General Chat

Composite insulation products are very widely used and easy to source from retail such as Wickes to the usual wholesalers. Consequently Hammond's statement on the Marr show yesterday caused quite a lot of people who had signed off on this and that to be vexed. I turned my phone onto silent.

Hammond stated that the exterior cladding used on Grenfell Tower was and is an illegal product in the UK. Not so.
It has British Board of Architects agrément ref 08/4510 with the top level "O" classification.

Désignation of building materials as compliant is an EU competance.

I was pretty surprised to discover
A. That the compliance test was lab only
B. That the tests are surface only not of the whole thickness.

That leaves guidelines for installation and usage. It is clear that following correct procedures designed to prevent flame spread are vital.

On a sunny day in June 1939 HMS Thetis started sea commissioning trials despite the long list of items for correction given by Roy Demetrius Glenn RN snr commissioning engineer. He could not have known that paint within the torprdo tubes would prevent effective closure. The vessel sank nr Birkenhead with the loss of 99 lives 4 survivors. R D Glenn was regarded as a nit picking trouble maker by the builders Cammel Laird.

When money and reputations are on the line preventative safety comes late to the table.