Value-added fire-resistant spray mortar

With the expansion of the Varendonck College in Someren, the existing building was also brought up to contemporary standards. REPPEL was responsible for the advice and delivery of the specific fire protection mortar, for increasing the fire resistance of all floors and the roof structure. And on closer inspection, this product proved to have many more qualities....

The existing Varendonck College building no longer met today's fire requirements, says Jan Hofman of REPPEL. "We were asked to work out a recommendation for increasing fire resistance. Regulations and requirements have become increasingly stringent over the years, which means that, especially in this type of renovation application, certain parts of a building have to be addressed separately. Based on the nature of the main supporting structure, the situation and the substrate, we recommend the right type of product. This ranges from a spray mortar or fire-resistant coating to sheet material. We work together with almost all the leading manufacturers of fire-resistant products and thus guarantee sound and independent advice."

Aesthetic requirement

For Varendonck College, REPPEL recommended the passive fire protection mortar Protherm Light. The choice for this cement-bound spray mortar from Edilteco was multiple, according to Hofman. "It is a very interesting mortar because you can often achieve high fire resistance with a relatively thin layer thickness. So you need less material to achieve the desired result of, in this case, 120 minutes of fire resistance. So that also makes the mortar economically interesting. In this case, a certain aesthetic quality was also required because the mortar remains in sight. That too is no problem with Protherm Light. Finally, the mortar has a fairly open structure and thus also provides added acoustic value. It is therefore the best choice for the college in several respects."

REPPEL made the calculations for all structural components and supplied the mortar to application company Univor B.V. "We are a consulting firm and supplier and leave the execution to specialized companies," Hofman emphasizes. "Here in Someren, the fire protection mortar was mainly applied to the steel plate concrete floors, but also lends itself perfectly to application on concrete substrates. Moreover, the advantage of Protherm Light is that the mortar requires very little water to be sprayed. There are therefore no long curing times, which in turn is beneficial for subsequent activities in the construction process. Finally, there is hardly any overspray or residual product on the ground. A win-win."