Berlin, NH--Part of the
EMSHIELD
family of products, EMSEAL’s
WFR2 and DFR2 2-hour fire-rated expansion joint seals have
been installed throughout the newly constructed BERLIN FEDERAL PRISON
in Berlin, NH.
As is common with prison construction, large panel concrete walls and
floors are built and assembled with expansion gaps which need to be
filled with a movement-capable expansion joint that must be fire-rated.
Typical installation of multiple materials to seal, bridge and fire-rate
joints is inefficient and often ineffective. Fire-blankets that require
to be installed from the underside of floors require utility lift
equipment for access. Wiring, plumbing and mechanical components often
prevent access to the mounting surfaces needed for the fire-blanket
flanges, and split-columns interrupt the run of the fire-blankets
causing a breach in the life-safety barrier.
The prison construction board whole-heartedly approved the choice of
both EMSHIELD
WFR2 and
DFR2 from EMSEAL. Installed entirely from above the floor slabs
it required no special access equipment. Because the joints when
accessed from above are unobstructed by the work of other trades, a
straight shot installation was possible and the material could be
installed continuously through the split columns thereby ensuring
continuity of the fire barrier.
WFR2 will handle the expansion movement of the interior concrete walls
and provide the 2-hour UL certified fire-rating that prisons demand. It
also provides a watertight seal when watertightness is
needed such as in cleaning or wet exposure. The same holds true for the
trafficked floors with DFR2.
And, if watertight, airtight, fire-rated, and able to handle joint
movement are not enough, the
EMSHIELD systems also feature a
Sound
Transmission Class of STC 62 and an Outdoor Indoor Transmission Class of
OITC 52.
This means that interior and exterior noise that might otherwise have
got through the expansion joints will be blocked as effectively or
better than the concrete walls themselves.
In the end EMSHIELD proved to be the ideal expansion joint choice for
the construction of this prison. The structural expansion
joints on this facility were located out of access to the detainees.
However, the only feature the Federal Bureau of Prisons felt would make
this the perfect corrections facility product would be a pick-resistant
coating.
As a result of this feedback, EMSEAL, introduced
SecuritySeal--a pick resistant, UL 2079 certified, multi-purpose
joint sealant.
|
