Following recent events, it’s really important to know the fire standards of the cladding you’re using on buildings. By law, all buildings above 18 metres in height need to have cladding which is fire rated. Most cladding has some sort of protection built in, but only those which are FR should be used on these taller buildings. 

These ratings range from an A1 to a D in accordance with European Standards EN-13501-1.

What does A1 and A2 Rated mean?

Class A1 – Products are described as having no contribution to fire at any stage. BS EN 13501 sets several thresholds for combustion performance when tested to both EN ISO 1716 and EN ISO 1182. One of these thresholds is a maximum heat of combustion of 2MJ/kg. Typical products meeting this classification include most inorganic materials such as metal and stone.

Class A2, s3, d2 – Products are described as having no significant contribution to fire at any stage. BS EN 13501 sets several thresholds for combustion when tested to EN ISO 1182, or both EN ISO 1716 and EN 13823. One of these thresholds is a maximum heat of combustion of 3MJ/kg. A typical product meeting this classification is plasterboard.For comparison, Wood has a typical value of 15 MJ/Kg.

Some products use a slightly different fire classification known as the BR 135 standard, set by the BRE (Building Research Establishment). When using a cladding product that is classified using this method, a full classification report must be supplied to prove compliance with BR 135.

For full information on the fire rating of a specific product, get in touch with us. We’d be more than happy to help. 

Cembrit Plank

Autoclaved fibre cement weatherboard. Your design will have the beautiful appearance of timber weatherboard, with the long lasting finish of cement based building products.

Looks like wood but without the rot and fire risk

Cembrit Plank is the ideal alternative to timber weatherboarding, but does not require preservative treatment and is not susceptible to fire. Smooth or textured options give you the choice of a surface finish together with a colour to make your projects almost unique. It can be installed like timber weatherboard products. Cembrit Plank comes in 14 standard and 5 made to order factory painted surfaces, as well as a ready-primed option for on site finishing. The typical long service life of fibre cement gives maximum resistance to exterior exposure that is backed by a Cembrit 15 year warranty – the highest warranty in the market. Plank can be installed vertically, horizontally or in other patterns to enhance your design.

COLOURS

Cembrit Plank comes in a range of colours.

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Visit our Technical Information page.