NZ576937A - Fire Seal for a Wall System Suitable for Inter-tenancy Installation - Google Patents

Abstract

A track member for use in a fire-rated wall system is disclosed. The track member is adapted to be secured to a support surface and receive therein at least one shaft liner. The track member includes opposed, spaced-apart first and second flanges extending from a web. At least one of the flanges is foldable with respect to the web. The track member further includes a fire-proofed element attached thereto. (61) Addition to 574522

Description

576937 ' oieniiies patents PATENTS FORM NO. 5 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PATENT OF ADDITION Applicant: We, CSR Building Products Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Australia of Level 4, 9 Help Street Chatswood NSW 2067 Address for Service: HODGKINSON McINNES PATENTS Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys Levels 21, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000 HMcIP Ref: P20561NZ01 Invention Title: Fire Seal for a Wall System Suitable for Inter-tenancy Installation Details of Priority Application: 14 May 2008 AU 2008902361 hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, and particularly described in and by the following statement: P110NZ 576937 2 Fire Seal for a Wall System Suitable for Inter-tenancy Installation TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention is a patent of addition of Australian patent application no. 2007283456 and relates to a wall system and, in particular, to a fire-rated wall system for use in inter-tenancy installations. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fire-rated wall system that includes shaft liner material that extends between a length of track secured to an upper support surface and a length of track secured to a lower support surface of the wall system. Most particularly, the present invention is directed towards the fire-rated components of the wall system.

BACKGROUND ART Wall systems that are installed in inter-tenancy installations are required to provide both sound insulation between adjoining properties and also provide a so-called "fire-wall" that protects adjoining properties from the spread of fire. By inter-tenancy it is understood to mean a wall that separates adjoining properties in a multi-dwelling or multi-residence property, such as an apartment block or the like.

Conventional inter-tenancy wall systems include shaft liner material that extends between upper and lower tracks secured to respective support surfaces. Each track, typically made of sheet metal, includes two opposed spaced apart flanges extending from a web member.

There are many disadvantages with conventional inter-tenancy wall systems, including the difficulty experienced by installers when installing the shaft liner material between the upper and lower tracks. There have been previous attempts to overcome or alleviate this particular problem of conventional inter-tenancy wall systems, examples of which are described 576937 3 in Australian Patent Application No. 2003200746 in the name of Boral Australian Gypsum Limited and the applicant's own International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/AU2007/001118 (WO/2008/017119).

One other problem with conventional inter-tenancy wall systems and the wall systems described in Application No. 2003200746 and PCT/AU2007/001118 (W0/2008/017119) is that it is difficult to ensure that the wall systems that are installed meet safety and regulatory standards. This is particularly the case for the fire regulations where the wall systems are to be installed as inter-tenancy wall systems.

In inter-tenancy applications, it is required by law that the wall systems must be fire-rated. In order to achieve the fire-rating, a fire-seal material is typically installed in the wall system. The fire-seal material is usually a foamed sealing rod that is installed between the upper frame of the wall system and the upper support structure. When a safety/fire inspector conducts an inspection of the wall system during construction of a building, where a conventional inter-tenancy wall system or a wall system described in Application No. 2003200746 has been installed, the safety/fire inspector cannot visually inspect the wall system to see if fire-seal material has been installed. This is because the shaft liner material installed in the upper track impairs their view. Thus, they have to rely of the honesty of the installers as to whether the fire-seal material has been installed or not.

Whilst the wall system of PCT/AU2007/001118 (W0/2008/017119) does allow a safety/fire inspector to visually inspect the wall system during the construction of a building to ensure that fire-seal material has been installed, to some degree the honesty of the installers must be relied upon as the fire-seal material can be removed from the wall system after inspection. Additionally, if the safety/fire inspectors knew that the builders were utilising materials that were inherently fire-proof and did not need additional components installed to achieve a fire-rated wall system, then 576937 4 the inspections could be performed much more quickly and perhaps less frequently than when non inherently fire-proofed materials are used.

A further problem with using non-inherently fireproofed materials, as is the case in PCT/AU2007/001118 (WO/2008/017119), is that when the wall installers manually place the fire-seal material into the cavity formed between the upper frame of the wall system and the upper support structure, there may be instances where a complete fire-seal is not formed. This may be because gaps may be present in and around the fire-seal material. Thus, the overall integrity of the fire-rating of the wall system may be unknowingly compromised.

Therefore it would be advantageous to provide a fire-rated wall system. This would overcome at least some of the disadvantages of previously known approaches in this field, or would provide a useful alternative.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION These and other advantages are met with the present invention, which in one broad form concerns a track member for use in a fire-rated wall system. The track member is adapted to be secured to a support surface and receive therein at least one shaft liner. The track member includes opposed, spaced apart first and second flanges extending from a web, at least one of said first or second flanges is foldable with respect to said web. The track further includes a fire-proofed element attached thereto.

