ALUMINIUM COMPOSITE CLADDING FIRE RISKS
COUNTRY WIDE AUDITS OF ALUMINIUM CLADDING
In recent years the serious fire risk of aluminium composite cladding (ACP) has become more evident. Country wide audits of aluminium cladding in various buildings have begun to try ensure buildings are compliant with current guidelines and legislation.
See our steps and information below to understand more about aluminium composite cladding, or alternatively, if you already know your cladding needs replacing, contact us or visit our page to discover how we can assist you in calculating the area of your facade that requires refurbishment.
Read our steps to follow
Get your ACP surveyed.
WHAT IS ALUMINIUM COMPOSITE CLADDING?
Aluminium composite cladding, or aluminium composite panels (ACPs), are flat panels that are made of two thin aluminium sheets and a core made of a non-aluminium material. The core of an aluminium composite cladding panel is often flammable, containing polyethylene and if the core of one panel catches fire, the cladding can act as a “chimney” allowing the fire to quickly spread upwards. This causes fast, very dangerous, fires that can claim entire buildings or take lives quickly.
WHY IS ALUMINIUM COMPOSITE CLADDING A PROBLEM FOR BUILDING OWNERS?
After the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire claimed numerous lives in 2017 it was discovered that the fire may have been far less severe if the cladding had not assisted the spread of the fire. Plans to implement aluminium cladding audits throughout Australia commenced to prevent a similar tragedy from re-occuring.
Each state/territory government has implemented an audit plan which include site inspections by qualified fire services, desktop reviews and comprehensive assessments of dangerous buildings. Some states such as QLD and NSW have changed legislation around the use of aluminium composite panels (ACP) with severe repercussions for non-compliant building owners.Realserve can help you by outlining exactly how much cladding needs replacing after an audit of your building has been done.
HOW CAN YOU GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COMPLIANT COMPOSITE CLADDING?
Follow the links below for more information about what the various State or Territory Governments are doing about non-compliant composite cladding:
NSW – New South Wales Government – Fire Safety and External Wall Cladding Taskforce
SA – Government of South Australia – Department for Planning Transport and Infrastructure
WA – Government of Western Australia – Department of Mines industry regulation and safety
TAS – Tasmanian Government – Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) Department of Justice
STEPS TO SOLVING COMPOSITE CLADDING ISSUES
Aluminium composite cladding, or aluminium composite panels (ACPs), are flat panels that are made of two thin aluminium sheets and a core made of a non-aluminium material. The core of an aluminium composite cladding panel is often flammable, containing polyethylene and if the core of one panel catches fire, the cladding can act as a “chimney” allowing the fire to quickly spread upwards. This causes fast, very dangerous, fires that can claim entire buildings or take lives quickly.
1. Talk to someone about your building
If you are a building owner, you will need to contact the following people to talk about the potential of your building having dangerous cladding;
- Local Council
- Local Fire Services / Fire Safety Engineer
2. Get a building audit completed
3. Confirm the area of non-compliant cladding.
After receiving an audit you will want to confirm the exact square meterage of your flammable ACP. With the exact area of dangerous cladding measured you know precisely what amount of compliant cladding is required.
At Realserve, we can work with you to find this exact area with an Existing Conditions Elevation Survey that can measure any building and represent it on a 2D drawing so you can easily understand the exact measurements of dangerous cladding. The information provided will allow your architect being working on a potential redesign or refurbishment plan for the building’s facade.
Below is an example of a 3D scan we produced of a building. This can then be made into a 2D plan to show you all the measurements you require.
4. Replace the facade cladding
