[TheForge] OT building cladding question

[Walter]

The cladding didn't burn, it was the insulation that was built into the 
cladding.  The chose cladding that was not recommended for anything over 
3 stories (I think) and had less fire resistance.   Purely an economic 
decision.   In my state (Ohio), I don't believe that cladding would pass 
our code but not all states use the same code.


On 6/30/2017 5:04 PM, terry l. ridder wrote:
> hello
>
> On june 24th, 2017 a 24 story apartment build burned in London, UK. The
> cladding on the building is being cited as part of the cause for the
> fire.
>
> The cladding was a foam core between aluminium. aluminium melts at 1220
> degree Fahrenheit. numerous reports are saying that the aluminium
> cladding was used instead of more expensive zinc cladding. Zinc melts
> at 787 degrees Fahrenheit. Zinc when burned created clouds of zinc oxide
> smoke which if inhaled lead to heavy metal poisoning. I do not know
> about aluminium burning. The same reported state that the zinc cladding
> would have been more fire resistant than the aluminium cladding.
>
> this seems opposite of what the physical characteristics of the metals
> would imply. With the Zinc melting at a lower temperature it would
> appear that the fire would spread easier.
>
> anyone have any knowledge of these metal clad cladding for buildings?
>
>