How to meet EI60?

[MobbA]

Currently undertaking a total renovation of a house that will become a smaller apartment building, and according to the fire protection documentation, each apartment must be its own fire compartment with class EI60 against adjoining apartments.

How do you achieve EI60 on existing walls and ceilings?
The house is built with standing planks and has wooden joists.

 

[Fredrik.engdahl]

4 layers of regular gypsum (2+2) or 2 layers of protect F 15 mm fire gypsum

 

[HandySmurf]

It also depends on what type of insulation you have. If you have rock wool in the walls, a layer of fire-rated gypsum board on each side may be enough if your current wall is considered a chipboard. However, fire-rated gypsum is expensive. I have made EI60 walls when I was furnishing the attic. There was one layer of regular gypsum, so I added two more layers of regular gypsum and achieved EI60. If you have three layers of gypsum, it doesn't matter what the insulation in the wall is.
See this page: http://www.traguiden.se/TGtemplates/popup1spalt.aspx?id=1406
If you are unsure of what to do, you can ask the person who created the fire protection documentation.

 

[Mikael_L]

Read this carefully, you will find an enormous amount of useful information here.

https://www.byggahus.se/forum/attachments/brand_ljud-pdf.923396/

At the end, the addition method is described, which works up to certain IE classes if type constructions cannot be used.

Remember there are also sound requirements between different apartments that you must build for.
And that fire compartments are not only made up of walls, but also how shafts, ventilation ducts, penetrations, windows, and doors function as fire barriers between the compartments.
It is probably a delicate task to design and construct for fire compartments; if you plan to do everything yourself, prepare yourself for a lot of work.

 

[Revoman]

Lifting the thread a bit. I'm building a garage attached to the townhouse, so one wall is against my house. The requirement is an IE60 wall against the house. Is it then just the wall, or does it also apply to the ceiling, so you have to put fire-resistant gypsum board all the way up to the roof decking or double gypsum throughout the ceiling?

Is an A60 door sufficient, or does it have to be an IE60 door?

 

[Mikael_L]

First and foremost, I hope you're not eager to take shortcuts, but that you're genuinely interested in the safety of yourself and your family.

Otherwise, the question becomes a bit like "Can I fix the seatbelt with tape without the car inspection noticing?"

If your question still seeks an answer, we need to think a bit further.

The door:
From what I understand, A60 is an alternative fire rating that is considered equivalent to IE60.
Maybe it should be checked, as some new laws in the area came into effect 2 weeks ago.

 

[Revoman]

First and foremost, I hope you're not keen on maximizing shortcuts, but that you're genuinely interested in your and your family's own safety.

Otherwise, the question becomes a bit like "Can I fix the seatbelt with tape, without the inspection noticing it?"

If your question still seeks an answer, we'll need to think further a bit.

The door:
As I understand it, A60 is an alternative fire rating that is considered equivalent to IE60.
Maybe it should be checked, some new laws in the area came into effect 2 weeks ago.

Of course, one wants to do it properly.

 

[Mikael_L]

Until sometime in the 80s or 90s, many rows of terraced houses were built where the fire compartment boundaries between the "apartments" only had protection up to the attic, but not through the attic, so there was either no fire protection at all in the attic, or it was poor, between (or should we say above) the fire compartments.

This has been highlighted by the fact that many terraced rows have burned down completely, as the fire has spread incredibly quickly through the cold attics. Therefore, today the same fire classification must also be applied through the attic space, and many older terraced houses are remodeled every year (i.e., they get reinforced fire compartment boundaries in the attic).

So my opinion is that one should always strive for a construction where fire protection is intact through the entire building structure wherever different fire compartments meet, but also if there are other reasons to have reinforced fire protection, even if it is not necessarily by law, design, or requirement, a true fire compartment.

However, I cannot point out any rule or law that indicates that the fire compartment boundary must reach up to the outer roof, and I do not have the energy to sit down and search for it (this is simply not my problem).

I am, however, quite certain that you do not need to gypsum the underside of the roofing board. I have never seen such a construction, and I have still worked on quite a few houses. Typically, the outer roof consists of metal, tiles, concrete tiles, or something similar which also creates a fairly good fire resistance, actually, even tar paper roofs and shingles provide some fire resistance (as they prevent fire gases from passing through for a time).

I also think that one can take measures that exceed what is required as a minimum, for example, I was careful to make the garage wall facing the neighbor's property so that it met the fire protection class that would allow it to be 2 meters from another building if it also met the same fire protection class (and it wasn't difficult, the wall's construction was sufficient as I had planned it, it was only the window area I had to consider, if I wanted to avoid expensive special windows).

This was not a requirement for me at all, but because the garage was 1 meter from the property boundary, and the then undeveloped neighboring plot could choose to also place the garage 1 meter from the property boundary, without me having hindered or complicated their possibilities for this.

