Fire behaviour of fire retardant façade covered with reed

19/6/2023

‘When you drive through the polder landscape in the autumn, the waving reed collars with their characteristic plumes forms a beautiful backdrop’, according to the website of the Netherlands Association of Thatchers (Vakfederatie Rietdekkers). The water reed used for thatching is a very sustainable product with a low CO2 footprint.

In various countries, reed is used as a roof covering and gives a very classy and natural look. In the current Dutch legislation and regulations, the roof construction must comply with Broof (t1) according to EN 13501-5. Untreated reed that is used with the screw roof method cannot meet the requirements of Broof (t1) due to the fire behaviour of very open reed stems.

The company Fire Resistant BV, in collaboration with Vakfederatie Rietdekkers and Efectis, has carried out several tests on these roof constructions; Fire Resistant can treat a thatched roof in a fire-retardant manner so that it meets the requirements of Broof(t1).

To increase the challenge (and to use the sustainable reed in a wider field of application), reed is also currently being used as a facade in construction. If reed is used as a facade, the fire class must be determined in accordance with EN 13501-1 (applied as a wall or ceiling application).

Untreated reed meets fire class E. After the reed has been placed according to the screw roof method Fire Resistant can make the reed fire retardant, using their product FlameFix® IMW 475 HP. With this fire-retardant impregnation, this reed complies with fire class C-s2, d0. The tests to determine this fire class were carried out by Efectis.

Efectis would like to thank Fire Resistant and Vakfederatie Rietdekkers for entrusting Efectis with the research into determining the fire behaviour of reed. All three parties want to ensure that the sustainable reed can be used in multiple applications and to reduce the CO₂ footprint in a fire-safe manner.

For more information about the fire retardant treatment, please contact Fire Resistant or Vakfederatie Rietdekkers.

If you would also like to classify your product according to EN 13501-5 (roof application) or EN 13501-1 (wall and/or ceiling application), please contact Efectis Nederland.

For more information, please contact Bauke Knottnerus