Steel frames can withstand the heat.

Although no home can be completely safe from the devastation caused by fires, in particular bush fires, there are ways to help protect your home from these devastations and make it as fire-resistant as possible. This resistance all starts with the right building frame – a steel building frame.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT BUILDING MATERIALS TO INCREASE THE FIRE RESISTANCE OF YOUR HOME or BUILDING MATERIALS FUELING THE FIRE

Choosing the right building materials can be a life-or-death scenario. As much as the aesthetic choices for our fixtures and fittings are important, they do not compare to the importance of the building materials you use for your home – specifically your homes building frame.

The right materials can significantly delay, minimise, or even prevent major damage to your home. The materials you use determine the impact of the damage to your home and your belongings and therefore the clean-up bill.

According to the CSIRO Division of Building Research, Victoria, there are certain building materials that a house should use to achieve a high fire-resistance. These are:

• steel wall frames, with gypsum board linings for added protection,
• concrete slab floor,
• steel roof trusses, and
• brick veneer external cladding.

You’ll notice that there is no reference to timber materials in this list. This is an especially important note as the ignition point for timber is between 280-350℃ – significantly lower than steel which has a melting point of 1370℃.

Also eliminating timber from the walls and roof are key, because when timber roofs catch fire, the burning rafters can fall into the cavities between the walls and create an intense local fie very quickly – turning the house into a giant chimney and decimating it from all angles in a matter of minutes.

Although steel frames are non-combustible and have a high melting point, they will begin to lose some strength between 400-500℃. The addition of Gypsum linings, that have a reliable resistant to fire, will protect the steel frames and further protect your home and its structure.

BUSH FIRES – HELL ON EARTH

In the event of a bushfire, the goal is to prevent embers or sparks from entering the building. It is particularly important to keep them out of the spaces above the ceiling and below an elevated floor. If these parts of a house are built using high fire-resistant materials, the chances of damage are significantly reduced.

Steel sheeted roofs fixed to a steel roof truss frame simply cannot burn because they are made from steel. What also helps is the long lengths and tight overlaps from the sheeting as these prevent the entry of fire even when embers fall on top of the roof. Cover plates or closure strips do their part in sealing off the small openings at the end of steel roofing profiles.

As for the space below the floor, the ignition risks can be eliminated by building on a slab of concrete laid directly on the ground. Alternatively, for a sloping site an elevated floor consisting of a concrete slab on structural steel sub-flooring can help prevent the damage and loss. These flooring methods also have the bonus of helping reduce termite infestations.

The maximum temperature at the base of a bushfire flame is 1100℃ and its flame tips are 600℃. A building made with timber frames does not stand a chance against a bushfire, while a building made with steel frames and trusses can withstand the extreme heat.

BUILD RIGHT AND BE FIRE SAFE

Understand the impacts of fires to your home and be sure to choose the right materials to make your home fire-resistant. Metframe Australia steel frames and trusses are a key building material that can make your home fire resistant.

Contact our team at Metframe Australia for a quote today and be fire safe.

Resources:
– NASH – Fact File 1 – Fire
– CSIRO – Bushfire in Australia: understanding ‘hell on earth’