Fire is always a concern, causing drastic damage every year. In 2014 alone, the National Fire Protection Association estimated that there were 1,298,000 fires reported in the United States, responsible for 3,275 deaths, 15,775 injuries and approximately $11.6 billion in damage. Nearly half a million of those fires were structural, accounting for the large majority of deaths, injuries and damage. But how do you stop a fire in its tracks, either in a new construction or a retrofit? Hilti has been working on the answer with their Firestop products. Let's take a look at the available products and solutions.
Hilti's Firestop Solutions
Hilti provides a range of solutions for specifiers and other design and construction professionals. These resources include one of the most comprehensive research and resource libraries in existence, allowing you to search and filter for the exact situation you're dealing with. They also have available a team of highly-qualified fire protection engineers to work with developing a plan of action for projects that fall outside of their existing library of options. They have a range of continuing education opportunities in addition to their Hilti Accredited Firestop Specialty Contractor program. From curtain walls to cable management, Hilti has looked at potential fire situations and developed exceptionally well thought out solutions.
Obviously, the people at Hilti have spent a lot of time developing exceptional specifications and options for a variety of situations. But beyond that, they've also developed a wide range of products to be incorporated in a new construction or retrofit job. Here are a few of their more popular products.
Cast-In and Sleeve Devices
Whether you need to penetrate a concrete slab or work cables through an existing wall, these devices make it easy to pass cables and other penetrating items through a wall while still providing smoke and moisture barriers, helping prevent the spread of smoke and water damage following a fire.
Sealants and Sprays
These fire-stopping materials can be worked into cracks and crevices, sealing the bottom of a wall, spraying into joints and self-leveling sealant to get into retrofit areas that would otherwise be difficult to impossible to seal. They do a great job of sealing out water, smoke and fire, preventing the fire and related damage from spreading outside of a contained area.
Collars, Wraps and Bandages
Because it can be really difficult to seal around pipes, conduit and other perforations through your perimeter, Hilti has developed a line of collars and wraps to help seal these hard to seal areas. Their collars wrap around cables, pipes and similar materials, providing a ready solution to fire protection right out of the box, while the wrap can be used around oddly-shaped protrusions.
Mortars
Unlike the sleeve devices, collars and wraps, which may hit an end of life point where they no longer provide protection against fire, Hilti's mortar provides a permanent solution to cable, pipe and conduit openings that may otherwise pass fire, smoke and moisture from one part of the structure to another. It can be placed by using a trowel, pumping or pouring it exactly where it needs to be.
Putties
If you need to maintain a certain amount of flexibility in your system, such as the expansion and contraction of water pipes as the temperature changes within, the range of putties available from Hilti provides a great option. Available in rolls, discs, patches and sticks, the putty shapes to any oddly-shaped materials that need to perforate the wall.
Block & Plug Systems
When you're undertaking a retrofit, sometimes the easiest way to seal a perforation that is no longer needed is by blocking it off or plugging it. Hilti provides blocks, plugs, boards and rolls of material that will help seal up outdated pass-through locations.
Hilit Firestop Video
Stopping a fire will help prevent the dramatic losses that may otherwise occur, easily paying for itself when it stops the first blaze. If you need more information about firestopping products, please download our free product guide below.
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