Fire resistant glazing’s appeal grows for residential buildings
Homeowners and developers looking to create safe, stylish interiors where rooms are filled with natural light are increasingly recognising the value of fire resistant glazing, windows and doors.
In the past 12 months, Promat, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of fire rated glazing systems and high performing fire glass products for doors and windows, has seen a noticeable increase in the number of enquiries it has received relating to domestic projects. From doors into attached garages and basements, to large butt-jointed glass screens such as for separating a kitchen from a stairway, fire glass is increasingly on the radar of home builders and renovators.
Fire resistant internal windows and doors are essential in numerous safety critical applications in the home, but that does not mean compromising aesthetics. Decades of fire glass innovation means that fire protection can be incorporated in today’s homes that is barely noticeable when compared to standard, non-fire rated interior products.
The key drivers for fire resistant solutions, Promat believes, are two-fold. Firstly, a growing appetite amongst homeowners to incorporate glass features throughout the home to maximise light transmission and make spaces feel bright and airy, such as by installing glass screens and walk-on glass floors. And secondly, a much higher awareness of the need to consider fire risks in domestic properties of all types amongst homeowners, architects and developers, not just in apartments which feature communal areas.
These factors are making fire resistant glazing an attractive option to customers in the private residential sector and Promat is responding with the development of its range of systems and products.
Cath McLean, Sales Manager for Glass at Promat UK said: “Fire safety has long been a key issue in public and commercial buildings, but until recently in domestic properties it has largely been regarded as a consideration only in very specific situations.
“In individual houses, most developers, homeowners and installers will think of fire risk usually in relation to the door between a garage where it is attached to or integrated into the house, such as with an integral garage, and for doors into loft conversions or basements. But there are many other areas of the home where fire resistant glazing and doors may not only be beneficial but mandatory, such as when building an extension or modifying the layout of the house to let more natural light to flow.”
Promat works with clients to ensure they can overcome new challenges that arise during renovation work, particularly to achieve the required compartmentation and protected escape corridors – these provide time for occupants to evacuate a property and for the fire service to extinguish a fire. The ability to do this safely whilst enhancing the look of a property is seen as a big challenge by many people, but the Promat range provides the solutions needed to design fire safety-critical applications in residential environments with confidence.
Cath continued: “One of the main attractions of creating a bright, airy environment is their power to enhance comfort and wellbeing for occupants. So being able to combine the ability to ‘borrow light’ and meet fire safety requirements in residential projects using the advanced fire resistant products we offer is a huge advantage.”
In addition to glass products suitable for traditional fire door vision panels, and for glazing in boundary windows to prevent the spread of fire between buildings, Promat also provides specialist, fully tested and third party accredited systems. These include SYSTEMGLAS® glass screens, complete with steel, timber, over-clad, painted or concealed framing, and doors which can be beautifully crafted to protect fire escape corridors. Fire-rated fully glazed steel doors including the PYROSEC® Door can also be specified to achieve an ultra-contemporary look.
Promat also offers fire resistant walk-on glazed floor panels with SYSTEMGLAS® Stratum, which not only provides attractive architectural feature but also enables light to be shared between floors. This system may also be suitable for creating rooflights, subject to the building design.
In all cases, Promat’s fire resistant glazing has the same appearance as standard glass, yet it plays a vital passive fire protection role, helping to prevent or control the spread of fire within the property.
To find out more about how Promat’s fire resistant glazing and doors can be integrated into private residential properties, call 0800 588 4444