Fire Upgrade Coating - Case Study

Fire Upgrade Coating - Case Study

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The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is located to the West of Londons City Centre and has a population of over 170,000. As with most London boroughs population density is very high and many people live communally in maisonettes or high rise flats. The boroughs largest landlord is H&F Homes, an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) who work in conjunction with the Council and are responsible for around 18,000 homes.

In 2007 H&F Homes began a decent homes strategy to improve all of its communal dwellings. The contract involved the application of a Class 0 Fire Upgrade Coating and an anti graffiti finish. The Class 0 fire coating needed to upgrade all previously painted walls to a Warrrington Certified Class 0 level so that in the event of a fire the paint that had accumulated over many years could not be used as fuel. The anti graffiti coating needed to have been tested as part of the complete Fire Upgrading Coating System and awarded Warrington Class 0 status. It also had to be resilient enough to withstand daily cleaning and last a minimum of 20 years.

A number of systems were looked at by H&F Homes and after a thorough life cycle cost evaluation easy-on and easy-guard from Urban Hygiene were selected as the best value products for the job. easy-guard is a Warringtonfire (now Exova Fire) certified Class 0 fire upgrade coating and has been tested as a complete system with easy-on, a 20 year life, true permanent anti graffiti coating with a proven track record within a multitude of London Boroughs.

Work got started right away. Urban Hygiene in conjunction with our partners at GoGum began the task of adhesion testing every wall and ceiling cited within the massive redecoration specification. This service is provided free of charge to any customer and a report was produced outlining which walls were suitable for encapsulation and which walls would need to be stripped back. Armed with these detailed reports painting contractors Armour got to work applying the respective coatings.
A base coat of easy-guard Class 0 bond primer was laid down over the existing, soundly adhered paint systems to facilitate an acceptable level of adhesion for all subsequent coats. Following that a lightly textured coat of easy-guard Class 0 barrier compound was applied. This is the principal layer in the event of a fire and is necessary to insulate the encapsulated multilayer paint system from the flames. After that a single coat of easy-guard Class 0 colour coat was applied followed by a final top coat of easy-on, the all important anti graffiti finish. (Combined these 4 coats of paint represent a washable Class 0 fire upgrade system capable of lasting over 20 years and able to withstand everything from graffiti attack to physical abuse.)
Throughout the application process great care was taken not to disrupt the day to day lives of the tenants. Fortunately the water based and solvent free natures of the paints involved meant application could be done with the minimum of fuss. Over the following 12 months the redecoration works moved along ahead of schedule and regular site visits were attended by Urban Hygiene, Armour Contracts and H&F Homes.

All agree that the new standard for homes in Hammersmith is beyond expectation. Day to day cleaning and graffiti removal walls has been handed over to local cleaning teams and tenants can sleep at night safe in the knowledge that their walls are up to a Class 0 fire standard and free from graffiti.

Urban Hygiene wishes to thank H&F Homes for choosing our products, our friends at GoGum for all of their help and Armour contacts for working so closely with us and making our products look great.

About the Author:
Urban Hygiene Ltd is one of the UKs most trusted suppliers of performance coatings and a leading provider of graffiti prevention and removal solutions. For more than 10 years, Urban Hygiene has provided award-winning solutions that protect walls from damage caused by fire, graffiti, pedestrian traffic, UV, bacteria, germs and much, much more, as well as formulating one of the most effective and environmentally friendly graffiti removal agents available today.



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