Facade Solutions

A well-designed façade plays a critical role in protecting the building, supporting energy efficiency and maintaining a comfortable internal environment. Its performance depends on how effectively the complete wall build-up manages weather exposure, air leakage, heat transfer, moisture and fire risk across different substrates, junctions and cladding systems.

Proctor Group helps architects, contractors and specifiers address these challenges with airtightness, vapour control, breather membrane and fire-performance solutions supported by technical expertise. By considering the façade as a complete system, we help support reliable detailing, coordinated specification and consistent performance from design through to installation.

Through-wall fire tests are crucial for evaluating the safety and integrity of buildings. The tests assess a wall’s ability to withstand fire while maintaining its integrity and insulation properties. They are conducted under controlled conditions, following specific standards and guidelines, to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Through-wall fire tests reveal how well a wall can insulate against heat transfer during a fire. Good insulation properties are essential for preventing the spread of fire and maintaining safe temperatures within the building. The tests also provide data relating to the integrity and stability of the wall under fire conditions.

Building regulations often require specific fire-resistance ratings for walls. By understanding how a wall performs under fire conditions, designers and specifiers can select materials and constructions that offer optimal fire resistance. Through-wall fire tests provide the necessary data to ensure that the selected wall systems comply with these regulations.

As extreme weather events become more frequent, the resilience of the building envelope is increasingly important. The Proctor Group supported ROCKWOOL with Wraptite, our self-adhered external airtight membrane, as part of a series of large-scale wind load tests designed to simulate Category 4 and Category 5 hurricane conditions.

The testing subjected a typical UK façade build-up to extreme dynamic pressures: Wind speeds of up to 180 mph (290 km/h) 6,400 wind load cycles completed during fatigue testing Testing designed to simulate 50 years of fatigue performance

Throughout testing, Wraptite: Maintained adhesion to the substrate under extreme dynamic pressures Helped keep the airtight layer intact Helped prevent insulation from detaching or losing performance

The results help demonstrate how Wraptite can contribute to the resilience and performance of complete façade systems under demanding weather conditions.

Due to the performance requirements of certain critical, flexible components within the external façade, such as breather membranes, the ability to achieve a non-combustible classification is inhibited by the nature of the materials from which they are made.

This was understood by the regulatory writers, and therefore a list of exempt components has been included in Approved Document B to accommodate such products. Manufacturers are investing time and money in this area in order to provide an achievable fire classification without impeding the performance of the product.

In the amendment to Approved Document B in November 2018, the required fire classification for breather membranes is stated to be:

“Membranes used as part of the external wall construction should achieve a minimum classification of European Class B-s3,d0.”

Usually, breather membranes are mechanically fixed on low-rise buildings and taped on high-rise buildings. These membranes tend to shrink away from fire. However, standard tests utilise a single, focused burning flame, which is widely challenged as the correct way to test a membrane for this application and is not reflective of a real-life scenario.

There is a clear benefit to using a self-adhesive membrane due to the material being fully adhered to the substrate. Therefore, there is no air gap between the membrane and the substrate, meaning no flames can pass up the back of the membrane, as could happen with a loose, mechanically fixed product.

The increasing use of self-adhered, breathable membranes in high-rise developments over A1 and A2 sheathing boards has resulted in their performance in a fire context being carefully considered, which is of critical importance. Wraptite® has therefore undergone classification to BS EN 13501-1 over a wide range of appropriate substrates.

The results from these tests showed that Wraptite® achieved Class B-s1,d0, the highest classification that can be achieved by a polypropylene-based membrane.

This performance allows designers to utilise the air leakage performance benefits of Wraptite® with confidence, even in the most demanding applications where fire safety is critical.

However, when using a membrane in the cavity, either on lower-rise buildings or in high-rise buildings to add further protection to the system, products that actively resist fire, such as Fireshield®, are ideal.

Fireshield® is a more rigid, mechanically fastened product compared with lightweight polypropylene membranes, partly due to the nature of its glass-fibre backing. The weight and robustness of the product make it less likely to billow away from the substructure and form air gaps behind it when installed correctly.

Fireshield®’s specialist coating eliminates fire spread across the surface of the membrane, and it is secured using mechanical fixings. The intumescent facing actively resists the spread of flame by preventing it from taking hold through a ‘foaming’ effect, expanding when it interacts with fire.

The A. Proctor Group provides a number of breathable membranes and vapour control layers that have undergone in-depth testing to provide confidence in the performance of the products in situ.

Our products are backed up by a dedicated team of technical experts, able to assist at every project stage from pre-planning to on site.

We offer CAD detail reviews, installation guidance, condensation risk analysis, WUFi calculations, U-Value calculations, ground gas system designs, telephone support & more. Our products also have a range of BIM Objects & Performance Specifications.

Cristian Diac – Contracts Manager at KM Lynskey

“Compared to other breather membranes, Wraptite is much quicker to install and easy to work with. Our teams are very happy with it.”

Steven McCrory – Design & Procurement Manager at Topek Limited

“In technical consultation with the A. Proctor Group, Façadeshield UV was selected to protect the fabric and performance of the insulation installed behind the rainscreen cladding. The introduction of Façadeshield UV membrane enabled us to ensure that the building fabric will maintain good water resistance and breathability.”

 Matthew Cockayne – Project Manager at Titan Interior Solutions

“The original product did not provide the best install. We got feedback from the team on site that it wasn’t the easiest to cut or handle. The decision was made to change to the Procheck A2 membrane and the reviews improved immediately. The installers found it better to use and easier to install, which saved us time. From there, we carried on using it.”

Sam Bennett – Commercial Director at SCL LONDON

“Procheck A2 has an A2-s1,d0 fire classification to BS EN 13501-1, is considered limited combustibility and minimal contribution to fire, and therefore, conforms with the requirements for high rise construction (18m).

The technical team at the A. Proctor Group supported us throughout and provided comprehensive installation guides giving vital information for both operatives and clients and helping with sign-off at specific hold points throughout the project.”