Market potential in roof drainage and in ACO pipe

Fire safety and its importance in roof drainage

Fire prevention and its implications for the technical design aspects of a building continues to be a hot topic which requires every part of the construction industry to meet high fire protection specifications and manage significant liability risks.

Due to the differing regulations in place across Europe, a cross-national overview is not possible. As a result, we will focus on German restrictions and regulations. Country specific standards must also be considered.

Fire protection roof drains

Flat roof drains that provide protection against the risk of fire are required under certain conditions. The requirement to specify drainage with inbuilt fire protection always applies on flat roofs when the separation between the roof drainage and a rising wall is less than 5m. In this situation an appropriate fire protection roof drain must be installed. This ensures that fire and smoke cannot spread into a neighboring part of the building. Special attention must be paid here to the fire resistance class of the roof structure, for example, is it classed as F 30, F 60, F 90 or F 120. The roof drain has to have an equal or a higher fire resistance classification (for example, R 30, R 60, R 90 or R 120).

ACO can offer two layers of protection, the first is in the roof gully itself and the second is the non-combustible ACO pipe. The roof gullies feature fire protection inserts for both gravity and syphonic roof drainage applications.

For syphonic drainage an airlock with fire protection insert is available in DN70. For gravity drainage the insert is available in DN 70 and DN 100. For gravity drainage with a diameter of DN 70 – a new ACO solution - the necessary certification will be available by the end of 2016.

For pipes that run through fire-classified compartments, the legislation recognizes one of the following two cases:

• Stainless steel pipe can pass through fire-classified compartments in diameters of up to 160 mm for single pipes according to the MLAR (German Piping System Guidelines) regulations without further certification.
• In cases where certification is needed, ACO pipe certification can be used under ABP number P-3725/4130-MPA BS, issued on behalf of Rockwool.

Sound insulation of ACO pipe

Good sound insulation properties are an essential requirement for pipes used in roof drainage systems. The German standard DIN 4109 specifies a maximal sound level of L< 30 dB(A) for sanitary installations. ACO has performed tests according to DIN 4109, VDI 4100 and EN 14366 at the well-respected Fraunhofer-institute in Stuttgart, using different clamping systems. The tests show that ACO pipe fulfills the requirements defined in DIN 4109.

Transition fittings and systems compatibility

A new generation of transition fittings was developed in order to facilitate full compatibility between ACO pipe and ACO roof gullies. The new fittings have been tested and successfully launched, and ensure that ACO stainless steel roof gullies and ACO pipes are fully compatible systems.

References of actual project

Building Project Name: LECO – Werke Lechtreck GmbH
Project: Production hall
Roof Area: 16.100m2