Automatic Smoke & Fire Curtain Surveying Manual Table of Contents Before the Survey 2 Carrying out the Survey 2-3 Site Survey Further Information 3-6 Site Survey Report Sheet 7-8 Smoke & Fire Curtains Ltd Unit A, Troon Way Business Centre, Humberstone Lane, Leicester, LE4 9HA Phone: 0116 3527223 Fax: 0116 2769152 Please Note: All images, logos, data and information contained within this manual are Copyright Smoke & Fire Curtains Ltd 2013
Before The Survey The surveyor will need all details from the marketing office Site address, names and contact telephone numbers, type and size of the proposed smoke or fire curtain. Time and date confirmed for the site survey meeting; preferable to also meet the client as the surveyor can discuss all issues of the project and get their approval at the same time. Copy of the quotation, not showing the costs but the specifications asked for by the client. Ask if there are any parking issues before going to the site as this will also affect the fitters and their van. Ask if there are any special working conditions, nights, excessive heights, any dangerous work being carried out during our visit, special work experience cards required? Etc... Have you been asked to quote for a smoke curtain but the building officer requires a fire curtain, and vice-versa? Once you have confirmed that the details are correct for the proposed unit then the surveyor can begin with the actual survey. Ensure you take a site survey report sheet (see pages 8-11) to the survey and use the question guide and information in this manual to help you fill it out. Familiarise yourself with the information below before carrying out the site survey. Carrying Out The Survey When visiting the site, walk through the building from the car park to check that it is safe for our staff to go that way and without restriction. Please take note of access as we have to carry the goods inside; ensure there is enough room to get the curtain barrel into position and be aware of staircases and narrow passages if you have to turn the barrel around. Will the length of the barrel and guides be able to pass into position without any structural alterations? If a quotation has already been issued then please check during the survey meeting that: 1. The given dimensions are similar. Measure the opening width first and double check that the measurement is square. An opening could have the sides not in a vertical position so the curtain will not fall vertically. Then a rectangular frame is required and should be fitted by the contractor. In order to measure properly you will need to know whether it is an interior fit or an exterior fit. See page 4 for details. 2. Allow for at least 100mm on each side for the side guides. If there is any protrusion from the walls then a stand-off support is required and must be accounted for. 3. Measure the heights twice and ensure that the top and bottom planes are horizontal otherwise the unit will not work correctly. 4. Is there enough head room above the opening for the top box? Take into account that multiple barrel units require a higher headroom space than does a single curtain. 5. Is there enough space for the bottom rail to sit inside? If it is a bell shaped bottom rail then it will protrude into the opening and become visible.
6. Ensure the fire rating required is as quoted for. 7. The type and placement of motor. 8. Confirm where the control panel is to be fitted and that it is safe to work from there. 9. Confirm that the cabling does not need to be ducted through a special trunking or via a long route. 10. Confirm which powder coated colour is required. Confirm/Ask the following 11. That there are no special requirements, such as being uncovered and therefore needing a special coating. 12. Access issues are accounted for and that you get the unit to the position safely access towers, scaffolding, scissor lifts or special lifting equipment required and accounted for. 13. Confirm that the electrics for the unit will be in position by the date of the installation. 14. Check that they have their fire / smoke alarm system ready to connect to our system, ensuring that it is a normally closed, volt free contact. 15. Confirm that all mains supply wiring is done by others, we will install the unit, inclusive of the motor connections, override switch, smoke detector if fitted, and test switch. These are all routed back to our control panel. 16. Ask if any health and safety issues need to be complied with 17. Ask if a method statement is required. 18. Ask if special insurances are needed. 19. Is it to be installed in a heavy traffic area? Are parking and congestion charges accounted for? Ask for the survey sheet to be countersigned by the client or the contractor. Site Survey Further Information These instructions apply to both the drive-up drive-down system and the gravity fail safe system. The writing in red only applies to the gravity fail safe system. Where is the fire/smoke curtain being mounted? INFIT You need to check whether the curtain is being fitted inside or around the opening as this has an effect on the sizes you are about to measure. If it is being fitted inside the opening this would be known as an Infit therefore you would need to measure the inside of the opening to determine your sizes.
