[London based company
The Challenge
Brooksby were looking to secure two large balcony projects. One was a high-rise building containing 396 build-to-rent homes with 1,000sqm of ground floor retail space and 1,200sqm earmarked for a GP surgery in Repton Gardens near Wembley Park. The other was an 894 build-to-rent flats at Nine Elms Park in Battersea.
Fire resistance has become an increasingly important consideration when it comes to high rise construction. Farrat TBF is a very limited combustibility Structural Thermal Break material designed to maintain full structural integrity in the event of fire.
Brian Kinsella, General Manager at Brooksby said about the new specification “Despite being listed as exempt within the updated Fire Safety Regulations (Approved Document B – May 2020). We decided to go a step further and introduced the Farrat TBF as a standard detail within our slab interface design to all our live balcony projects.
Main contractors and developers have embraced the enhanced thermal break detail we now propose as part of our FlightDeck® Balcony system.”
The Solution
Alongside its limited combustibility, the new Farrat TBF material stands alongside the markets best performing thermal insulators, with high compressive strength and low thermal conductivity – preventing thermal bridges from forming between structural connections and mitigating against the risk of condensation, mould or corrosion.
The team at Farrat reviewed their balcony connection drawings then carried out a Finite Element Analysis to assess the thermal performance of the proposed detail to optimise the thickness of thermal break required.
“Fire resistance in balconies has become increasingly important for high rise residential projects. Balconies are a significant element to consider as people seek to ensure safe private outdoor space in their homes,” said Chris Lister, Thermal Breaks Commercial Manager at Farrat.
“Working alongside leading balcony experts such as Brooksby means we can ensure major construction projects such as these are future proofed from regulatory change when it comes to fire safety. ”
Brooksby were successful in securing both projects. The Nine Elms project is currently in process and the project at Repton Gardens is due to start towards the end of 2020.
Find out more on the fire performance of Farrat TBF structural thermal breaks and fire resistance in balconies on our website, download the datasheet, or contact our technical team to discuss future projects directly.
