About
Injectaclad is the world’s first remediation system for missing and / or defective cavity fire barriers to be retrospectively installed using a pumped system, alleviating the need for full scale façade removal. By not removing the external façade coupled with the speed of installation, often undertaken via MEWPs rather than requiring full scaffolding, Injectaclad is a cost effective and non-invasive option to a significant problem on high rise buildings and other housing stock across the UK and further afield.
[left to right]
Jonathan Lewis – Operations Director
Chistopher Lewis – Commercial Director
Craig Cleveland – Technical Director
History
In 2016 the team were approached by a contractor who had found cavity fire barriers to be missing on a high rise building where the external façade was an EPS render system and asked if a retrospective cavity barrier solution could be designed that would prevent the wholescale removal of the rendered façade. The seeds for Injectaclad were sown.
Research and development commenced, looking at a variety of options as to how a remedial cavity fire barrier could be installed within a building to create a solid-state barrier without full façade removal. Pumping a high expanding intumescent, or reactive, product into the cavity contained within a mesh cylinder was the preferred route and this was then taken to test at Warrington Fire, a UKAS accredited testing facility for passive fire materials and systems.
The Grenfell tragedy ultimately bought about changes in law for the requirements of how cavities are considered in respect of the fire integrity of a building as, amongst other failings at Grenfell, there was no compartmentation to prevent hidden fire from spreading within the cavity, which acted as a flue around the building.
Testing
The first test undertaken at Warrington Fire was BS-8414 on an EPS render system, which had 90mm of expanded polystyrene insulation behind the render face, but no cavity fire barrier to create compartmentation. This was undertaken to replicate the full façade build-up of the building for which the initial approach was made.
Since that time, all future tests have been undertaken to BS-1366-4, where Injectaclad has been introduced as a solid-state cavity fire barrier, installed with insulation left within the cavity, against the likes of masonry, timber and SFS.
Expanding on some of these tested scenarios, Injectaclad can be installed to any building requiring a solid-state barrier where there are missing or defective cavity fire barriers either vertically, horizontally or around openings, such as windows and doors. The system is designed to be installed with the existing insulation, for example PIR or mineral wool, remaining in place. In the event of a fire, as the insulation burns away, Injectaclad intumesces and expands, closing off the void and preventing the spread of smoke and flames. As a result the fire is contained within the designed compartment and does not spread to other sections of the building.
Testing was expanded and successful tests were undertaken which enables the Injectaclad solution to be installed as a cavity fire barrier remediation system within timber framed buildings, again with insulation remaining in-situ within the cavity. Further test results have showed the viability of installing against 9mm OSB boards. Supporting test data has also been achieved for Injectaclad to be installed against SFS, either with or without CP board and insulation, opening significant new opportunities to remediate significantly more buildings with missing or defective cavity fire barriers.
Injectaclad now have over 70 different tested scenarios where the system can be used, backed by UL-EU 3rd Party Accreditation.
Warrington Fire Test – Post Test Photograph
20mm Injectaclad behind 50mm PIR insulation, with 50mm Injectaclad in front of insulation. The Injectaclad has intumesced, expanded and closed the void created by the insulation burning away, preventing any further spread of heat, smoke and flames.
Installation
Injectaclad is installed via small openings on the compartment lines whether vertically, horizontally or around windows, doors etc. These openings are made approximately every two metres horizontally and generally at floor levels for vertical installations and between these points 4mm stainless steel InjectaPins are installed into pre-drilled 6mm holes. Injectaclad SS17 is pumped into InjectaMesh, a cylindrical acrylic mesh which sits on the InjectaPins to maintain the compartment lines, to fill the clear cavity void.
The patented system, predominantly installed from the outside ensures that there is minimal disruption to the existing building and no requirement to gain access to residents living space although it can be, and has been, installed from the inside of buildings.
A major advance and potentially significant cost saving to remediation projects where Injectaclad is used to reinstate missing or defective cavity fire barriers, is that the system can be installed without a requirement for full scaffolding. Where conditions are suitable installation can be carried out from MEWPs and has, at times, been installed via mast-climbers and also rope-access.
Whilst the majority of installations are undertaken to remediate cavity fire barriers on high-rise buildings Injectaclad has been used on properties from two-storeys up to twenty-two storeys in height.
Injectaclad installations are undertaken by our QA Approved Contractors, all of whom are 3rd Party Accredited for passive fire protection and following our internal vetting process are trained on the system at our headquarters in Cardiff.
Examples Of Completed Projects
The first Injectaclad installation project was completed in 2020, the same year that the system won the Association for Specialist Fire Protection Innovation Of The Year Award. This was undertaken on the building in Cardiff that the first approach was made, with an EPS render system, which had 90mm of expanded polystyrene insulation behind the render face, but no cavity fire barrier to create compartmentation.
Since this time installations are being undertaken throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, a snapshot of which include:
England:
Installations have been carried out in numerous major towns and cities varying from a hotel refurbishment scheme in Newcastle down to community housing blocks in Newton Abbott. Other schemes have been completed in Liverpool on a University building, residential tower blocks in Manchester the tallest of which was 22 storeys in height and Ministry of Defence buildings being remediated in Wiltshire. An array of projects have been completed in and around London, with the largest of these seeing around 9000 lineal metres of remediation being carried out to a modular framed building.
Ireland:
Injectaclad remediation installations have been installed recently in the centre of Dublin along with numerous other projects throughout the country.
Scotland:
A hospital building was remediated in Aberdeen and student residences had Injectaclad installed in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Wales:
A care home on Barry Island had Injectaclad installed to remediate their missing cavity fire barriers, whilst the first timber framed building remediation project was undertaken in Cardiff. A sandstone faced building was remediated in Swansea, highlighting that Injectaclad can be installed wherever a solid-state cavity fire barrier is required without the need for full façade removal and reconstruction regardless of the external material.
For more information or if you would like to speak with one of our team please contact us.
