What Happens When Fireproofing Gets Damaged and How to Fix It

are meant to pro­tect your assets from dam­age, name­ly from flames and smoke. While these intu­mes­cent coat­ings are keep­ing your struc­ture, equip­ment, and peo­ple safe, what’s pro­tect­ing said coat­ings from harm? Var­i­ous fac­tors and activ­i­ties in your work­place can cause your fire­proof coat­ings to dis­ad­here or lose their effi­cien­cy. As such, com­mer­cial fire­proof­ing requires reg­u­lar main­te­nance, just like any oth­er type of pro­tec­tive coating.

So, what hap­pens when your facility’s fire­proof­ing gets dam­aged, and what can you do to fix it?

What to Know About Han­dling Fireproofing

What Caus­es Dam­age to Fire­proof­ing in the First Place?

Com­mer­cial and indus­tri­al fire­proof­ing under­goes dam­age much in the same way oth­er areas of your facil­i­ty break down. When there are mul­ti­ple trades work­ing in your build­ing, for instance, odds are some­thing will nick cer­tain sur­faces and chip or dam­age tra­di­tion­al fire­proof­ing or fire­proof paint that hap­pens to be there. Fire­proof coat­ings can also be removed or dam­aged dur­ing instal­la­tions, pipe replace­ments, and gen­er­al wear and tear over time. It’s impor­tant to prac­tice cau­tion around these intu­mes­cent coat­ings to min­i­mize dam­age, but it’s equal­ly impor­tant to expect some dete­ri­o­ra­tion to occur to your fire­proof­ing so you’re pre­pared to make the prop­er repairs.

The Dan­gers of Dam­aged Fireproofing

So, what’s the harm if lit­tle pieces of fire­proof­ing get dam­aged around your facil­i­ty? Sim­ply put, any assets that lack full fire pro­tec­tion are more sus­cep­ti­ble to harm. For exam­ple, if even a small por­tion of your struc­tur­al steel isn’t equipped to with­stand high tem­per­a­tures, a fire inside your facil­i­ty can weak­en these exposed areas that lack fire pro­tec­tion spray for steel and result in a col­lapse. Steel can lose up to 40% of its strength when exposed to 1,000 degrees (Fahren­heit) of heat; and at 1,500 degrees, steel can lose up to 90% of its strength. This is the most extreme exam­ple of how dam­aged fire­proof­ing can lead to dis­as­ter, but it paints a clear pic­ture of the impor­tance of prop­er fire­proof­ing maintenance.

Addi­tion­al­ly, con­sid­er that flames can do seri­ous dam­age to your assets if they’re not pro­tect­ed, which can end up cost­ing you thou­sands upon thou­sands of dol­lars in repairs and replace­ment costs. Dam­aged fire­proof­ing can also cause you to fall out of com­pli­ance with key fire reg­u­la­tions and build­ing codes — anoth­er major lia­bil­i­ty. And, if noth­ing else, chipped or fail­ing fire­proof­ing can be an eye­sore that tar­nish­es your rep­u­ta­tion and low­ers morale.

The Pow­er of Fire­proof Patching

If and when your fire­proof­ing does take on dam­age, it’s help­ful to know your options for reme­di­a­tion. Gen­er­al­ly speak­ing, fire­proof patch­ing presents the most effi­cient way to restore your facility’s fire­proof­ing, and we at Kaloutas spe­cial­ize in this impor­tant method. Our teams assess any and all dam­age to your exist­ing fire­proof­ing and then apply either a dry- or wet-mix fire­proof­ing spray to match, and coat all exposed areas to quick­ly seal the deal. Keep­ing up with this main­te­nance will save you time and mon­ey in the long-term since you’ll pre­vent severe dam­age from fires, pro­tect your building’s struc­tur­al integri­ty, and, most impor­tant­ly, keep your employ­ees and cus­tomers safe day in and day out. Best of all, our patch­ing ser­vices require lit­tle to no down­time com­pared to a full fire­proof­ing project, so you can keep your oper­a­tions up and run­ning while we work.

Don’t Let Your Fire­proof­ing Fall Apart

If you want your fire­proof­ing efforts to con­tin­ue pay­ing off, make sure you invest in a fire­proof main­te­nance plan. Kaloutas is here to help you keep your fire­proof coat­ings func­tion­al and beau­ti­ful. To learn more about us and all that we do, con­tact us online or give us a call at 978−532−1414 today.