Measure the width in millimetres and then take off 6mm to 8mm from the length of the top box, otherwise it may not be possible to move the top box into place. Ensure there is space available for this manoeuvre. The 8mm reduction can be accommodated for by having a 5mm gap at each end and then sealing the small gap with fire rated silicone, which also hides any building irregularities. The only other alternative is to have the top box in two or more sections, making the overall length just a couple of millimetres shorter than the full opening width, at the top of the opening. All top box measurements should be carried out near to the top and at the top of the opening, because the walls may not be perfectly square. Allow at least 5mm off the total height so that you can push in the top box without scoring the ceiling or damaging the top box. Fill in any voids with fire rated silicon. The bottom rail can be either a bell shape or an Inverted T-rail. There should be no walls for the bottom rail to rub against. The Inverted T rails come in 42mm, 52mm & 62mm widths. Access panels can be either a removable bottom tray or a front cover but something that must be allowed for, in order to carry out any maintenance at a later date. Check level of ceiling; the barrel of the curtain MUST be level when fitted so any differences in levels will alter the height of the top box (this applies only to a box fixed right up to the ceiling). If fitting right against the ceiling, then mark the top most points that are level and use these to measure (from) the heights of both side guides. Check floor level; Measure up to the level points of the ceiling. These may give you different side guide measurements. The bottom curtain rail will adjust to the floor. FACE FIXED or SURFACE MOUNTED If the unit is being fitted around the outside edge of the opening then this is known as Surface Mounted or Face Fixed. You would need to measure the outside opening size and then add on 200mm for the width of the guides, to get the final overall width for production control. If it is possible to add on just 5mm more on each side and the unit will still fit, then this is better as the side guides will not protrude out into the opening. The edges of the two walls will need to be checked to confirm if they are vertical otherwise the unit will not look good. Here it is better to be wider than the opening so that the project will look acceptable. Ensure that there is enough space for the bottom rail to fall and not to jam up or scrape against the wall, even if you have to stand off the whole unit with angle work. Take into account which you want the motor to be on, as this will require an access panel fitted now, for access and maintenance purposes in the future. What is the curtain being mounted to? You need to determine what surface you will be fitting to so that you can select the correct fixings to hold the fire curtain in place. If the surface is a plasterboard wall then you must ensure that there are timber batons behind the plasterboard, as support for the fire curtain. If it was a brick wall you would need to use wall plugs or anchor shield type of bolts, this is depending on the size and weight of the curtain. Timber frames would only require wood screws to be
strong enough to support the weight of the curtain. If there are not any fixing points for the top box then you may need to use unistrut and threaded rod to support the hood. Always check where the position of the top box is going, for example in line with a false ceiling or tight up to an existing ceiling. For GFS you also need to check where the bottom rail is to sit because you have to determine the position of the top limit switch. How large is the curtain? The dimensions of the opening need to be recorded as accurately as possible for manufacturing and operational purposes. The height can be reduced on the day of installation but the width cannot be made shorter than perhaps 20mm. The curtain size cannot be altered on site without an industrial sewing machine and the stainless steel threads. Remember when you are measuring for a surface mounted curtain, you must take into account the widths of the two side guides and also the depth of the top box and any space if the bottom rail is to finish lower. Measurements are important on all fire curtains as this will determine the size of the motor and the diameter of the steel barrel. What finish is required on your product? All our curtains come with a galvanised zintec finish as standard, however we offer a service to powder coat the guides, hood and bottom rail to any standard RAL colour. All powder coating is done as an additional to the cost price. Do you want the motor on the left or right hand side? This is not always determined by where you want the final position of the control panel. The motor side is normally determined as being the side where we can get access into the motor at a later stage, for maintenance purposes. Having the panel on the same side as the motor will save running additional cable from one side to the other, minimising costs for all parties involved and making the job neater, quicker and easier to complete. However if this is not possible, then conduit and trunking can be used to run cables. The client should be aware that if a special access hatch is required then the placing of the motor will affect the placement of the access hatch. Connecting to your current fire alarm? Smoke and Fire Curtains Ltd control panels require a 24v normally closed volt free contact to operate our system. If you only have mains smoke alarms and no alarm panel then a relay can be purchased from most electrical retailers that will wire into the alarm base and give us the correct contact needed to operate the curtain. However if you don t have any alarms in the property then we offer a smoke/heat alarm that works with our system and can be linked together, meaning you can have as many as you like. Additional extras: We also provide a range of extras for our products. Here is a list of what is available: Override Switch These manually override the curtain when alarm is sounded allowing trapped personnel to escape and then the curtain decends to the floor again. Smoke/heat Detector If no alarm is present we can provide a 24v smoke or heat detector. These can be wired to cover more than one area.
