Bad Examples Type 3: Listed Firestops - misinstalled. How does that happen? After all, SOMEBODY has spent real money to buy the right materials - and to have them installed. In some nuclear stations, that little trick can cost upwards of $600.00/ft² installed.... This is not a case of substituting a cheap look-alike for the real thing (although that occurs).

So why would it be put in wrong? Different Possibilities again. Here are a few: Usually, the installations are done by people OTHER than specialist firestoppers. Allowing Divisions 15 and 16 to do their own firestopping is a good way of ensuring that there will be a problem. Electricians, plumbers and the like despise such messy work as plugging holes. Some do it better than others. Lack of training, no site visits by the manufacturer's reps, AND, cheating, unfortunately. All of these and more can and have and still do routinely occur if the proper checks and balances are not in place.

Looks good to you? Well, there are several problems. First of all, the installer neglected to use a mandatory and proprietary paint, to go over top of this common rockwool board (already primed blue on one side). That is not a good start. Secondly, the manufacturer of this product pretends that this wool is something special ('silica wool' sounds sophisticated huh? Like a hamburger sold as a 'nutritional solution' or 'hunger eradicator') (when in fact it has been procured by local manufacturers of rockwool in Ontario and re-packaged) and shows the product in enormously large openings in the literature. But it really is not certified for openings in excess of 0.67ft². Therefore, if one concrete block (=1 ft²)  is missing out of a wall, it is against the Building Code to use this product to seal the resulting hole. The manufacturer (a trader really, since the product is made by a paint and sealant vendor in Ontario) has an FM approval for a hole sized 1.1 ft², but this covers insurance requirements - not building code compliance. And the hole shown above measures about 16ft² in size. This is stretching a code violation into the realm of a felony. Add to that the fact that the product was tested with small, household type power cables. These humzinger cables with lots of copper, conducting plenty of heat in a real fire, represent yet another code violation in here, one that is encouraged by then vendor's literature, unfortunately, which is partially based upon someone else's testing. Sounds like some sort of soap opera? More like 'Real TV'.

Simple solution? Compare listings against installed configurations. How big a hole, how large a tray, how large a 1C power cable, etc. - All of these parameters are spelled out in listings provided by ULC, ULI, etc. Nevermind glossy literature, videos and other propaganda. The proof is in the certification listings, which must bound the installed configuration.

This self-levelling caulking is probably one of the best firestop caulking materials available at the time that this seal was installed. It is certainly not cheap either. It used to retail for about $24.00 per tube, years ago. The owner of this US hydroelectric dam, within which this seal still sits unaltered, used his own maintenance staff to perform firestop work. Actually, it would have worked out, if only someone had turned the dam 90° long enough for this fine material to have cured. Simple solution? Follow the listing, read the instructions, check your work afterwards.

A plastic pipe penetration in a concrete floor. A perfectly acceptable, ULC listed, intumescent filled plastic pipe choke device is anchored at the bottom. Some folks have been found to use plastic or lead anchors, which, of course, defeats the purpose. What good is a rated firestop, on the floor, below the hole, because the fasteners melted? This REALLY happens out there! But here, the problem is obviously that the slab is not straight at the hole. The bottom perimeter of the core broke off when the hole was core-drilled through the slab. So even when the device kicks in and expands, fire can go through above. Simple solution: Grout this in so that the pipe is concealed above the device, or simply, follow the listing (bounding).

Not pudding, but a firestop silicone foam in a wall hole above a fire door. This is a listed product. It works when installed as per listing, as they all should. Problem? The installer made a big mess because he did not watch the installation temperature. This material will expand to fill the opening - within a certain temperature range. Also, there are supposed to be 1" thick ceramic fibre boards on both sides of the opening. Without that, the installed configuration does not match the listing, which is illegal, and in this case, a fire hazard and against manufacturer's recommendations. This type of product is available from more than one vendor across North America. Many installers have neglected to use the proper forms despite efforts to the contrary by the vendors, who make the listings available to all who ask and purchase products. Listings are also considered public knowledge, since anyone at all can either download them or purchase the directories form the laboratories. This particular one even provided a complete application manual with copies of all the listings. Simple solution: Follow the listings (bounding).

Again, self levelling caulking. There was supposed to be a 1/4" thickness of the caulk above 4" of tightly packed rockwool. The packing, however, was all over the place. The City of Mississauga (love them) caught the problem and found anywhere from 1/16" to 1" of caulking. Mississauga forced the plumber to tear this mess out and replace it. Mississauga's secret? Checking the listings (bounding).