Is panel absorbers fabric like "burlap" flammable?

Started by hugo_inside on 11 April 2005. 8 replies.

Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 3561.

hugo_inside11 April 2005#1

I'm thinking of make some panel abrsobers for my rehearsal rooms. but I have a problem. I don't know if any fabric is very flammable. people usually smokes when they rehears... Any idea or advice?? I think there must be unflammable fabric but maybe not too cheap... :roll:

knightfly11 April 2005#2

Most fabrics ARE flammable; in the US, only Guilford of Maine fabrics come already flame proofed that I'm aware of. OThers can be treated, here's one company I have a link to http://www.natfire.com/ You may find something similar in your area, try searching on some of the key words like fire, cloth, spray, etc... Steve Smoking is becoming less of a problem here in the US (more places it's against the law), but fire safety is still very important. For a public facility like yours, you may want to look into using metal mesh for covers on absorbers instead of cloth...

hugo_inside11 April 2005#3

Thanks Steve, in Spain smoking is still not forbidden in public places. I can put "NO SMOKING" but the law forbid me to put flammable materials on public rooms. I try to find a "METAL MESH" or something similar fot covering the panel absorbers. :wink:

External image, not preserved — original: http://www.americanheart.org/images/ImagePicker/12638-inter-phot.jpg

External image, not preserved — original: http://www.kallyn.com/shaders/metal_mesh.gif

hugo_inside12 April 2005#4

Reading another thread I think of another way to avoid flames problem. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=24959#24959 What about Kraft paper? there are fiberglass panels with this paper, what do you think about this?

Recovered from web.archive.org — originally hosted at http://www.ethanwiner.com/density/frk_12_pcs_rear_left.jpg

sharward12 April 2005#5

Are you sure that's kraft? That looks like foil to me.

knightfly12 April 2005#6

That's what is known as "FRK" type rigid fiberglass; a bit better for bass absorption but not as good in higher frequency ranges. It is an aluminum foil AFAIK. You can use quite a bit tighter mesh than what you show, and still not hurt absorption... Steve

hugo_inside12 April 2005#7

If I use this FRK panels on corners and carpet in the fron wall, will I have a good balance?

hugo_inside12 April 2005#8

I found kind of unflammable mesh. The first is metal mesh for rabbits or chicken jails. In spain the price is about 7 € sq. meter. But lloking for this metal mesh I found MOSQUITO MESH. It's made of FIBER GLASS 100%. And is not flammable, and there are 3 diferent colors (grey, black, green) and the price is quite good: aprox 2 € sq meter. What do you think?? Is a good material for panel absorbers, isn't it?

knightfly12 April 2005#9

I answered on the mosquito mesh in your same post in Acoustics; as to carpet, almost ALL carpet is FLAMMABLE; placing it on walls is dangerous, it collects dust, mites, mold, etc, and is generally (even acoustically) a VERY BAD idea... Steve