Fire Preventative Paints and Coatings
The effectiveness of fire resistant coatings is commonly measured in terms of a 'fire rating'.
Fire ratings or classes are obtained by tests that measure the relative rate at which flame spreads over a given surface and the degree of smoke development and toxicity.
The tests compare the burn rate for a material with the burn rates obtained from the standardized materials, red oak lumber and asbestos cement board. Flammable rates for these materials are assigned values of 100 and 0, respectively, and the tested materials are given values that represent a comparison with these numbers.
For example, a material that burns twice as fast as red oak would receive a flame spread rating of 200. Flame spread ratings provide a general indication of flammability.
Class ratings and their associated flame spread ratings are
Class - Flame spread
"A"---- 0 - 25
"B"---- 26 - 75
"C"---- 76 - 200
Properly applied coatings can reduce the flame spread to 25 or less.
Fire retardant: A fire-retardant material slows burning across the surface of a combustible substrate.
Fire resistant: A fire-resistive material delays heat penetration through a substrate.
One type of fire resistant paint is referred to as an Intumescent coating. These coatings expand or "foam" when exposed to fire and the expanded layer acts as an insulation to help keep
heat away from the flammable surface under the paint.
Hourly Ratings or Fire endurance ratings
This rating system relates to the ability of an assembly to prevent the spread of fire between spaces while retaining structural integrity.
Hourly ratings are only assigned to complete assemblies of structural materials for buildings, including walls, floors, doors, ceilings, roofs, etc. It's vital to know that the hourly ratings have no reference whatsoever to real-time hours in an actual fire and they are NOT assigned to any one single component of a complete assembly such as a paint coating, wall covering or other single building material. Each rated material is tested to endure fire exposure for a given time period and the resulting ratings are measured in hours.
Hy-Tech currently offers several fire treatment "Solutions"
We Supply the Solutions
You Just Need to Apply Them
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