Sounder Beacon Once the alarm sounds there is a flashing sounder beacon that can be mounted anywhere near curtain warning people of its descent. Curtain Block Beam Sensors This will sound when an obstacle has been left in the opening for some time and is still blocking the drop of the curtain, warning you that if the fire alarm were to set off then the curtains descent would be obstructed and would prevent the curtain from closing down properly. Split Drop Panel With a split drop panel you can set two different settings for the curtain; for example when the alarm sounds it will drop for 5 seconds, stay in that position for 2 minutes allowing people to escape, and then continue to the floor. LED Extension If your panel is fitted above ceiling height but you want to make sure the charger is working properly, this is a cover plate with 2 LEDs that wire into the battery letting you know the batteries are charging properly or if the mains have tripped. Installation Before leaving to carry out the installation, confirm on the day before that everyone and everything is ready for us to visit.
Site Survey Report Sheet Surveyors Name: Meeting Time: Site Contact: Site Address: Date: Description of Order Placed: Dimensions Fixing Meathod Width: In-fit Face-fit Recessed: Head Box Fitted To: Motor: (Left of Right) Standard (2 Core) GFS (4 Core) Electrical Details Cabling Requirements: (Can the client supply the cable before install commences) Motor Standard 2 Core cable from panel to motor. For GFS 4 Core cable from the panel to the motor + 2 Core cable for the top limit sensor. Key Switch 3 Core cable from the panel to key switch location. Alarm Input Requires a normally closed volt free contact. Mains Power for Panel Charge Fuse spur or plug socket to be provided next to panel location. Other Features: (Optional Extra) Overrides 2 Core cable from control panel to over-ride location. Beam Sensors / Obstruction 3 Core cable from panel to location. Audio Visual 2 Core cable from panel to location of audio alarm Do You Have An Alarm System: (We cannot use mains power, we need a normally closed volt free contact on all panels we supply) Height: Head Box Size: 160mm x 160mm (Single Box) 180mm x 180mm (Single Box) 200mm x 200mm (Single Box) Guides Fixed To: (Standard size 100mm x 53mm) RAL Colour: 160mm x 320mm (Double Box) 180mm x 360mm (Double Box) 200mm x 400mm (Double Box)
Access Details PPE Other Commissioning on the day of the install: Will the fire alarm engineer be available to commission on the day? Access Requirements: (Scissor Lift Ladders Towers) What is the Working Height: Site Induction Time: Does Delivery Require Cooking Time Slot: Parking: Is there parking on site? Is this in a Congestion Charge Zone: Full PPE: (Hat / Gloves / High Viz / Goggles / Boots / Etc...) Client Signature: By signing this, you accept that the measurements and details taken are correct as of the date of the survey. Issues / Risks Identified / Additional Notes: