FAQs

Where can I purchase Siderise products?

Within the United Kingdom Siderise products can be ordered directly as well as through our Distribution Partners. Please contact our friendly Customer Service Team for assistance.

For enquires outside of the United Kingdom, please refer to our Global Contact Page.

Are Siderise products third party certified?

Siderise cavity barriers and firestops are tested to the required standards as outlined in Building Regulations / Codes.

As the market leader in passive fire protection products, Siderise are also able to offer a wide range of Third Party Certified products.

We are able to offer Third Party Certified products within the following product ranges:

• Siderise RH & RV - Cavity barriers for use in external envelope or fabric of buildings
• Siderise CW - Perimeter barriers and fire stops for curtain walling
• Siderise EW - Cavity barriers & fire stops for masonry external walls
• Siderise LGS – Linear Gap Seal
• Siderise RF Cavity barriers and firestops for raised access floors

Please see our Product Resources to access the above certificates.

We are committed to continuing to increase our range of Third Party Certified products.

Where can I find NBS specification clauses for Siderise products?

Siderise products feature within both NBS Create and NBS Building. Details can be found on the RIBA Product Selector web site.

Further details can also be found on the individual NBS product pages.

What type of fixings should I use to secure your cavity barrier / firestop brackets?

Siderise do not supply fixings, but we are able to offer the following advice with regards to the selection of fixings to secure the cavity barrier / firestop brackets. These fixings should be:

• Non-combustible (e.g. steel with no plastic plugs or components)
• Suitable for the substrate you are fixing into

For any further advice on fixing selection, we would suggest approaching an appropriate fixing supplier or manufacturer.

My void width is larger than the range quoted on the datasheet. What can I do?

Siderise is able to offer project specific or application specific technical support.

Our Technical Services Team would be happy to review a Project Specific Detail and offer feedback.

Typically we would require:

• Relevant drawings as pdfs
• Required fire resistances

Drawings should be dimensioned and identify (label) all materials as well as show the proposed location for cavity barriers or fire stopping. Please submit your enquiry via our contact page.

Can the RH cavity barriers be positioned closer than 25mm (RH25) or 50mm (RH50)?

Whilst there would not be a negative effect on fire performance, reducing the air gap will reduce the ventilation of the facade, therefore this would need to be discussed with the facade designer.

Can I use your RH open-state cavity barrier in a vertical application?

Open-state cavity barriers are provided as a means of maintaining drainage and ventilation in a façade cavity and as such aren’t usually required for a vertical application. The Siderise RH has therefore been specifically designed and tested for horizontal applications.

For vertical applications within a drained and ventilated cavity, the Siderise RV 'closed-state' cavity barrier would be the suggested product. Please see the RH & RV product pages for more information.

If you have a specific application where you feel the RV barrier may not be suitable, our Technical Services Team would be happy to review a Project Specific Detail and offer feedback.

Typically we would require:

• Relevant drawings as pdfs
• Required fire resistances

Drawings should be dimensioned and identify (label) all materials as well as show the proposed locations for cavity barriers. Please submit your enquiry via our contact page.

Can rainwater pipes penetrate the RH and RV cavity barriers?

Whilst we would advise that service penetrations through cavity barriers are avoided wherever possible, there are means by which rainwater pipes (RWP) may be accommodated by the Siderise RH cavity barriers.

Our Technical Services Team would be happy to review a Project Specific Detail and evaluate whether a solutions can be offered.

Typically we would require:

• Relevant drawings as pdfs
• Required fire resistances

Drawings should be dimensioned and identify (label) all materials as well as show the proposed location for the cavity barrier and RWP.

Please submit your enquiry via our contact page.

How do I address a clash between EW cavity barriers and masonry support angles.

The stone wool composition of the Siderise EW cavity barriers means they can be readily notched to accommodate penetrations such as masonry support brackets.

Provided the barriers form a tight seal around the brackets profiles, there should be no adverse affect on fire resistance in terms of integrity and only a minimal affect on the fire resistance in terms of insulation, but this will of course depend on the exact arrangement.

We would be happy to review any site-specific arrangements and offer advice based upon any relevant test data that we hold.

What resources are available to support our on-site teams at the installation phase?

