DensDeck - CPD - What are roof cover boards
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Roof Cover Boards have widespread use in many flat roof situations and yet they perhaps are not as well-known as they should be given the performance improvements they can bring.
The aim of our CPD will be to give you a general introduction to Roof Cover Boards, run through the benefits and show which roofs they can be used on and, in turn, which buildings they tend to be specified on and why. We will look at some testing and approvals along the way and tell you more about us and DensDeck® Roof Boards at the end.
Where resistance to fire in on everyone’s mind
Certain variations of roof cover boards are classed as non-combustible and can offer you resistance from external sources of fire, such as burning debris from a nearby building, or from equipment on the roof like a failed solar panel.
The roof cover board offers an additional layer of fire resistance to the roof in the following ways:
Protection from the fire spread
This additional resistance is centred around the excellent reaction to fire characteristics of the cover board. It means that should a fire start on the outside of the roof and burn through the outer waterproofing layer, the cover board can help slow down the spread of the fire helping to minimise damage before the fire is extinguished.
The same ability to slow fire spread would apply if the fire was coming from the inside of the building, however, in this scenario it would have to get past the layers below, such as the insulation, so it would be well developed and the contribution of the board would be less significant to the overall roof protection.
Heat transfer
in the event of a fire breaking out, heat from the fire transferring from one side of a material to the other is a problem as it could be enough to ignite any combustible material on the other side and start a fire elsewhere in the structure.
Roof cover boards can slow the transfer of heat where, for example, a fire has started on the outside of the roof. The heat from the fire rather than direct flames can be enough to ignite any combustible materials below.
Cementitious boards are made of non-combustible materials and can offer additional resistance over those that are classed as ‘Combustible’.
Gypsum core cover boards, contain crystalised water incorporated into their structure. In a fire, the energy from the heat vaporises the crystalised water calcining the gypsum and creating natural fire resistance.