Hi guys can someone shed the light on this topic there’s so much misleading info on the internet. Can I mount a consumer unit on plywood and do the cable entries have to be fire sealed? Also what other circumstances in a dwelling is a fire barrier needed?
Yes, of course No If you puncture an existing fire barrier (eg cutting a hole for a downlights in a ceiling that is a fire barrier) then the downlights fitted must be fire-rated to maintain the fire barrier. or if you need to bore an aperture through a fire barrier/compartment then you’ll need to find a method of maintaining the integrity of the compartment. Could be an intumescent seal, or fire foam, etc. Simples!
Thanks guys what do we class as a fire barrier in a house a room bellow a bedroom so fit fire rated down-lighters but what else?
A fire compartment will typically be walls snd ceilings etc between separate dwellings/flats/apartments in a building. The only place you’ll find one in a standard house would be the ceiling of an integrated garage. There is no regulation for the ceiling of a domestic kitchen to be a fire barrier. Irrespective of the room type above. Nor is there a requirement to fit fire-rated downlights in a kitchen ceiling. Most kitchens have single sheet plasterboard offering only 30minutes fire resistance. Enough to escape, nothing more. Fire spread from downstairs to upstairs is usually through that great big fire conveyor called the stairwell.
Thanks bazza so In domestic dwellings if you’re a detached house am I correct in thinking the only place that would require sealing would be the garage situation?
Unless the wall that you have punctured is a fire barrier. That does not occur in a single domestic dwelling. Usually only between separate fire compartments and that would normally be something like walls and ceilings between flats/apartments.