Siderise offers a comprehensive range of services to support on site installers.

This includes:

• Installation training / toolbox talks
• Site inspections and reports
• Benchmark installations

Please refer to our Site Services Brochure for further information.

To arrange a visit from an Engineer, please contact the team via our contact page.

How can I get technical support?

Siderise is able to offer project specific or application specific technical support.

Our Technical Services Team would be happy to review a Project Specific Detail and offer feedback.

Typically we would require:

• Relevant drawings as pdfs
• Required fire resistances

Drawings should be dimensioned and identify (label) all materials as well as show the proposed location for cavity barriers or fire stopping.

Please submit your enquiry via our contact page

Who is my local sales representative?

If you are based in the UK please contact us via our enquiry form and customer services will be able to advise you of your local sales contact.

Siderise also has a wider team of global distributors. Details of your the relevant distributor for your region are available via the Siderise Global page of the website.

How do I apply for a trading account?

Please contact our finance team via our contacts page.

Where do I access standard details?

Standard details are provided in the Resources area for each of the relevant product pages of the website.

A full list of standard details is also available via the Standard Details Library.

What is the difference between a cavity barrier and firestop?

Cavity barriers

Cavities in the construction of a building provide a ready route for the spread of smoke and flame, which can present a greater danger as any spread is concealed.

Cavity barriers are used to close concealed spaces and prevent penetration of smoke or flame to restrict the movement of fire within a building.

Fire stop

Passive fire protection element that is required to seal or close a discontinuity or imperfection of fit between building elements that are required to be fire resistant (e.g. compartment floors/walls) or is installed at any joint or junction in the fire protection element.

Requirements can vary from project to project and the Project Specific Fire Strategy should be consulted to establish the required positioning of cavity barriers and firestops and the required level of fire resistance.

Further information on the provision of cavity barriers and firestops can be found in:

Approved Document B (England)                                              

Approved Document B (Wales)                                                  

Building Standards Technical Handbook (Scotland)            

Technical booklet E – Fire Safety (Northern Ireland)

Technical Guidance Document B – Fire Safety (Ireland)

Can Siderise install my cavity barriers and firestops?

Siderise do not offer an installation service and would suggest appointing a suitably competent contractor who specialises in the installation of passive fire protection products.

Siderise does however offer a comprehensive range of services to support on site installers.

This includes:

• Installation training / toolbox talks
• Site inspections and reports
• Benchmark installations

Please refer to our Site Services Brochure for further information:
To arrange a visit from an Engineer, please contact the team via our contacts page.

Where do I access Test certifications?

Siderise are strong advocates of large-scale system testing and have participated in a significant number of such tests (including BS 8414, NFPA 285). This has provided considerable data which is invaluable in determining the performance of our cavity barriers.

Please see the systems test page for further information.

As the market leader in passive fire protection products, Siderise are also able to offer a wide range of Third Party Certified products.

These Third Party Certificates provide details of product testing and performance.

Siderise CW range - Perimeter barriers and fire stops for curtain walling 
Siderise RH - Cavity barriers for Ventilated Cladding/Rainscreen - Horizontal
Siderise RV - Cavity barriers for Ventilated Cladding/Rainscreen - Vertical
Siderise EW - Cavity barriers & fire stops for masonry external walls
Siderise LGS - Linear Gap Seal
Siderise RF - Cavity barriers and firestops for raised access floors 

Test Certificates for the RH and RV range are available from the product page.

What are National Classes (BS) and European Classes (EN) for reaction to fire and fire resistance?

Reaction to fire

National Class: Historically products were tested to BS 476-6 and 7 and then classified as Class 0, Class 1 etc. dependant on their performance.

Reaction to fire national classes have now been removed from Approved Document B for England & Wales (2019 edition).

European Class: Products should now be classified to European Class A1, A2 etc. under EN 13501-1.

Resistance to fire

National Class: BS 476-20 is a furnace test to prove fire resistance performance in terms of integrity (E) and insulation (I) in minutes.

For example, a product may achieve 120 minutes integrity and 90 minutes insulation.

European Class: Products should be tested to the relevant EN standard such as EN 1364-4 or EN 1366-4. The fire resistance in terms of integrity and insulation is then classified to EN 13501-2.

