Fire stopping
Fire stopping seals the gaps around pipes, cables, ducts and joints where they pass through a fire-resisting wall or floor, so fire and smoke cannot travel through the hole. Every service penetration in a compartment line needs a seal tested for that wall, that service and that size of gap.
Typical jobs range from a few seals in a plant room to whole blocks. Newcastle City Council awarded £98,000 for fire stopping to mid and high rise residential blocks in 2024.
- Sheet
- PF-02
- Subject
- Fire stopping
- Scope
- England, Scotland, Wales
- Prices read
- November 2026
PF-02.1
When you need fire stopping
- A survey or fire risk assessment has listed unsealed or badly sealed penetrations.
- New cables, pipes or data runs have gone through walls and floors.
- Expanding foam, mastic or mortar has been used without a tested system behind it.
- Risers have open floors or holes from old services.
- A refurbishment has opened up walls, floors or ceilings.
- Building control or the fire service has asked for evidence of fire stopping.
PF-02.2
What fire stopping costs
| Item | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Fire stopping, mid and high rise residential blocks Newcastle City Council, March 2024, contract value as published | £98,000 |
| Two blocks: intrusive survey, then fire stopping City of London (Barbican Estate), September 2023, contract value as published | £68,370 |
| Fire stopping, compartmentation and doors, one block East Suffolk Council, May 2023, contract value as published | £332,329 |
| Individual seals Collars, wraps, batts, sealants and boards, priced per item against the survey schedule | Per item |
Where these figures come from
Public contract values are the published figure on each award notice, excluding VAT where the notice says so. They show the scale of real jobs, not a rate for yours. Notices: Newcastle City Council, City of London (Barbican Estate), East Suffolk Council. Each seal is priced on the wall, the service and the access, so the survey schedule sets the count; the passive fire protection cost guide sets out what drives the price.
PF-02.3
What good fire stopping looks like
The parts of the job that decide whether it holds up in a fire.
A written scope tied to drawings
Which walls, floors, risers and doors are included, marked on floor plans, so two quotes can be compared line by line.
Tested systems, named
Each seal, door or coating named by product and the test evidence it relies on, and confirmation it suits the wall or floor type and the services passing through.
Third-party certification
Whether the firm holds a third-party installer scheme for this work, and the certificate number so you can check it on the scheme register yourself.
Records you can keep
Photographs of every item before and after, a unique reference or label for each, and a schedule you can hand to the next fire risk assessor or put in the golden thread.
Access, permits and disruption
Who arranges access to flats and plant rooms, hot works and asbestos checks before anything is opened up, and the hours of work in an occupied building.
What is left out
Making good, decoration, asbestos, out-of-hours working and anything found once ceilings or boxing come down, priced as separate lines.
Got a list of unsealed penetrations? Send the job over and get it priced.
Find a contractorPF-02.4
How a fire stopping job runs
Brief
Share the fire risk assessment, the fire strategy if there is one, floor plans and any earlier survey. Say what prompted the work and any deadline.
Survey
A competent surveyor inspects the walls, floors, voids and doors in scope, opening up where needed, and records each defect with a photo and location.
Quote
A priced schedule against the survey, naming the tested product for each item and listing exclusions.
Works
Items are fixed in a planned order, with access agreed with residents or occupiers and hot works, asbestos and permits handled first.
Handover
Photographs, labels and certificates for every item, handed over for your records and the next fire risk assessment.
PF-02.5
Questions people ask
What is fire stopping?
Sealing the openings and gaps in fire-resisting walls and floors, mostly where services pass through, using products that have been fire tested in that arrangement. It keeps the compartment intact so fire and smoke stay where they start for the time the building was designed for.
Can any builder do fire stopping?
Anyone can, but the seal is only as good as its test evidence and how it was installed. Many clients ask for a contractor with third-party certification under a recognised installer scheme, and for photos and labels for each seal. Check any certificate on the scheme register yourself.
Is expanding foam fire stopping?
Only a fire-rated foam used within its tested limits: gap size, wall type, the services passing through and the depth of fill. General-purpose foam is not fire stopping, and even fire-rated foam is often used outside what it was tested for.
What do the regulations say?
In England, Approved Document B expects openings for pipes, ducts and cables in compartment walls and floors to be kept as few and as small as possible and fire-stopped, with pipes protected by a proprietary seal, a sleeve or a size limit set out in the guidance. In existing buildings, the Fire Safety Order requires fire precautions to be kept in good repair.
How long does fire stopping last?
A correctly installed seal lasts as long as nobody disturbs it. Most failures come from later trades cutting through for new cables or pipes. A permit system for any work that breaches a compartment wall is the best protection.
Who pays for fire stopping in a block of flats?
That depends on the lease and the building. Common parts are usually maintained through the service charge; work inside flats can fall to the leaseholder or the freeholder. Higher-risk buildings have extra rules on what can be passed to leaseholders. Take advice on your own leases.
Find a fire stopping contractor
Three short steps: where the building is, what the job is, and how to reach you. It takes about two minutes.
This is a free matching service, not a passive fire protection contractor. We find one who covers your area and name them to you first. Nobody contacts you until you say yes.
Thanks, your enquiry is in.
- Within one working day we will email or call to tell you which passive fire protection contractor covers your area.
- Your details reach that firm only if you say yes.
- They look at the site and give you a fixed price. No marketing from us, ever.