Every single part of a building plays a crucial role in either mitigating or accelerating the risk of fire. From the structural design to the materials installed, every choice that a designer makes must aim to improve fire safety in order to comply with legal requirements and protect occupants.
When every material matters, why do many ignore the important role that paint can play in fire prevention and containment?
Paint is a key factor of any fire risk assessment, with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England & Wales), the Fire (Scotland) Act and the Fire Safety Act (2021) all outlining the potential hazard of flame spread on painted surfaces.
To combat these risks, Crown Paints offers Crown Trade Timonox – a range of flame-retardant paint solutions that slow the spread of fire by providing an effective barrier against flame and heat release.
In an industry where every material choice matters, NBS spoke to Kathryn Tormay, Head of Product at Crown Paints, to see how this exciting range can make a real difference to the safety of building occupants with just a few strokes of a brush…
Evolving fire safety standards
Fire safety regulations and expectations are continually changing as our industry gains a better understanding of historic building practices and material choices. Identifying materials or design habits which increase the risk of fire is, therefore, vital to developing safer approaches.
Crown Trade Timonox is a clear example of this idea in action. Multiple layers of conventional decorative paint can act as fuel that feeds the development and spread of fire. Timonox solves this issue head-on with its flame-retardant properties. Unlike standard paints, Timonox actively slows down the spread of fire, granting valuable extra time for evacuation and firefighting efforts.
Each formulation in the Timonox range has been subjected to one of the most extensive and detailed test programmes, and is constantly being reviewed and updated, maintaining its status as the longest-established flame-retardant coating solution for walls and ceilings in the UK market.
The Crown Trade Timonox range
Improving fire safety doesn’t mean compromising on aesthetics or quality. The Timonox range has everything that you’ll need, from basecoats to topcoats and primers. All are available for tinting in a range of over 30 000 shades.
Highlights of the range include:
- Prime with confidence: lay the best foundations for your paint, even in tricky areas where prior decoration has caused adhesion issues, by using Crown Trade Timonox Bonding Primer.
- Combine style and safety: Crown Trade Timonox Vinyl Matt and Crown Trade Timonox Acrylic Eggshell are decorative, flame-retardant coatings for use on walls and ceilings, specially formulated for use on new non-combustible surfaces and previously painted non-combustible surfaces.
- Complete protection: Crown Trade Timonox Clear Top Coat, used over Timonox Acrylic Eggshell, acts as a sacrificial anti-graffiti glaze, which provides additional protection and durability – making it ideal for use in communal areas.
- When durability matters: with a scrubbable matt finish, Crown Trade Timonox Scrubbable Matt is one of the more premium products in the range, and is perfect in high-friction applications such as hospitals thanks to its durable, scrub-resistant surface.
- Minimize the risk from historic decorative coatings: add an additional layer of protection in areas where previous decorations pose a higher risk by using the Crown Trade Timonox Upgrade Basecoat. When exposed to fire, the product expands to form a protective layer, preventing the flames from reaching any potentially flammable paint layers underneath.
- Tackle graffiti and fire risk in one package: the Crown Trade Timonox Anti-Graffiti Flame Retardant Glaze and Activator form a two-pack system that provides flame-retardant surfaces from which graffiti and other soiling can easily be removed. These products are 100% solid, solvent-free, high-eggshell and flame-retardant for use over Crown Trade Timonox Vinyl Matt.
How to use flame-retardant paint effectively on your project
Choosing the best product for your project depends on whether you’re working on a new building or an existing one. With new buildings, all you have to do is choose appropriate Crown Trade Timonox products that meet your aesthetic requirements.
Upgrades, renovations or refits pose more of a challenge. One option when upgrading is to remove existing coatings to reveal a non-combustible surface, especially where adhesion has been problematic. At this point, Timonox should be applied (and reapplied for future redecoration) to prevent a further cycle of fire performance degradation.
If the existing coatings are sound, you may be able to achieve the required fire rating simply by applying a Timonox flame-retardant overcoating system. Depending on the coating history, a higher-performing Timonox upgrade system may be necessary.
Furthermore, continually building up thicker and thicker layers of standard decorative products is not advisable in building escape routes, and the Timonox range can help you break the cycle of increasing risk.
Supporting specifiers with fire safety
Every specifier knows that fire safety is important, but navigating all of the changes to fire safety standards, product data and certification can be daunting.
The Crown Paints team will happily assist specifiers with everything from initial assessments to product selection and application, all to ensure that you choose a Timonox system that meets the unique requirements of your project.
Crown Paints provide evidence of independent testing which ensures that products meet legislation and BS and Euroclass testing, offering peace of mind to specifiers and building owners. This important product data can be inspected in NBS Source or added to your NBS Chorus specification with ease.
Want to learn more about how paint can prevent fires?
Engage with Crown Paints’ RIBA-approved CPD Understanding Fire Risks Associated with Interior Coatings. It covers: health; safety and wellbeing; and legal, regulatory and statutory compliance from the RIBA core curriculum. It explores the science behind paint and fire, legislation, and how specifiers can mitigate risks.
Raise fire safety standards with Crown Trade Timonox
Fire safety is an incredibly important topic for everyone in construction. Crown Paints, in addition to supporting specifiers, also provides bespoke fire safety and regulation ‘Toolbox Talks’ to contractors, giving them the information that they need to use the product range safely.
Anyone committed to reducing the risk of fire in a building can get support from the brand. From flake analysis to pre-application assessments and paint adhesion testing, the team provides resources to ensure that any chosen Crown Trade Timonox system is accurately tailored to a property's unique needs.
When it comes to protecting a property and its occupants from the potentially devastating effects of fire, Crown Trade Timonox provides the ideal solution for reliable, compliant and effective flame-retardant paint solutions.
Explore Crown Trade Timonox via NBS Source or visit the brand’s website to learn more.
