FR film is not a premium upgrade on most commercial sites. It is the specification.
Fire performance is the part of a shrink wrap specification most often settled with a verbal assurance on site, which is precisely the wrong way to settle it. It is worth understanding what you are asking for and what evidence should come back.
Standard versus flame-retardant film
Shrink wrap film is generally available in a standard grade and a flame-retardant grade. The FR grade carries additives that resist ignition and limit flame spread. It costs more per square metre, and on a large elevation that difference is real — which is why it sometimes gets quietly value-engineered out.
When you need it
- Occupied buildings — residential, retail, schools, hospitals, care settings
- Anywhere hot works are taking place on or near the wrapped structure
- Most commercial scaffolding, where the principal contractor’s fire strategy will call for it
- Inside hangars, production halls and other enclosed environments
- Sites where the fire risk assessment or the insurer specifies it — and they often will
The awkward truth about installation
Shrink wrapping is itself a hot works process. The film is shrunk with a gas torch or heat gun, which means the installation carries its own fire risk regardless of the film grade. That should mean a hot works permit, a fire watch, extinguishers to hand, upright and secured gas cylinders, and a signed exclusion zone. If a contractor turns up without those, the film specification is the least of your problems.
What to ask for in writing
- The film grade, stated on the quotation rather than agreed on site
- Certification for the film, supplied at handover
- Batch records for the film and tapes used on your job
- The hot works method statement and permit arrangements
- Confirmation of who holds the fire watch during installation
Do not accept a verbal answer
"It’s all FR" is not a specification. If the certification and batch records cannot be produced at handover, there is no way to evidence what went on the building — and if there is ever an incident, that is the document someone will ask for.
A note on cost
On most commercial jobs FR is not an upgrade, it is the specification, and it should be priced that way from the start. A quote that is noticeably cheaper than the others is worth checking against the film grade before you assume it is a better deal.
Talk to us about your project
We install scaffold shrink wrap from our Isle of Wight base and travel across the UK every week. Every quote is fixed after survey, with removal and disposal priced in from the start.
