Office Building Material Options To Reduce Fire Risks

If you own an office building that you want completely renovated, then you should work with a commercial contractor who can plan and complete the job for you. You will need to make some decisions though before the contractor can get to work. Picking out some of the basic materials for the job and some other general options is one thing you will need to do. If you are concerned about the possibility of a fire occurring within the building once the renovation is over, then make sure that your decisions are ones that will help to keep damage to an absolute minimum.

Choose Fire Resistant Walls

Drywall

If you are concerned about fires, then you should know that there are quite a few building materials for the walls that are fire resistant. Gypsum board, or drywall, is one of these materials. Drywall is also one of the most inexpensive and commonly used building materials. The drywall is constructed out of two sheets of paper with a gypsum core in between. The paper is a slow burning type that keeps fires in your building from spreading, especially if you opt for type X drywall.

This material also has a gypsum core that has been chemically treated in a way that it releases water when it comes into contact with a great deal of heat. The water is released as steam to stop fires from building for a period of time. This type of drywall comes in thicker five-eighths of an inch varieties. This means that the material is likely to be more expensive than regular drywall that comes in one-quarter or one-half of an inch thicknesses. However, the thicker drywall will offer superior protection from noises. This is ideal if your office building will be busy or if it sits near a busy road. 

Concrete

If you want complete fire protection in your office, then drywall may not be the best idea. You should instead think of choosing concrete tiling instead. Concrete is a material made up of cement, water, and some rock or aggregate material. The vast majority of the concrete is formed from a powder cement material that contains things like limestone, shells, chalk, clay, slate, and silica. All of these materials are non-combustible. This means that they will not start on fire and this makes the finished concrete virtually fireproof.

Concrete also has a low rate of heat transfer. This means that heat from a fire will not move through the concrete very well. This protects the wooden beams behind the concrete tiles from fire. While concrete tiles can be utilized to create the walls in your office building, you should understand that they will be heavier than other types of building materials. This means that the walls will likely need to be reinforced and your contractor may need to place a metal framework along the wall to hold the tiles in place.

Pick Heat Resistant Insulation

Insulation must be added to open ceiling areas and in between walls to make sure that your office retains heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. While most insulation materials must have a fire-resistance rating to be used in both residential and commercial buildings, some insulation materials are made out of combustible fibers that will start on fire if that material comes into contact with heat for too long. To avoid this issue, pick an insulation material made from non-combustible fibers. Mineral wool is one of these materials and it can withstand extremely high temperatures over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Even when exposed to these temperatures, the material will not melt like fiberglass insulation.

Mineral wool insulation comes in both batting and sheet form, so work with your contractor to choose the best option for your office building. For information on contractors, consider websites like http://www.claggett.net.