January 2024

FIRE SAFETY OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL ROOFS FOCUS
The role of the roof in modern building
design has expanded significantly in recent
years. Now ROCKWOOL has published a
whitepaper aimed at helping specifiers and
roofing contractors to consider and plan for
possible fire risks arising from flat roofs
being used as multifunctional spaces for a
variety of social and practical applications,
highlighting, for example, the increasing
number of solar energy installations.
The Flat roofs: The functional fifth façade paper
explores the fire safety implications of modern
multifunctional roofs and discusses best
practices for identifying and mitigating the
risks. It also explains the role of the guidance
provided in approved documents, including
Approved Document B (ADB) for fire safety, and
examines potential limitations of such advice
for non-standard flat roof circumstances and
scenarios. The whitepaper can be downloaded
at https://rockwool.link/ffpr
“While the use of flat roofs as functional
spaces is not a new concept, the practice has
become more and more popular in recent
years, especially in increasingly crowded urban
areas,” explained Lisa Stephens, Product
Manager – Building Envelope, ROCKWOOL UK.
“Now, flat roofs don’t just house plant and
building services but energy efficiency
infrastructure and social spaces too.”
With the increasing complexity of the flat roof
space in mind, this whitepaper addresses the
risks associated with social and commercial
uses of flat roofs, considering implications
such as greater footfall and the impact of
penetrations from building services and cabling
on compartmentation and fire resistance.
With the market for solar energy growing
rapidly in the UK and Europe, Flat roofs: The
functional fifth façade also places a specific
focus on the lack of dedicated guidance for
solar panels despite evidence that their
presence may increase fire risk.
“The information in the whitepaper will help
those involved in the design and installation of
flat roofs to make responsible choices when
selecting materials to enable a modern flat roof
to be multifunctional, safe and long-lasting,”
said Lisa Stephens. “It offers practical advice
to simplify specification whilst going above and
beyond legislative requirements.”
https://rockwool.link/ffpr
TOP SOLUTION FOR PROJECTS WHERE SPACE IS TIGHT
Spacetherm WL (Wall Liner) insulation from the
A. Proctor Group has played its part in
improving the thermal performance, and
helped reduce the heating costs of a 1970’s
building with limited internal space. The
original building, created by the British
architectural partnership Benson and Forsyth,
is a modestly sized one-bedroom flat.
To make the space feel bigger, the architects
created a split level, giving the majority of the
space to the living areas and compromising on the
size of the bedroom. The bedroom, essentially a
little cube, juts out from the
rest of the flat, meaning there
are three external walls; it’s
also partially sunk into the
ground. Above the ceiling is
the pedestrian deck, so
again, no insulation. All this
amounts to a very cold room.
Designer Stefi Orazi, from Modernist Estates, who
lives in the flat explained: “When I first moved into
the flat in 2015, I just kept the heating on in the
bedroom the whole time, but it just seemed
ridiculous to heat a room that I wasn’t in during the
day. And then, during the pandemic, I noticed little
mould spots all over my mattress and wall behind
the bed. I had to do something about it. Properly.
“I started researching different insulating
materials, but because of the size of the room (it’s
about 2.5 x 2.5m), I really couldn’t afford to lose
any wall space with regular insulation. I then came
across Spacetherm WL made
by the A. Proctor Group. This
seemed ideal as it’s only
13mm thick, and you can
glue it directly onto the wall,
plus you can do it yourself
and can download the
installation guide direct from
their website.”
Stefi continued: “The A. Proctor Group were really
helpful every time I emailed them with a question,
and the boards are 1200 x 600 mm, so they are
easy to handle for one person alone. “
Spacetherm WL is a high-performance laminate
specifically designed to be fixed to the internal
surfaces of existing walls without the need for
mechanical fixings. Spacetherm WL consists of a
Spacetherm aerogel insulation blanket bonded to a
3mm Magnesium Board (MgO) for use in
applications where improved thermal performance
is required with limited space. At just 13mm thick,
Spacetherm WL has virtually no negative impact on
floor space, there is no need to remove skirting
boards and cornices, saving time and cost, and
making it ideal for refurbishment projects where
space is at a premium.
www.proctorgroup.com
JANUARY 2024 TC 45