 

[Revoman]

Until sometime in the 80s-90s, many row houses were built where the fire compartment boundaries between the "apartments" only had protection up to the attic, but not through the attic, and in the attic, there were no or poor fire protections between (or should we call it above) the fire compartments.

This has been highlighted by the fact that very many row houses have burned down completely, as the fire has spread at an incredible speed through the cold attics.
Therefore, today the same fire rating is required even through the attic space, and many older row houses are renovated every year (i.e., reinforced fire compartment boundaries in the attic).

So my opinion is that one should always strive for an execution where the fire protection is intact throughout the whole building where different fire compartments meet, but also there might be other reasons to have reinforced fire protection, even if it is not necessarily a matter of law, drawing, or requirement, a proper fire compartment.

However, I cannot point to any rule or law that shows that the fire compartment boundary must go up to the outer roof, and I do not feel like searching for it (this is simply not my problem).

I am, however, quite sure that you do not need to plaster the underside of the roof boards.
I have never seen such an execution, and I have been in quite a few houses.
As for the outer roof, it is usually sheet metal, tiles, concrete slabs, or something similar that also creates reasonable fire resistance, in fact, even felt roofs and shingles create some fire resistance (as they prevent fire gases from passing through for a time).

I also think that one can take measures that exceed what is minimally required, for example, I was careful to construct the garage wall towards the neighbor's plot so that it fulfilled the fire technical class to be 2 meters from another building if it also fulfilled the same fire technical class (and it was not difficult, the construction of the wall was sufficient as I envisioned it, it was only the window area I had to consider if I wanted to avoid expensive special windows).
This was not required of me at all, but since the garage was 1 meter from the plot boundary, and the then undeveloped neighboring plot could also choose to place the garage 1 meter from the plot boundary, without me having hindered or complicated their possibilities for this.

Thank you. I will buy an EI60 door and go with double drywall on both sides of the wall. However, it will be difficult for half of the garage as it faces the bathroom and I do not want to tear down that wall. Maybe use three layers of drywall?

 

[Mikael_L]

If you fill the wall with rock wool insulation and then have double gypsum board on both sides or single fire protection gypsum board on both sides, it should meet EI60.

You might be able to use just double gypsum board, or single fire protection gypsum board against the bathroom, which will be quite close to EI60, and it might meet it as well. That wall does not exist as a type wall. Do you have tiles on the bathroom wall? That certainly increases the fire resistance sufficiently.

But if you have any requirement to follow, "someone" might not be satisfied with deviations from standard constructions ...

 

[Revoman]

If you fill the wall with mineral wool insulation and then have double gypsum on both sides or single fire protection gypsum on both sides, it should meet EI60.

You might be able to use only double gypsum, or single fire protection gypsum towards the bathroom, that's pretty close to EI60, and it might achieve that too. That wall doesn't exist as a type wall.
Do you have tiles on the wall in the bathroom?
That definitely increases the fire resistance sufficiently.

But if you have any requirements to follow, perhaps "someone" won't be satisfied with deviations from type constructions...

Unfortunately, it's a wet room mat. I'll go with double gypsum and mineral wool where it can be squeezed in. Then I'll use some fire protection sealant in the penetrations.

 

[Matti_75]

You can choose to perform the fire measures from one side. A rule of thumb that applies to gypsum from the major manufacturers is that a standard gypsum 13mm has 15 minutes of fire resistance. Fire gypsum 15mm has 30 minutes.
So 2 layers of fire gypsum in the garage or 4 layers of standard gypsum and you're set.
Depending on how the ceiling looks, you might also need to gypsum that, alternatively the wall in the attic and 600 mm on the sheathing.

 

[Revoman]

You can choose to carry out the fire measures from one direction. A rule of thumb that applies to gypsum from the large manufacturers is that a standard 13mm gypsum provides 15 minutes of fire resistance. Fire gypsum 15mm provides 30 minutes.
So, 2 layers of fire gypsum in the garage or 4 layers of standard gypsum and you're covered.
Depending on what the roof looks like, you might also have to gypsum it, alternatively the wall in the attic and 600 mm on the boarding.

It will be a lean-to roof from the existing house so it might be easier to go up to the boarding with the fire gypsum.

 

[Argastesnickaren]

Gotten away from this a bit in recent years.
How much does it matter with OSB or plywood behind single or double drywall?

 

[Matti_75]

[image]It will be a mono-pitched roof from the existing house, so maybe it's easier to go up to the roof sheathing with the fire-rated gypsum board.

You might unfortunately need to cover the ceiling. There is a requirement that fire must not spread from a lower roof. A fire consultant can surely give you an accurate answer on how to design this. It's your and your family's life at stake, so don't skimp.