Lisa Stephens, Product Manager for the Building Envelope at ROCKWOOL^® UK, explains the fire performance considerations for multifunctional roofs.

Flat roofs commonly house not just plant and HVAC equipment but energy efficiency infrastructure, social spaces, and much more. Increasingly, schools for example, and especially in crowded urban areas, are adding rooftop school gardens or playgrounds to maximise outdoor spaces within the footprint they have available.

Safely use as a social space

As the use of flat roofs evolve, and potential sources of ignition increase, consideration towards the way in which flat roof materials react to fire becomes increasingly more important.

While there is no legislative requirement for non-combustible materials (apart from where the roof passes over a compartment wall), specifiers should be conscious of escape requirements where the roof is occupied. Where a roof provides a ‘means of escape’ is one of two examples provided in Approved Document B (ADB) for where a roof should be considered to perform the function of a floor.

ADB provides guidance through minimum periods of fire resistance in Tables B3 and B4 for structural building elements including floors. Fire resistance is measured in REI, a designation that identifies the performance of a building element in terms of its load bearing Structure (R), Integrity (E) and Insulation (I). This is significant for designers working around social spaces where escape routes must be considered and they may find themselves needing to make a judgement on whether a roof requires a period of fire resistance.

Practical applications

While utilising a roof space for practical purposes is more of a well-established concept, complex considerations still apply. Statutory guidance for flat roof fire safety, including ADB, sets out key provisions for some of the practical applications, indicating routes to compliance for the building regulations. These include plant rooms, rooflights and junctions with compartment walls.

There is also guidance in BS 8579:2020 ‘Guide to the design of balconies and terraces’, which discusses the fire performance required by balconies and terraces, and references plant equipment and compartmentation.

However, across these documents there is no specific guidance for the use of solar panels on flat roofs – a practical use that is increasingly common as specifiers incorporate the solution to address energy efficiency and sustainability benefits.

Research and real-world evidence point to solar solutions introducing additional fire risk to flat roofs. There are known incidences of solar panel ‘arcing’ in which electrical energy passes through air gaps and can cause ignition of nearby materials, or the solar panel itself, due to the high temperatures involved (described as “easily hot enough to melt glass, copper and aluminium, and to initiate the combustion of surrounding materials”¹).

The government guidance document “Power to the pupils” Solar PV for schools – The benefits², gives recommendations on maximising the benefits of solar PV installations on schools. The list includes advice on maximising the educational benefits, choosing suppliers and site safety but stops short of including the potential impact on fire safety.

More recent guidance from the insurance industry e.g. the Fire Protection Association (FPA) RISCAuthority Need to know Guide RE3: Rooftop-mounted PV Solar Systems³   recommends that a suitable fire risk assessment should be carried out and to ensure roofing materials are non-combustible or, if installation on a combustible/partly combustible roof is unavoidable, a fire resistant covering be applied.

Simplifying flat roof specification

In England, ADB provides guidance on how designers can meet building regulation requirements for fire safety – but there are multiple routes to compliance, and different ways to demonstrate an appropriate level of fire protection.

Supplements including BS 8579:2020 cover the requirements for specific applications – in this case balconies and terraces. For schools, specialist guidance such as BB100 (Fire safety design for schools), can also influence decision-making.

Against a complex legislative backdrop, one simple way to mitigate risk is to select non-combustible materials throughout the fifth façade. The trend towards increasingly multifunctional roofs only strengthens this case.

ROCKWOOL recently launched the new whitepaper ‘Flat roofs: The functional fifth façade’ will help those involved in the design and installation of flat roofs to make responsible choices when selecting materials to enable a modern flat roof to be multifunctional, safe and long-lasting. It offers practical advice to simplify specification whilst going above and beyond legislative requirements.

For more information and to download the whitepaper go to: rockwool.link/ffpr-sb

Modular construction stands out as an efficient method for creating contemporary and durable educational facilities. Choosing modular buildings over traditional construction brings numerous benefits, leading to a surge in modular schools nationwide. Whether it’s a single or multi-storey structure required, modular solutions offer adaptable designs, ensuring the creation of an ideal learning environment.

Wernick Buildings serves as a reliable partner for all your educational construction needs. From design and construction to swift installation, we deliver a comprehensive turnkey solution, providing fully fitted buildings in significantly less time than traditional builds. Your project will be overseen by an experienced construction team, offering a smooth transition with inclusive training and thorough aftercare. Additionally, our school buildings boast a remarkable 50-year design life.

Preparing for the next academic year

Our modules are built in our South Wales factory and either stored or delivered directly to clients, streamlining the construction process by up to 50% compared to traditional methods. We offer modern teaching equipment and features, maximising your space’s potential. As part of our turnkey service, we extend support to groundwork and landscaping, encompassing car parks, multi-use game areas, and playgrounds.

Embarking on a new educational development journey is always timely. Our building systems cater to a spectrum of educational levels, from nurseries to universities, emphasising aesthetic flexibility and enhanced building performance. Partnering with Wernick ensures your education facility is operational well before the next academic year which showcases our commitment to efficient and reliable solutions.

How to procure a modular building

Embarking on the journey to procure a modular school building with Wernick Buildings involves a well-structured process designed for efficiency. The initial stage focuses on developing the building’s design and specifications, encompassing surveys, services, and planning applications. Following this, the tender submission and evaluation phase includes project planning, tender submissions, client evaluations, and transparent communication of feedback. Once the design is frozen, detailed planning ensues, and the project is strategically scheduled into the factory manufacturing program. Detailed design covers everything from groundwork to structural, electrical, and mechanical elements, ensuring a comprehensive approach.

