New research suggests that fire safety would not be compromised if the requirement for national class 0 for decorative wall coverings is withdrawn and replaced by European class C criteria.
The research was commissioned by the British Coatings Federation and carried out by Exova Warringtonfire in response to the proposed changes to wall covering classifications in Approved Document B.
The proposal under consideration would relax the European class required in Approved Document B for decorative wall coverings from European class B to European class C.
In July 2013, the Construction Products Regulation will take effect in the UK and it will be mandatory to CE mark wall coverings and classify them against the European system. The wall covering industry states that in their experience it is virtually impossible to achieve European class B on standard Gypsum plasterboard and where they have achieved Class B it was considered too expensive.
The report concludes: “The data obtained suggests that, for the decorative wall covering systems assessed, if the accepted national class 0 criteria was withdrawn and replaced by European class C criteria then safety would be approximately equal.”