According to another aspect the present invention relates to a track member for use in a fire-rated wall system. The track member is adapted to be secured to a support surface and receive therein at least one shaft liner, said track member includes opposed, spaced apart first and second flanges extending from a web, at least one of said first or second flanges has a line 576937 of structural weakness running the length thereof. The track further includes a fire-proofed element attached thereto.

Preferably, the fire-proofed element is adhered to the track with thermoplastic adhesive. The thermoplastic adhesive is preferably ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) optionally containing one or more of a tackifying resin, wax, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide or polyester.

Preferably, the fire-proofed element is a foamed sealing rod, which is a continuous 22mm IBS rod.

According to a further aspect, the present invention concerns a method of installing a wall system including the steps of: securing an upper track member, including a fire-proofed element attached thereto, to an upper support surface along the length of said wall system and securing a lower track member, optionally including a fire-proofed element attached thereto, to a lower support surface at least partially along the length of said wall system, wherein each of said upper and lower track members have two opposed spaced apart flanges extending from a web and at least one of said upper and lower track members includes at least one foldable flange with respect to said web; installing at least first and second shaft liners into said upper and lower track members such that upper edges of said first and second track means are located within said upper track and lower edges of said first and second shaft liners are located within said lower track member; and optionally installing at least one separator that extends vertically between said first and second shaft liner means and wherein said separator includes an I-section having two opposing flanges and a central web extending between the opposing flanges, such that a vertical edge of said first shaft liner is located between the flanges of the I-section on one side of 576937 6 the central web and a vertical edge of said second shaft liner is located between the flanges of the I-section on the opposing side of the central web.

Preferably, the method includes the step of securing at least one vertical track member, including a fire-proofed element attached thereto, to a vertical support surface along the height of said wall system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG 1 depicts a vertical section of an embodiment of the fire-rated wall system of the present invention; FIG 2 depicts an enlarged vertical section of an upper section of the fire-rated wall system shown in FIG 1, with shaft liner panels removed; FIG 3 depicts an enlarged vertical section of an upper section of the fire-rated wall system shown in FIG 1, including shaft liner panels; and FIG 4 depicts a horizontal section of the wall system shown in FIG 1.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wall system and in particular, a fire-rated wall system for use in inter-tenancy installations. More specifically, the present invention relates to the present invention is directed towards the fire-rated components of the wall system that includes 576937 7 a shaft liner material that extends between a length of track secured to an upper support surface and a length of track secured to a lower support surface of the wall system.

As depicted in FIGS 1 to 3, which show vertical sections of the fire-rated wall system of the present invention, the fire-rated wall system 1 includes an upper track member 3a that is secured to an upper support surface 7 and extends substantially along the longitudinal length of the wall system 1.

Best shown in FIGS 2 and 3, the upper track member 3a includes a foamed sealing rod 10 such as a continuous 22mm IBS rod adhered to an underside of the upper track member by way of adhesive 18. The adhesive 18 is a thermoplastic adhesive that is supplied in a solid stick that is designed to be melted in an electric hot glue gun. The gun contains a heating element to melt the thermoplastic adhesive stick, which operates all the time the gun is plugged in. Squeezing the trigger pushes the stick through the heating element, ejecting molten glue. The adhesive 18 is tacky when hot, but hardens and stops being sticky in a few seconds. A common material for the glue sticks is ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer. The vinyl acetate monomer content is about 18-29 per cent by weight of the polymer. Various additives are usually present, e.g. a tackifying resin and wax. Other base materials may be based on polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, or polyester, or various copolymers. A suitable thermoplastic adhesive stick is that marketed and sold under the trade name Bostick® 6330 used in combination with a Bostick® HG3 hot glue gun.

The sealing rod 10 provides a fire and acoustic seal, whilst allowing for some deflection of the wall system. Fire and/or sound grade sealant may also be provided at upper and lower junctions where a linerboard, such as a plaster linerboard 11 is secured to the shaft liner panels 6a, 6b. A first shaft liner means 6, including a pair of shaft liner panels 6a and 6b extends between the upper track member 3a and the lower track member 3b. The 576937 8 pair of shaft liner panels 6a, 6b are each 25mm shaft liner panels. The use of separate 25mm thick x 600mm shaft liner panels reduces the loads that installers of the wall system are required to lift at one time. Also, the use of a pair of 25mm shaft liner panels introduces sufficient mass into the fire-rated wall system 1 to benefit its acoustic and fire insulating properties.

A lower track member 3b is secured to a lower support surface 8 and extends substantially along the longitudinal length of the fire-rated wall system 1. The upper and lower track members 3a, 3b are secured to the upper and lower support surfaces 7 and 8 by way of conventional fasteners such as screws or bolts. For example, upper and lower track members 3a, 3b may be fastened at 600mm maximum centres with expanding masonry anchors, such as those marketed under the trade name, Dynabolts®.