For example, a product may achieve 120 minutes integrity (E 120) and 90 minutes insulation (I 90), this would receive a classification of EI 90.

Approved Document B for England & Wales (2019 edition) now lists classification to EN 13501-2 as the primary route to compliance. BS 476-20 is listed as an alternate route to compliance.

UK coastal locations, weather exposure zones & product durability

Please see the following advice from Premier Guarantee:

Chapter 13 of the Premier Guarantee Technical Manual refers to Developments within 500m/5km of the coastline requiring additional consideration to the effects of a more detrimental site exposure, compared to other parts of the country.

That exposure can be due to the following environmental factors:

• Wind driven rain from offshore.
• High winds coming in land from the sea with no shelter from hills other buildings.
• Corrosive effects from the saline rich wind driven rain – again from offshore.
• Wind driven sand – clogging up balcony and other rainwater outlets.
• Higher levels of UV which can effect finishes.

The ‘Functional Requirements’ specifically differentiate between:

• Developments within 500m of the shoreline; requiring the design team to provide specific information to prove the durability, suitability and weather tightness as well as planned maintenance to be provided.
• Developments within 500m – 5KM of the shoreline; requiring the design team to prove that the protection provided against the effects of corrosion and reduced durability are appropriate and suitable for the location.

The guidance that then follows provides a suggested solution to meeting the Functional Requirements.

Chapter 13 of our Technical Manual is currently under review and an issue that commonly needs clarification is that of:

‘How do we define Exposure correctly for a given site?’

The answer is: “A combination of one or more of the above bullet points, all identify for Warranty purposes, that a coastal location represents a higher environmental risk than a non ‘coastal location’.”

The guidance in 13.1.3.2 is to be updated, as the current reference to ‘rain penetration’ in coastal locations is stated ‘deemed to be very severe’. Whilst this is true on many coastal locations, the Wind Driven Rain Map (Figure 1 Chapter 13, below) will show some coastal locations to be a lessor exposure to wind driven rain e.g. Southend on Sea or ‘Moderate’ Ramsgate, Whitby or Aberdeen.

Figure 1: Map showing exposure to wind-driven rain categories

The issue here is that although the Wind Driven Rain Map is a useful guide to the exposure to ‘wind driven rain’, it is not a method to determine the level of environmental exposure for the other factors, such as:

• High winds coming in land from the sea, with no shelter from hills or other buildings.
• Corrosive effects from the saline rich wind driven rain – again from offshore.
• Wind driven sand clogging up balconies and other rainwater outlets.
• Higher levels of UV, which can effect finishes.

Even using the more accurate guidance in BS 8104 - ‘Assessing the Exposure of Walls to Wind Driven Rain’ - will still only determine a site exposure to wind driven rain.

Both the Map and BS8104 don’t take into account the other factors, such as levels of UV or levels of saline in the rain. Therefore, they should not be used as a reference to accepting potentially lower levels of corrosion protection to exposed steels, or for coatings to finishes having a lower standard or not requiring more regular maintenance.

Conclusion

Where a development is within 5km of the shoreline, the construction is considered to be exposed to aggressive environmental issues, causing the durability of materials in these locations to be at more risk.

Reference to exposure maps for ‘wind driven rain’ should not be used to identify exposure to all the environmental factors associated with a Coastal location.

Sub note regarding identifying sites for Wind Driven Rain:

BS 8104 is a very useful tool for identifying exposure to wind driven rain in the following examples:

• A number of sites shown within a coastal location and on the Wind Driven Rain Map appear to be in a ‘Very Severe’ Exposure Zone, have actually been proven using the more accurate method in BS 8104 to be in a moderate location (due to shelter from the landscape/orientation, etc.) This however only tells us that perhaps a checked rebate to the window and door openings are not required, or larger overhangs at verges/eaves may not be required.
• In-land sites such as a regional or local airports, located in open raised locations, can be, according to the Wind Driven Rain Map, in a Moderate area, but according to BS 8104 and ‘local experience’, could in fact be in a more exposed location.

The above information has been taken from Premier Guarantee (link).

With respect to Siderise products we would recommend that when used in exposed conditions with high saline content that stainless steel fixing brackets are used.

For further advice, please contact Technical Services.