IFC Recommended Guidelines for Performing Destructive Testing for Installed

Penetration Firestop Systems, Fire-Resistive Joint Systems, or Perimeter Fire

April 10, 2012

The International Firestop Council (IFC) is a not-for-profit association of manufacturers and users of fire protective
materials and systems. IFC’s mission is to promote the technology of fire containment in modern building
construction through research, educational programs, and the development of safety standards and code provisions.

These recommended guidelines are presented as part of IFC’s educational information program, to assist in achieving
consistency of destructive testing during firestop system inspections. Questions regarding individual product
performance should be directed to the individual firestop product manufacturer.

IFC Recommended Procedures for Destructive Testing

Destructive testing of firestop systems shall be conducted in the following manner:

1. Multiple locations shall be measured within a given application to provide evidence of compliance.

2. For verification of sealant depth, measurements shall be made at all points of adhesion rather than
towards the center of the seal.

3. For systems incorporating integral packing or forming materials, verify proper type, density,
compression, orientation of fiber, and depth.

4. For sealants or coatings applied in joint systems and perimeter fire barrier systems, take
measurements within a 12 inch (305 mm) sample for every 500 lineal feet (152 m), or as

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 dictated by project specifications or client request. Within the 12 inch (305 mm) sample
section, measure the thickness in eight (8) places. Measure the points of adhesion on
each end of the sample and also on 4 inch (102 mm) centers. See Figure 1.

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4

Figure 1

5. For sealants or coatings applied in penetration firestop systems, perform measurements

Penetrations that are nominal 6 inches (152 mm) in diameter and larger shall be
measured in four quadrants, to give eight independent thickness measurements.
See Figure 2.

Figure 2

 Penetrations that are nominal less than 6 inches (152 mm) but greater than 2 inches
(51 mm) in diameter shall be measured in three quadrants, to give six independent
thickness measurements. See Figure 3.

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 Figure 3

 Penetrations that are nominal 2 inches (51 mm) or less in diameter shall be
measured in two quadrants, to give four independent thickness measurements. See
Figure 4.

Figure 4

6. For third-party listed and labeled pre-formed firestop devices, factors including
appropriate fasteners, rigid attachments, and visual verification of fully-intact device may
be necessary at the discretion of the inspector.

In accordance with ASTM E2174 and ASTM E2393 conflict-of-interest guidelines, inspections,
including destructive testing, shall not be performed by installers, manufacturers, or suppliers, or
competitors of any of these entities, of the material being inspected.

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Background Information

Proper installation of firestop systems for penetrations, joints, and perimeter fire barrier systems is
essential for life safety and property protection. Verification of proper installation is invaluable to
ensure correctness of installation, and therefore compliance with applicable code requirements.
Two standards were developed and published by ASTM to provide guidance relative to proper
inspection of firestop systems. The standards are ASTM E2174, “Standard Practice for On-Site
Inspection of Installed Fire Stops” and ASTM E2393, “Standard Practice for On-Site Inspection of
Installed Fire Resistive Joint Systems and Perimeter Fire Barriers.” The outlined inspection
protocol within each standard includes sampling options that allow the alternatives of witnessing
installation of the firestop systems, or destructive testing of previously installed firestop systems.
Often times, due to sequencing on construction projects, destructive testing is the only viable
choice.

While the ASTM inspection standards provide an overview as to the minimum sampling rate for
destructive testing, they fail to provide adequate detail concerning how destructive testing
should be performed. Consequently, there have been numerous inconsistencies in how
individual inspectors have performed destructive testing and verified compliance. For instance,
the inspection standards explicitly require the inspector to compare the as-measured thickness
to the specified thickness shown in the individual test or third-party firestop listing. The as-
measured thickness represents a dry/cured or partially dry/cured thickness, whereas the tests or
listings normally report a wet thickness, which is the required minimum thickness at time of
installation. Under this arrangement, differences in the installed and measured thickness values
are expected due to the inherent drying characteristics of most sealant-type firestop products. For
example, all liquid-applied, water-based caulks or sealants will exhibit a degree of
shrinkage. The degree of shrinkage will vary from product-to-product. The degree of shrinkage
for a given product would even vary slightly according to the type of environment in which the
product is installed. For example, arid environments may produce more pronounced shrinkage,
and more humid environments less. However, with the difference in sealant shrinkage between
climactic zones being only a few percent, the difference does not translate to any meaningful
difference in the applied thickness of firestopping, where typical thicknesses are ¼ to ½ inch.

The geometry of the resulting seal can also impact the observed amount of shrinkage. Surface
tension effects will often produce a seal that is thicker towards the bond lines (i.e. points of
adhesion) and thinner towards the middle.

Since fire testing of firestop systems is conducted on assemblies with fully dried and/or cured
firestop systems, any product shrinkage has essentially been accounted for in the testing. The
assemblies are never tested with undried and/or uncured sealants. However, since a destructive
measurement of installed sealant is impossible for a sample that is going to be fire tested, the
only sealant depth that can be reported in system listings is the wet sealant depth. To allow that
wet sealant depth to be translated into a dry sealant depth that can be used as a benchmark for
inspection of field installations, individual manufacturers typically report shrinkage information
in published technical documents. For the example provided of water-based sealants, this test
method is ASTM C1241, “Standard Test Method for Volume Shrinkage of Latex Sealants During
Cure”. A number of third-party agencies, including Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), report
the volume shrinkage within the listing cards for the individual products.

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