Moving forward, the building warrant application is submitted, followed by clarification evaluations and considerations for factory work commencement. The subsequent stages involve manufacturing building modules in the factory, fitting doors, windows, plumbing, and various systems. Concurrently, service applications for water, electricity, and other necessities are addressed. Pre-mobilisation conditions, including approvals and permissions, are met before the mobilisation stage, which involves site preparation and community engagement.

Groundworks follow suit, preparing foundations, services, drainage, and access. The installation phase sees the introduction of building modules and on-site fit-out, ensuring seamless integration. Services such as power, water, and data connections are established, leading to the commissioning, snagging, and finishing stage, where thorough testing of various aspects is conducted. The final steps involve handover, including client training for building operations, key exchange, and the sharing of certificates, manuals, and reports.

www.wernick.co.uk

Schools can’t cut corners on security. But in education, budgets are tight. How do you square that circle?

By finding the right supplier. At F.H.Brundle, we’ve helped dozens of schools, colleges, and universities keep students safe and secure.

In our vast and ever-expanding range, you’ll find products that offer outstanding performance at competitive prices. Our RoSPA bow top railings and gates are designed to minimise the risk of clothes entanglement and finger, head and neck traps.

Long-lasting and easy to install, they come packaged together with necessary components, and are priced per metre.

Products like the Nylofor 3-M offer a high level of security, and are difficult for would-be intruders to scale, while remaining almost completely transparent. This makes them perfect for contexts where you want children to be secure, but also need the environment to still be open and welcoming.

What’s more, it’s been specifically designed to be both cost-effective and quick and easy to install – it can be fitted 20% faster, and needs 20% less concrete and posts than other systems of its type.

We also supply a wide range of mesh panel systems to suit all types of perimeter security applications. Whether high-level or low-level security is required, mesh fencing resists impact and vandalism, all without obstructing views.

Pedestrian barriers are another vital part of any safe school site. At school, children can face risks from car parks and busy roads.

At F.H. Brundle, our range of hot dip galvanised pedestrian safety barriers are fully welded and come complete with fixing bolts for optimal strength, longevity and ease of installation. Whatever your school security need, we can help!

For more information, call on 01708 398048, or visit www.fhbrundle.co.uk

With wet and windy weeks ahead, it is crucial that your automatic doors operate with optimum efficiency, maintaining smooth flowing foot traffic throughout campus and allowing staff and pupils to access buildings quickly and promptly. Regular servicing and maintenance of automatic entrances helps to ensure reliable operation, whatever the weather throws at them.

With a nationwide team of in-house trained engineers, TORMAX can deliver a full service and maintenance programme, or one-off emergency repairs, for almost any automatic door.

“At this time of the year it is especially important to schedule a service call to make sure your automatic door remains legal, safe and fully operational at all times,” explains Simon Roberts, MD for TORMAX UK.

“A build-up of debris, dirt and leaves, or an ingress of water during heavy rainstorms, can affect the performance of the system or even cause the door to fail entirely.

“A comprehensive service call-out can quickly pick up any potential problems, avoiding long-term damage to the system whilst also providing timely maintenance to maximise the performance of key mechanisms.”

Offering a cost-effective solution, TORMAX offers a Planned Maintenance Contract (PMC) with timely call-outs scheduled throughout the year, minimising the chance of inconvenient down-time of the system.

TORMAX is a division of the LANDERT Group, a Swiss-based manufacturer of automatic pedestrian and industrial door systems with over 500 distributors across the globe. Committed to providing exceptional service with highly qualified technical advisors and engineers, TORMAX has been a market-leader in the UK for more than 60 years.

TORMAX | Automatic Door Systems

Zentia, the UK’s market leader in complete ceiling solutions, proudly announces the launch of ‘Oplia,’ the latest family addition to its product portfolio. Formerly recognised as Perla, the renaming reflects Zentia’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of design and functionality in ceiling tiles. 

The range, launched on the 10th January, offers a diverse set of visual and acoustic solutions for interior spaces. All tiles within the range have a smooth, laminated finish for a sleek aesthetic. Oplia hA dB, Oplia hA and Oplia hA+ offer excellent sound absorption, Oplia hA dB and Oplia dB offer impressive sound attenuation properties, and alongside Oplia Triangles the range provides the ideal solution for a wide spectrum of communal interiors such as offices and classrooms.

Alongside white, 34 new exciting colours have been added to the range to experiment with design, create defined zones and assist with wayfinding. Each tile has a high light reflectance of 86% and extremely low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content, offering overall enhanced health, wellbeing and productivity for the end user.

The Oplia dB tile delivers an enhanced sound attenuation performance of 41dB, reducing the sound between adjacent spaces, and making it a great addition for private offices and boardrooms, or multi-let buildings. Alternatively, the Oplia hA dB is an ideal solution for flexible working spaces, with excellent levels of sound absorption and sound attenuation in one tile.

Also, within the new product family, the Oplia hA tile provides a Class A sound absorption rating and performs best in open-plan areas such as libraries and cafeterias. The Oplia hA+ tile has the highest possible a_w coefficient of 1.00 and has been designed for areas that require enhanced focus and concentration, with the light reflectance improving interior light levels, diminishing artificial light reflectance and enhancing user wellbeing.

Lastly, the Oplia Triangle tile system offers additional design freedom, formed with interlocking isosceles triangles, which when combined with our choice of 34 additional standard colours, can add a very striking and impactful visual element to any project’s interior.

Graham Taylor , Director, Sales & Marketing at Zentia commented on the launch: “The introduction of Oplia signifies our ongoing commitment to redefining the possibilities within ceiling tile solutions. With a renewed focus on amazing aesthetics and acoustic excellence, the new Oplia family offers a great canvas for architects and designers to innovate and create inspiring spaces.”

Complete Ceiling Solutions | Suspended Ceilings | Zentia