About Cori-Seal Systems Ltd
Cori-Seal Systems Ltd was founded by Steve Cunningham, owner of Thameside Fire Stopping Ltd.
The issue of missing smoke plugs in the inner perforated lining sheets which Cori-Seal Systems Ltd is the solution, was first discovered by Steve Cunningham back in 2015 when Thameside was invited to survey a school to clarify compartmentation along the fire walls, which was highlighted in the schools fire strategy plan.
Thameside first noticed the inner perforated lining trays going across the ceiling of the library of the school, then into the assembly hall, corridors and classrooms throughout the school building.
Upon further inspection it was noticed that only the exposed trapezoidal gaps had been fire stopped, meaning that only 50% had been protected from smoke therefore the other 50% had not been fire stopped, which allowed smoke to flood through the internal gaps, dropping down into the corridor as it is cooling due no fire stopping or smoke plugs being installed along the stray lengths above the ceiling. These smoke plugs should have been installed during construction at time of build as explained in “How It Works”.
After the above was identified and following a number of meetings, Steve shares the in-house tests he considered and completed. These are laid out below.
Steve originally considered a solution of smoke chimneys mechanically exhausted through the roof, with insulation into the inner deck. This was rejected, not only because of the cost of installation and maintenance but also included a thought of cutting holes into the roof.
Steve thought about venting from the side walls mechanically, but the runs from the corridor to the existing outside walls is usually a long distance, again, this would be costly due to the installation process.
Realising the above proposals would not work, Steve rebuilt the test set as per manufactures details, (excluding the recommended smoke plugs), where the majority of buildings he identified were missing). Steve drilled two small holes in one side of the steel sections and injected PU foam. The following day the “Concept Colt 4 “smoke machine was run to demonstrate how ineffective this method was. The only benefit to this test was a slight slowing of the smoke spread.
Following this, a further two holes were drilled on the reverse side of the fire wall, with PU foam injected, he then recreated the above test which gave the same outcome but it also lifting the mineral fibre insulation on top of the trapezoidal, this left more air voids allowing increased smoke to enter.
Further tests Steve wished to have carried out but knew they would not work from his experience were as follows:
- Underscoring the steel with a Fireline board. There are hundreds of drop rods in the ceiling to cut and patch around, therefore is not cost effective and is time consuming (manufactures are adamant that no one should drill into the steel as it could cause premature failure for any loading to the roof and installers should only use the designated fixing points).
- Fire curtains draped around and pinned to the edges, this would cause curtain sag and is impractical due to the drop rods.
- Steve then considered applying intumescent paint, however it was clear that the paint is not designed for cold rolled steel. Plus, the fact the aesthetical paint covering is a polyurethane based material, and would simply not adhere to the material.
- Cementous / flock/ fibre fire retardant spray, these are all breathable so would not control the smoke spread and are held in place with wire netting, hanging to the ceiling using fixings going against the manufacture’s recommendations.
The only method Steve found to be cost effective, efficient and fast track with little to no disruption to surrounding materials and persons was the Cori-Seal system.
Cori-Seal System was tested, with the same set up as per manufactures details, then filling the exposed trapezoidal gaps with fire batt and sealed with mastic. Steve applied by hand, a single coat of Cori-Seal Systems material along the perforations to a regulated depth, this allowed an amount of Cori-Seal material to pass through the perforations and harden both externally and internally, this acted as a protection to both the front and rear of the deck perforations from heat transfer and smoke ingress.
To test the smoke control for the Cori-Seal method, Steve carried out an in-house test videoed for verification of the process, where he recreated an empty corridor with a room to either side and a glass panel front (to show what is going on in the chambers). He then filled the two smaller rooms with smoke to show natural progression of the smoke passing above empty trapezoidal, this demonstrated how smoke drops through the perforations. He then filled the trapezoidal with PU foam to demonstrate if there was smoke ingress into the corridor, following this, intumescent foam was installed and tested then the final test of apply the Cori-Seal this final method proved the most effective, no smoke flooded into the means of escape and gave what was originally intended – A smoke free corridor.
Cori-Seal Systems Ltd is an extremely fast track, one layer application (two if you want pressure testing), it is a quiet process, with limited disruption to the school activities at just a fraction of the cost with zero maintenance requirements.
To listen to Steve talk about his history and time within the industry, go to his podcast on:
Fire & Smoke Control: Our Background – APRIL 23, 2021
To see Cori-Seal in action, see our demonstration video test below. Our test demonstration video using our smoke box is designed to show current sealants in place and how they and Cori-Seal perform on trapezoidal roof beams. In our video, we demonstrate 5 tests:
- Test 1: Empty no traps
- Test 2: FX intumescent foam
- Test 3: PU foam
- Test 4: False ceiling tiles only
- Test 5: Cori-Seal Solution
