Fire Rated Walls

The BCA includes requirements for fire performance of walls and ceilings to help ensure occupant safety in the event of a fire. Gyprock has developed a broad range of fire rated systems to help specifiers and builders meet the BCA requirements with confidence.

BCA Requirements

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Class 1 and 10 Buildings

For Class 1 and 10 buildings which are typically standalone single dwellings or townhouses, row houses or terraces requirements for fire safety are covered in Part 3.7 of BCA Volume 2.

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Class 2 to 9 Buildings

All other building classes including multi-residential and commercial buildings are covered in the BCA Volume 1 which in part requires:

Systems must provide protection from the spread of fire (wherever required by the building class and/or boundary setback)
Provide an FRL of not less than 30/--/--
Be of non-combustible construction if type A & type B construction as defined by the BCA is required. Type C construction may be combustible i.e. timber framing
Systems providing vertical or lateral support to other fire rated elements must have equivalent or greater FRL
Systems must meet BCA C1 – fire resistance and stability
Systems must meet BCA C2 – compartmentalisation and separation
Systems must meet BCA C3 – protection of openings

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Construction in Bushfire Prone Areas

AS 3959-2009 Construction of Buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas, cover requirements for residential buildings in bushfire areas:

Applicable to class 1 & class 10 buildings in designated bushfire prone areas
Materials and systems to meet Australian Standard and State Bushfire Authority construction and performance requirements
BAL (Bushfire Attack Level) classification range is applied to each area of:
- BAL-Low
- BAL 12.5
- BAL 19
- BAL 29
- BAL 40
- BAL-FZ (flame zone)

Site bushfire risk level is usually determined by a formal Bushfire Risk Assessment or Bushfire Report typically prepared by a suitably qualified bushfire consultant.

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Gyprock Fire Rated Systems

Gyprock have considerable experience in developing systems to meet the fire requirements of the BCA and that are suitable for use in bushfire prone areas.

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Class 1 and 10 Buildings

For Class 1 and 10 buildings Gyprock has developed Boundary Wall Systems suitable for use where a building is within 900m of the allotment boundary or within 1800m of a residence on an adjacent allotment. Gyprock Boundary wall systems are suitable for attached and detached dwellings where access is restricted or non-concurrent development is required. Gyprock Party Wall Systems are ideal for use to provide fire separation between attached dwellings.

Gyprock also has a broad range of non-combustible products that are suited for use with wall and ceiling systems in bushfire prone areas. Cemintel also offers a range of external cladding systems for bushfire zones.

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Class 2 to 9 Buildings

For Class 2 to 9 buildings including multi-residential and commercial buildings Gyprock fire performance solutions include: StrataWall™, Shaft Wall, and Cinema Wall.

Each system can be customised to provide the exact level of fire performance required and a range of acoustic and thermal performance to meet each specific application.

These are supported by a range of supplementary products and accessories such as CSR Fireseal and Silencer F.

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Other Considerations

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The Gyprock range of fire resistant plasterboard includes; Fyrchek™, Fyrchek™ MR, EC08™ Complete and EC08™ Extreme. Each of these products can be used to enhance the fire performance of walls and ceilings in areas such as kitchens, school laboratories and specialist applications where the risk of fire is a concern.