The importance of understanding material composition

The Grenfell Tower fire in London on June 14, 2017, was one of the deadliest structural fires in recent British history. Although several factors including regulatory failures, poor fire safety measures, and socioeconomic issues, contributed to the tragedy, the use of inadequate building materials was the driving factor in the catastrophe.

The external cladding used during a refurbishment in 2016 was made of flammable materials and the insulation behind the cladding also contributed to the fire’s rapid spread with poorly installed fire breaks to the cladding. This combination created a chimney effect, allowing the fire to race up the building’s exterior.

The Grenfell tower disaster sparked significant public outrage and led to calls for reform in building regulations, fire safety standards, social housing policies in the UK and general public awareness regarding the importance of using good quality fit for the purpose building materials.

Despite the national commotion, the tighter building regulations and the improved fire safety standards, the presence of unsafe cladding materials in the national architectural landscape continues to be an issue.

In June last year, a row of terraced properties in Moss Hall Grove in North London were destroyed when a fire spread rapidly across the terrace, gutting the properties. The dwellings were built with timber frames from the 1930s to the 1960s and were retrofitted with UPVC cladding panels in the 1980s and no measures to stop the spread of fire. Fortunately, all the residents escaped or were evacuated unhurt however the fire itself and a subsequent assessment that found that hundreds of homes clad in fire unsafe materials in Barnet council alone, sparked a potential new national fire safety crisis.

Composite type cladding materials such as unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (UPVC) and polyethylene-cored aluminium composite material (ACM) are engineered and multi component materials made of an intricate matrix of elements. Unlike more traditional building materials, their specifications tend to be complex and to differ between manufacturers and
therefore suitable independent testing is vital.

Fire safe materials like terracotta cladding are one of the materials of choice for the refurbishment and remediation works of buildings stripped of hazardous cladding materials. Terracotta cladding is a 100% natural material made from a mixture of natural clay and water, which is extruded and fired at temperatures that range between 1000℃ and 1170℃.
This results in the burning of all organics along with water leaving a weather and fireproof material.

Terracotta cladding panels are hung onto an aluminum fixing system that is also classified as non-combustible.

The Argeton terracotta cladding system as a whole, is Euro-class A1 Fire rated and Telling Rainscreens ltd together with SBS by Taylor Maxwell, are the sole distributors in the UK. The Argeton terracotta cladding system has been supplied throughout Europe since the 1980’s and nationwide in the UK since 1997. It is the most tested terracotta cladding system in the
marketplace and it’s one of the go to fire safety compliant cladding systems for the Main Contractors and cladding contractors in the country. It is a safe and popular cladding solution for new builds and recently has gained popularity in refurbishment to replace existing flammable cladding systems.

In the aftermath of the recent tragedies around hazardous cladding, not only have the building regulations tighten to satisfy a system where the safety and the interests of the end users are at heart. Today, architects, specifiers and decision makers face huge responsibility when they design and specify building materials and choosing Argeton Terracotta Cladding makes all the difference and that difference is Telling.