We’ve all seen timber panels claiming to be flame retardant, right? More precisely, what we’ve probably all seen are timber panels, treated with a flame retardant coating. It all seems pretty simple, however there are a few issues with this approach.
“Some Plywood and OSB is post-treated and used in structural applications with no CE Mark applied after treatment which is in breach of the Construction Products Regulation and EU law”, explains David Murray, Innovation Manager for MEDITE SMARTPLY.
“The professional and legal consequences of specifying and using the right product for the job cannot be over emphasised. It is the specifier’s responsibility to ensure the chosen product meets all relevant regulations,” he adds. “Each SMARTPLY FR OSB panel leaves the factory fully certified and fully validated by third party independent notified bodies and with the relevant fire classification and declaration of performance.”
Unlike many post treatment fire retardant technologies which can have a destructive effect on the mechanical or physical properties of a panel, SMARTPLY FR OSB is manufactured using Zeroignition® Solution – a water-based, eco-friendly, fire retardant, therefore has flame retardance built into every panel. Added during the manufacturing process, the solution penetrates into the wood strands to ensure best in class fire performance and enables the product to be CE marked at the point of manufacture.
For applications such as flat roofing, where a torch-on roofing felt is used, the use of flame retardant OSB seems the logical choice. A number of high profile fires have been caused when the timber roof deck has caught alight during application of such roof coverings, whereas a certified, flame retardant variant makes issues such as this a minimal threat.
Now available in panels sizes up to 7.5 x 2.5m, SMARTPLY FR OSB gives you the peace of mind you need. Flame retardant, fully certified, structurally sound; not all OSB is created equal.
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