After a fire in a Barking apartment building last year in 2019, concerns about the fire safety of external features and especially balcony and exterior flooring have come to the fore. Here at Alfresco Floors, we understand that contractors, architects, investors, and others involved in the...
Because this blog was originally written in 2020 following the changes to fire safety and building regulations, some information may be out of date. You can find more contemporary regulations for 2022 and beyond here. In the years following the tragedy at Grenfell, and more recently,...
Balconies, terraces, walkways and roof/winter gardens serve a multitude of purposes. An effective external area will perhaps allow for a unique seating and dining area and an opportunity to admire the views. On a practical basis, buildings will benefit from the added space that a decking solution provides. Overarching...
Here at Alfresco Floors we are keenly aware that the system you select to support your external area is just as important as what you choose for your surface materials. This has always been the case, but In light of the 2018 changes to building regulations (which state that...
Since the ban on combustible materials used on high rise buildings and “specified attachments” above 18 metres, architects, specifiers and other decision makers in built projects must make decisions driven by safety. When specifying materials for such purposes, it is essential that they are class A1 or A2 fire-rated,...
This article was originally written in 2020. For a more contemporary look at Class A fire ratings, and how that affects your fire-rated decking, you should read this article. You can also find a more up-to-date breakdown of balcony flooring fire regulations here. In the...
You will have no doubt heard about construction products being described as ‘A1/non-combustible’, ‘A2/limited combustibility’ and so on. But how is this assessed? This blog sets out to give you a high-level overview of how materials in the UK (and other European Countries) are tested for fire ratings, allowing the...
As we are all aware, Building Regulations have prohibited the use of combustible materials in external walls on “relevant buildings” and “specified attachments” above 18 metres (and potentially soon to be 11 metres); these regulations have been in place since December 2018. Despite this, however,...