Introduction:
Rainscreen cladding is one of the most common façade types used to clad the opaque areas of the building envelopes in both new building and refurbishment schemes. In order to achieve various performance requirements in modern building façades a wide range of materials have been utilised within the rainscreen cladding façades.
In accordance with Approved Document Part B (ADB), cavity barriers should be installed at the horizontal and vertical compartment lines as well as around the openings. In addition to the fire performance, the cavity barriers also contribute to enhance the thermal and acoustic performance of the wall build-up. Cavity closers are commonly used to close the cavities in order to prevent the heat loss within the air cavity due to air movements. However, a cavity closer may be considered as a cavity barrier as long as it meets the minimum fire resistance requirements as per the ADB. In this article, attempts were made to discuss some of the most common design and installation workmanship issues in relation the vertical cavity barriers using real life examples of the author.
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