As best shown in FIG 4, which is a horizontal section of the fire-rated wall system of the present invention, a first shaft liner means 6, including a pair of shaft liner panels 6a and 6b extends between a first vertical track member 15 and a second vertical track member 17. The shaft liner panels are the same as those of FIG 1. Similar to the upper track member 3a, a foamed sealing rod 10, such as a continuous 22mm IBS rod is adhered to a side of the first vertical member 15 by way of adhesive 18. The adhesive 18 is a thermoplastic adhesive that is supplied in a solid stick that is designed to be melted in a special gun, an electric hot glue gun. A suitable thermoplastic adhesive stick is that marketed and sold under the trade name Bostick® 6330 used in combination with a Bostick® HG3 hot glue gun. The sealing rod 10 provides a fire and acoustic seal, whilst allowing for some deflection of the wall system. Fire and/or sound grade sealant may also be provided at upper and lower junctions where a linerboard, such as a plaster linerboard 11 is secured to the shaft liner panels 6a, 6b.

As shown in FIGS 1 to 4, the plaster linerboard 11 is preferably a fire rated linerboard such as CSR's "Gyprock Fyrchek®" and may be secured to the shaft liner panels 6a, 6b by means of conventional fasteners such as 576937 9 screws or the like. The use of fire rated piaster iinerboard: 11 provides the fire-rated waft system 1 of the present invention with good thermal insulation during the event of a fire.

In another embodiment not shown in the accompanying drawings, the foamed sealing rod 10 is secured to the upper or vertical tracks 3af 15 by a mechanical fastener or other similar suitable connection means.

Further still, in yet other embodiments not shown in the drawings, In this specification, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term: "comprising" has the non-exclusive meaning of the word, in the sense of "including at least" rather than the exclusive meaning in the sense of "consisting only of''. The same applies with corresponding grammatical changes to other forms of the word such as "comprise", "comprises" and so on- INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The invention can be utilised in fire-rated wall systems for use in inter-tenancy installations. More specifically, the present invention can be utilised in fire-rated wall systems that includes a shaft iiner material that extends between a length of track secured to an upper support surface and a length of track secured to a lower support surface of the wail system.

Claims (16)

CLAIMS?

1. A track member for use in a fire-rated wall system, said track member adapted to be secured to a support surface and receive therein at. least one shaft liner,, said track member includes o-pposed, spaced apart first and second flanges extending from a web, at least one of said first or second flanges is foldable with respect to said web characterised in that the track member further includes a fire-proofed element attached thereto.

2. A track member for use in a wall system of claim 1 wherein the fire-proofed element is adhered to the track with thermoplastic adhesive,

3. A track member for use in a wall system of claim 2 wherein the thermoplastic adhesive is ethyiene-vinyl acetate (EVA) optionally containing one or more of a tackifying resin, wax, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide or polyester.

4. A track member for use in a waJI system of claim 2 wherein the fire-proofed element is a foamed sealing rod.

5. A track member for use in a wail system of claim 4 wherein the fire-proofed element is a continuous 22mm IBS rod.

6. A track member for use in. a fire-rated wail system, said track member adapted to be secured to a support surface and receive therein at least one shaft liner, said track member includes opposed, spaced apart first and second flanges extending from: a web, at least one of said first or second flanges has a line of structural weakness running the length thereof characterised in that the track member further includes a fire-proofed element attached thereto,

7. A track member for use in a wali system of claim 6 wherein the fireproof ed element is adhered to the track with thermoplastic adhesive. 576937 11

8. A track member for use in a wall system of claim 7 wherein the thermoplastic adhesive is ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) optionally containing one or more of a tackifying resin, wax, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide or polyester.

9. A track member for use in a wall system of claim 6 wherein the fire-proofed element is a foamed sealing rod.

10. A track member for use in a wall system of claim 9 wherein the fire-proofed element is a continuous 22mm IBS rod.

11. A method of installing a wall system including the steps of: a) securing an upper track member, including a fire-proofed element attached thereto, to an upper support surface along the length of said wall system and securing a lower track member to a lower support surface at least partially along the length of said wall system, wherein each of said upper and lower track members have two opposed spaced apart flanges extending from a web and at least one of said upper and lower track members includes at least one foldable flange with respect to said web; and b) installing at least first and second shaft liners into said upper and lower track members such that upper edges of said first and second shaft liners are located within said upper track member and the lower edges of said first and second shaft liners are located within said lower track member.

12. The method of claim 11 including the step of installing at least one separator that extends vertically between said first and second shaft liner and wherein said separator includes an I-section having two opposing flanges and a central web extending between the opposing flanges, such that a vertical edge of said first shaft liner is located 576937 12 between the flanges of the I-section on one side of the central web and a vertical edge of said second shaft liner is located between the flanges of the I-section on the opposing side of the central web.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12 wherein the lower track member has a fire proofed member attached thereto.

14. A method of installing a wall system of claims 11, 12 or 13 including the step of securing at least one vertical track member, including a fire-proofed element attached thereto, to a vertical support surface along the height of said wall system.

15. A track member for use in a fire-rated wall system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

16. A method of installing a wall system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings.