Choosing between Fire Rated Membranes. Which one is most suitable for your next project?
When selecting a door or window sealing membrane, there are a number of factors that need to be considered before either specifying or purchasing. Firstly, is the product breathable? At illbruck we strongly believe that buildings need to allow for the escape of moisture and ultimately preventing the trapping of both damp and mould. By allowing sealing membranes to breathe, warmer moist air can escape through the walls and escape to the environment outside. Of course, being breathable does not have to mean a dip in weathertight performance with the options provided by illbruck, protect buildings from both wind and rain.
Membranes also need to work within a tough, real-world environment, durable, tear resistance cannot come at the expense of flexibility. Without that in-built flexibility, application becomes harder to work with effectively slowing down the fitment of the membrane to the details of the window or door.
One other key consideration is the fire rating of the products being used on site. Are the membranes selected meeting the correct standards for their intended use and are the claims made by the manufacturer matched by independent certification? Again, illbruck provide these products with the required certifications, the two membranes in question, the ME007 and the ME020, both conform to and are certified to a Class-B fire rating (EN 13501-1).
Similarities ME020 & ME007 Fire Rated Membranes
| Feature | ME020 | ME007 |
Fire Rating | Class B (EN 13501-1) | Class B (EN 13501-1) |
UV Resistance | Permanently UV resistant | Permanently UV resistant |
Water Resistance | Class W1 (EN 1928, 2 kPa for 24h) | Class W1 (EN 1928, 2 kPa for 24h) |
Airtightness | PassivHaus standard | PassivHaus standard |
Application | External sealing of windows, doors, and linear joints | External sealing of windows, doors, and linear joints |
Environmental Rating | EMICODE EC1+ (low emissions) | EMICODE EC1+ (low emissions) |
How to choose between the two membranes
The key difference between the ME020 and the ME007 is self-adhesion. ME020 is self-adhesive, designed to adhere to most substrates, ME007 requires adhesion with illbruck SP025. Whilst ME020 is built for speed of application, ME007 when used as part of a system achieves a fire classification of B-s2, d0 (when bonded with SP025). ME020 when used alone achieves B-s1, d0.
Other differences include size and width of product, ME020 comes in 25m rolls (100mm – 350mm widths) whereas ME007 is available in 50m rolls (60mm – 400mm widths). ME020 and ME007 although both designed to seal windows and doors against even the toughest conditions, are there to give customers a choice. The difference between the two offer specifiers and applicators offer choice and flexibility depending on the specific requirements of a project.
Should you need to find out more about which membrane to choose illbruck have a full team of technical experts able to guide you through the process, get in touch with illbruck now.
