When constructing a building, you must ensure it is fire-safe and complies with building regulations. Adding cavity barriers is a safe, effective means of helping to prevent the spread of fire and protect building occupants and firefighters in an emergency.

As recognised experts in the field, we have extensive experience installing cavity barriers, ensuring your building meets fire safety standards.

What are cavity barriers?

Cavity barriers are a type of insulation that is installed within the floors and walls of a building while it’s under construction. They seal any cavities, preventing the fire from spreading via the walls of your building.

By providing this extra level of fire safety, cavity barriers can grant you approximately 120 minutes of extra resistance in the event of a fire which can be when the fire service needs to execute a safe evacuation, protecting people’s lives.

Cavity barriers also have other side benefits. They can create more acoustic protection for your building, making it harder for sound to carry between one room and the next – an essential consideration if you’re constructing a residential building or a multi-purpose office block that several businesses will share. Cavity barriers can also assist with water resistance.

How do cavity barriers work?

Cavities in buildings are particularly hazardous when it comes to fire. As a building heats up rapidly, the changes in air temperature can produce what’s known as ‘air buoyancy’ in the gaps between walls and floors. This effectively sucks in smoke and flames, making it easier for the fire to spread throughout the entire building.

Cavity barriers help to prevent this effect from taking place. The cavities between the walls and floors have fire-resistant or intumescent materials. This helps to ‘compartmentalise’ the building, containing the fire, preventing the flames and smoke from spreading, and offering a much greater chance of building occupants escaping safely.

Cavity barriers are not something we can retrofit, so they have to be installed by specialists while the building is still in the construction phase.

Get expert advice on cavity barriers

We manage the design, installation and maintenance of passive fire safety systems in compliance with BS:9999 and Approved Document B.

If you’re constructing a residential or commercial building and want to install the latest fire safety systems, please contact us. With years of experience in cavity barrier installation, we will be happy to help you construct your building to the highest safety standards.