetic while ensuring compliance — a perfect example of blending safety with design.
At a local council library, doors appeared compliant — with fire signage, closers, intumescent strips — but our inspection revealed a hidden risk: they were hollow-core (eggbox) internal doors with no actual fire rating.
While we can sometimes certify non-labelled doors as “nominal” fire doors if construction is solid and hardware is correct, these did not meet that threshold. The client, who takes fire safety seriously, had been misled by appearances. We provided a clear report and advised full door leaf replacements where required to meet the standards in the fire risk assessment.
In some buildings, riser shafts are so inaccessible that sealing the ceiling from below is impossible. On one project, we resolved this by cutting an access hatch at the top of the riser, allowing us to cap off the route into the roof space — a simple but highly effective solution that ensures protection at the most critical point.
Service risers (housing electrical and gas meters, or drainage access) are found in many apartment and office buildings. Unfortunately, they also provide an ideal vertical route for smoke and fire to spread — often straight into the roof space.
On many projects, we’ve encountered risers filled only with red fire foam — an untested, non-compliant fix. Our team assessed each penetration and used certified fire-stopping systems appropriate to the specific risk, ensuring effective compartmentation and code compliance.
