Firestopping Solutions
In commercial and multi-family buildings, fire-stopping is a critical safety measure required by code to prevent the spread of fire and smoke through penetrations and joints in fire-rated assemblies. United We Build offers comprehensive fire-stopping solutions to ensure your building meets all fire safety regulations and, most importantly, to protect
lives and property in the event of a fire. Our fire-stopping services include selecting and installing the appropriate firestop systems at penetrations (pipes, conduits, cables) through walls and floors, construction joints, and voids or gaps in fire-resistance-rated walls, floors, and ceilings.
Here’s what we provide:
Expert Assessment
We review architectural and mechanical plans to identify all locations where fire-rated assemblies (such as 1-hour or 2-hour rated walls and floors) are breached or where joints occur. This includes cable trays through a firewall, HVAC duct penetrations, plumbing lines, electrical conduit bundles, and perimeter edge gaps. Each type of opening may require a specific UL-listed firestop system. Our knowledgeable team will choose systems compatible with the assembly and penetrating item materials.
Compliance Documentation
We provide detailed documentation of the firestop systems used, their locations, and applicable ratings for the project’s fire safety records. This eases the inspection process since fire officials can verify that appropriate listed systems were used. We can also assist during inspections to answer questions and perform any needed touch-ups or corrections.
Certified Products
We use high-quality, tested fire-stopping materials such as intumescent sealants, firestop caulks, firestop putty pads for electrical boxes, pipe collars and wraps for plastic pipes that expand to close off melted pipe, firestop foam, and mineral wool insulation combined with firestop coatings. All our solutions have UL-classified systems or other third-party listings to meet ASTM E814 (UL 1479) and E1966 (UL 2079) standards for fire penetration and joint sealing. This means they’ve been proven to restore the fire-resistance rating of the assembly when properly installed.
Maintenance & Retrofits
If your building undergoes renovations or new penetrations are made (for example, running new IT cabling through a firewall), we offer services to firestop these changes as well. Regular maintenance checks can be arranged to ensure all firestops remain intact, especially in dynamic buildings where cables may be added or removed frequently.
Professional Installation
Our installers are trained in firestop techniques and understand the importance of detail – like cleaning openings, installing backing materials (such as mineral wool) to the correct depth, and applying sealants to the required thickness. We carefully fill annular gaps around pipes and cables with the appropriate material, ensuring no voids. For long linear joints (like where a wall meets a floor or two wall sections meet), we apply firestop sprays or run firestop pillows/compressed foam where designed. The goal is a continuous barrier that will swell with heat or otherwise block fire and hot gases, containing fire to its origin compartment. This compartmentalization is crucial: fire-stopping protects structural integrity and buys precious time for occupants to evacuate and firefighters to respond.
By implementing robust fire-stopping solutions, United We Build helps your building act as it should in a fire – containing the fire and smoke to the smallest area possible. This could mean the difference between a minor incident and a building-wide disaster. Our solutions not only meet code requirements (which can carry hefty fines and liability if ignored) but more importantly, they create safer environments for all building occupants. Fire-stopping is one of those behind-the-scenes aspects of construction that you hope is never put to the test, but if it is, you’ll be glad it was done by professionals. Count on us to do it right, because we understand that lives may one day depend on the quality of our work in this area.
