We won and started the massive dividing fire wall for Hallmark cards March 2018 and started it that same month.

It was a job we had to start very quickly as the main contractor had been let down by the originally assigned company.

Our objective on paper was simple, set out and install a 70mm C stud fire wall on the top of an existing brick wall to separate on side of the factory from the other.

However, this was far from simple as the brick wall was set between existing steel columns that ran full height from floor to ceiling (up to 8m High ) and had enclosed bays of 3m wide. We therefore had to line the stud work not only with the block wall and the vertical steel work but also with the horizontal steel head that runs from one end of the building to the other spanning around 70 Linear Meters. Working at such great height off scissor lifts with large C section double boxed stud work and 15mm Fireline plaster boards is hard going.

We worked on the basis that we could only line the wall up with each bay against the vertical steels and then set to work designing a box section to wrap around the steel head at the roof line of the building. We built this box section using a mix of Track and Top hat MF5.

We then had to insulate around the steels and double fire line board with 15mm British Gypsum fire boards to achieve a 60 Minute fire rating. Once the boarding was completed making sure that we had no gaps larger than 8mm we set out to fire stop the wall.

We used a fire rated silicone mastic for around the steels and then our team set about the massive task of taping and filling every joint, screw head and gap they could find on both sides of this massive 750M2 fire wall. Once filled it was sanded down for a paint finish although the client decided against painting the factory wall against our advice.

We always advise to paint all naked plaster board products as they can discolour and even warp during warm or cold spikes in the weather.

Our client was extremely happy with the finished product, the fact we brought it in on budget and on time. Given the 8 week time scale we had to work with was extremely tight but the at British PPR Solutions did a fantastic job.