Timber and concrete upper floors

6.4.4Fire spread

Adequate fire resistance and fire stopping shall be provided by floors between homes and at penetrations. Upper floors shall be constructed to ensure structural timber is located away from heat sources.

Floors and ceilings should:

  • comply with the relevant building regulations and Technical Requirement R3
  • be in accordance with the design
  • have adequate fire stopping
  • be able to resist the passage of smoke when the fire stopping has been installed.

Ceilings should not be perforated, e.g. for downlighters, unless it can be shown that the floor construction achieves the required fire resistance. Where downlighters are incorporated in a ceiling, they should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Timber

To counteract fire spread:

  • combustible material should be kept away from heat sources
  • structural timber should be separated from sources of heat in accordance with Chapter 6.8 ‘Fireplaces, chimneys and flues’.