A question that arises with reasonable frequency for STI’s Engineering Services group is what procedures to follow when a large steel panel is installed as a membrane penetration within a gypsum wallboard assembly. Since it is a membrane penetration, which by definition only breaches a single side of the rated wall assembly, this condition will…

Sustainable building practices have reached a fever pitch. Programs such as LEED and Living Building Challenge are helping us to make our buildings greener. Our focus as a society has changed significantly in the last 20 years, and we are witnessing the advent of a new type of construction material – wood. Well, wood is…

A landmark publication came out in June 2019, when ASTM published ASTM E3157, “Standard Guide for Understanding and Using Information Related to Installation of Firestop Systems”. This new Standard Guide is chock full of good information that will help construction project stakeholders avoid many common firestopping errors. The stated purpose of the industry task group…

What are the typical applications in wood frame construction? In multi-family construction, there are two considerations. Penetrations that occur through fire-rated floor/ceilings or wall assemblies and penetrations in non-fire-resistance rated construction that are required to be fireblocked or draft stopped. What products does STI have specific to these applications? For all fire-rated penetrations, we have…

An important criterion for a first-class property environment is the establishment of risk management and loss prevention programs to assure the reliability of fire and life safety systems. One risk management strategy, offered by Specified Technologies Inc., is a program called Barrier Management ProgramSM (BMP). Barrier management entails identifying all types of fire rated assemblies…

The need for firestopping at penetration and joint locations in new buildings is a fairly well understood requirement within the construction industry. The owner of the building may not be intimately familiar with the individual firestop products and how they perform to protect the structure in the event of a fire, but they are counting…

E-Wrap® Endothermic Wrap is STI’s latest solution for Circuit Integrity and Survivability of critical infrastructure in the event of a fire. E-Wrap® is a flexible, high-temperature insulation wrap that releases chemically bound water when exposed to high temperatures. E-Wrap® easily cuts by hand with a straight razer and is lighter than all other competing solutions…

There are times when dissimilar piping materials need to be connected during new or retrofit construction work. Old materials being replaced might be difficult to source or it could be advantageous to use a more economically priced pipe material for sections of the line. Whatever the reason, be it supply or cost considerations, the immediate…