THE CASE FOR GK™ COLLOIDAL RENDER COATINGS

Fire insurance is a great and necessary financial safety net. That being said, there is no really effective structural and physical security substitute for securing ones property in the case of having a fire in the first place.

Money can be the least of what can be lost however it can be a great instrument to replace certain items taken in a fire event. That being said money can never be the unwitting surrogate for conscious or unconscious emotional peace of mind for replacing priceless heir looms, antiques, gathered photos, artwork, important documents, and most important of all, family members.

The colloidal GK™ coating render product has proven its ability to not only retard a fire with its non combustible nature and low thermal conductivity. The product also goes one step further by effectively maintaining the structural integrity of supporting elements of a construction including the walls floors and ceilings whilst containing the spread of the fire.

The fact that the colloidal GK™ coating render product is built completely on Silicon Dioxide material chemistry is of great importance to performance. As Silicon Dioxide retains its core dimensions, bulk and mass at high temperatures and is the inherent performance feature of the colloidal GK™ coating render. This is an important feature as against most other fire protection products which are predominantly built on which depends on Hydrogen Oxygen bonds to maintain structural integrity.

However in the event of a fire such products rely on released water molecules within calcium silicates, calcium sulfate hemihydrate or calcined gypsum (CaSO4 , 2 H2O) to quench the surface of the surrounding materials. Thus providing flame retardance and smoke suppression. However if the fire persists the loss of the released water molecules results in the break down of structural strength rendering the passive fire protection subsequently to powder remains.

This is also the conclusion to another common temporary passive fire protection material product family called intumesces. Vermiculite is the natural mineral used which expands with the application of heat to form a foam like heat initiated reaction.

The air pockets which are formed provide heat insulation however these air pockets are eventually broken down to dust.

Vermiculite is formed by hydration of certain basaltic minerals.

The colloidal GK™ coating render product has a smooth, predictable and low thermal expansion of 0.3% up to 447°C and once beyond this temperature its thermal expansion is practically zero with a low mass loss of 1.7% according to the gained EN ISO 13501/1 A1 certification and subsequent performance testing. This against the average mass loss for A1 certificated materials such as Gypsum being 8%