Fire retardant and fabric

Is having fire retardant fabric something that is needed because of bulding code or is it something that is needed because the fabric and rigid insolation touching each other causes a fire?

My understanding is it's a building code thing... Your 'permanent' installations should be fire resistant. That said, if you were to consider your traps/absorbers as decorative wall hangings there is no hard requirement to make them fire resistant (e.g. people hang tapistries and large painings on the wall all the time). So, in a home studio they reside (my opinion only here, and a city inspector may well see it differently) in a grey area of the code. Do consider the effect of fire though...fabric placed vertically can burn quite spectacularly. There are spray on fire retardants, and may even be DIY options out there. Oh, and FWIW, insulation is fire resistant...it will slow the progress of the spread of fire. Cheers Kris

drfrankencopter wrote:

My understanding is it's a building code thing... Your 'permanent' installations should be fire resistant. That said, if you were to consider your traps/absorbers as decorative wall hangings there is no hard requirement to make them fire resistant (e.g. people hang tapistries and large painings on the wall all the time). So, in a home studio they reside (my opinion only here, and a city inspector may well see it differently) in a grey area of the code. Do consider the effect of fire though...fabric placed vertically can burn quite spectacularly. There are spray on fire retardants, and may even be DIY options out there. Oh, and FWIW, insulation is fire resistant...it will slow the progress of the spread of fire. Cheers Kris

THanks. I apprecialte that info. After 4 hours trying to find it locally I gave up. I am tiered of ordering online and waiting 10 days for shipping. I want to finish this studio and record something. If it is going to burn then let it burn! :twisted:

My family is full of carpenters and a few firefighters... This stuff is drilled into my head: the most common use for fire retardant material or a fire block (combination of drywall and condensed fireproof material layered) is an essential part of construction for walls that are not flush against a surface. If you have a fire start and spread quickly through that wall, no matter if all were safe - insurance company will say that the fire wouldn't have spread and they would have less damage to cover. IE: no money for you... Read some of the reference section of this forum that supports this. Look at diagrams. it's common sense actually.

Cram wrote:

My family is full of carpenters and a few firefighters... This stuff is drilled into my head: the most common use for fire retardant material or a fire block (combination of drywall and condensed fireproof material layered) is an essential part of construction for walls that are not flush against a surface. If you have a fire start and spread quickly through that wall, no matter if all were safe - insurance company will say that the fire wouldn't have spread and they would have less damage to cover. IE: no money for you... Read some of the reference section of this forum that supports this. Look at diagrams. it's common sense actually.

Thank you. I put it up already. I could not find any fire retardant. I looked. There is a lot the insurance company could say to get out of paying. That is just one.

eruss, Check out Eric & John's comments on fabrics here... http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8448

eruss, just remember: fires don't just destroy people, they kill people. Buildings can be rebuilt and stuff can be replaced. People can't. Most building codes (at least the important ones) are about saving lives. --Keith :mrgreen:

sharward wrote:

eruss, just remember: fires don't just destroy people, they kill people. Buildings can be rebuilt and stuff can be replaced. People can't. Most building codes (at least the important ones) are about saving lives. --Keith :mrgreen:

Of cousre my first reaction is.......DUH!! :D Seriously, I agree with all of that but, on this one I called the fire marshall and I am afraid to answer you. When I do I get in trouble bevause I give contradictory information. Maye I should seek advise elsewhere.

You don't get in trouble because you post contradictory information. You DO get in trouble because of your ATTITUDE. :evil: Snide remarks. Disrespectful tone. Sarcasm. At most I'm guilty of stating the obvious, but only because your egregiously ignorant "let it burn" remark warranted that response.

eruss wrote:

Maybe I should seek advise elsewhere.

Now THAT is a proposal that I can support fully. Please let me know if I can help facilitate that for you. (I mean that. As a moderator I'm unable to delete your account, but I'll be happy to ask John to do so for you.) --Keith :mrgreen:

sharward wrote:

At most I'm guilty of stating the obvious, but only because your egregiously ignorant "let it burn" remark warranted that response.

I was joking man. Did not you see the little funny face I put there? If I did not care about the fire stuff then I would not have spent all day looking for it. Come on man. Lighten up.

Here's some useful information... from this site: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a1.htm

Burlap can be made fire retardant either by using a commercial fire-retardant chemical treatment, or for DIY, a 1/2 saturated solution of borax or calcium chloride will provide good fire retardancy. Note that dark colored burlap will probably show white streaks from these treatments. For those who are using burlap and wish to fireproof it there is a company called Flameseal (http://www.flameseal.com) in Texas which makes a spray-on product to fireproof fabrics, its approx. $30.00 per gallon.

thank you google! Cheers, Kris

"When you're walking on eggshells, don't hop." --Sargeant Hulka in the movie "Stripes" Maybe I am being a bit oversensitive towards you, but that's only because I'm raw from overexposure of your abrasiveness. --Keith :mrgreen:

i ordered flamex from natfire.com on monday. received it wednesday. did this a second time after i finished the first bottle. same results.

fire scares the shit out of me

The Station. Warwick, Rhode Island. 100 people killed. If you didn't recognize the picture, Google "station fire warwick" and learn what went wrong and why.

You should be able to apply the fire retardant to your fabric even after your panels are built. You just need to get it really damp it seems and let it dry. Due to the inherent wicking of porous materials, the dampness should make it through the entire fabric. Does anyone disagree with me? I was planning on doing it 'after' my panels were built....

I went with Class A fire retardant fabric from Interfacefabric.com... $19.00/yd (66"wide)... local FD wanted the engineering specs in order to approve it... they did... I sleep more soundly at night knowing I won't have a repeat of The Station at Meow Mix. Good luck and hope you got a good even coating of the retardant you purchased... now take a small swatch and see if it burns... Jon

I don't really care for the spray-on stuff, but I really like my $1.99 fabrics. I think I'll be going for a middle ground: spray down muslin 'gift wrapped' 703, put it in the frames, and then stretch the decorative fabrics over the frames w/o spraying them.

Vertustudio wrote:

I don't really care for the spray-on stuff, but I really like my $1.99 fabrics. I think I'll be going for a middle ground: spray down muslin 'gift wrapped' 703, put it in the frames, and then stretch the decorative fabrics over the frames w/o spraying them.

It doesn't escape me how stupid what I typed is, by the way. :oops: I'm in a quandry about this. I'll probably end up spraying a finished panel just to see if it looks OK. I guess no more burning candles and/or incense. I actually have a couple of green plasma lamps I'm gonna fire up - and my beloved lotus lamps. :D