Barrier Technology

30 June 2009

Modular, SIPs & Blazeguard: A Winning Combination

At the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) Annual Conference this past April outside Chicago, Charles Bevier, editor of Building Systems Magazine (www.buildingsystems.com) gave a presentation on the crossover between Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) building systems and modular buildings. According to Bevier, this crossover is not only beginning to happen in the mraketplace, it promises to grow in the near-term future.

This trend is something Barrier has also seen in current quotes and project leads crossing our desks and coming to us via the Internet.

As Bevier pointed out, SIPs -- "pre-formed" panels made by sandwiching solid foam-core plastic betwen OSB boards -- offer an excellent modular construction component. Since the panels are made in the factory, when they hit a modular building site (factory or sometimes on-site for assembly), SIPs are simply set in place and "locked in" to form the core of a structure.

SIPs will also benefit from the new 2009 Energy Code being enacted, Bevier pointed out, a code calling for 15% greater energy efficiency in roof and wall panels.

Barrier sees a growing role for Blazeguard as a coating to SIP panels being used in modular construction. With Blazeguard on either - or both - the outside or inside face of a SIP panel, builders and building owners save considerable time and expense not only constructing their buildings (no extra labor step needed to install insulation or fire-proofing such as gypsum wall board), but the resulting structure contains walls and roofs that are increasingly energy efficient, cost less to build (installed cost) and can be built in a factory or delivered to a job-site in a shorter time frame.

Blazeguard is thus a perfect complimentary product for two growing and increasingly intersecting building methods - SIPs and modular construction. Keep an eye on our blog and website for future news along these lines as Barrrier draws on its experience both within the modular building industry/MBI and as part of the Structural Insulated Panel Association.

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18 June 2009

Woodworks Adds Technical Director in Minnesota

WoodWorks (www.woodworks.org), an initiative of the Wood Products Council, has added a new Technical Director in Minnesota. Tom Milton, formerly a regional director with APA - The Engineered Wood Association, recently joined WoodWorks and recently invited Barrier's National Sales Manager, Jim Dukart, to a WoodWorks presentation at a downtown Minneapolis architectural firm.

Woodworks is a cooperative venture of all the major wood associations in North America, as well as research organizations and government agencies. Partner organizations include the American Forest & Paper Association, American Wood Council, APA - The Engineered Wood Association, Canadian Wood Council (CWC), Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, Southern Forest Products Association, and Western Wood Products Association. Research and government agencies connected to WoodWorks include the Forestry Innovation Investment, FP Innovations - Forintek Division, Natural Resources Canada, and the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. As its mission, organization states that it "provides one-stop access to the widest possible range of information on the use of wood in non-residential structures."

One of the ways in which Barrier can help WoodWorks promote the use of wood in non-residential structures is to address the issue of fire-retardant treatment of wood and its uses in commercial construction. WoodWorks currently has three major areas of geographic focus: the Upper Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota); the U.S. Southeast (Georgia, the Carolinas) and California. As such, Barrier welcomes new WoodWorks representation in Minnesota and looks forward to ongoing collaborative technical and marketing initiatives surrounding the use of fire-retardant treated wood in commercial construction in each of these geographic regions.

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12 June 2009

New Technical Bulletin on Blazeguard SIP finishing techniques

Barrier's Blazeguard Fire-Rated Sheathing provides an ideal interior-face fire barrier for Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). Our Blazeguard coating meets and exceeds the 15-minute thermal barrier required by the International Building Code (IBC Section 2603.4) and is cited in our ICC Evaluation Services Report ESR-1365 in Section 4.2.d.

Blazeguard is particularly well-suited to the SIP market as it is a factory-applied thermal barrier, obviating the need (and the cost) to install fire-rated gypsum or other fire barriers in the field. In essence, Blazeguard adds to the SIP value-proposition of delivering wall or roof panels that are "plug and play" -- deliver to the job site, drop them in, secure them and move on.

This 8' x 24' panel was manufactured as a Blazeguard SIPs. The interior face (facing towards the studs) has the Blazeguard fire-resistant material applied to it.

A new Barrier publication makes the process even more straightforward. Our new Technical Bulletin "Fire-Rated Finish for Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)" (below), lays out the steps involved in treating panel seams, patching Blazeguard SIPs and painting or finishing the interior surface. The document also shows a recommended increased fastening regiment so that panel seams don't crack if panels move slightly over time.

Note that in addition to reduced labor, materials and time to finish the interior surface of SIP, Blazeguard SIPs have another inherent advantage over finishing a SIP face with gypsum: Blazeguard can be applied on any size panel up to Jumbo SIPs (8' x 24'), meaning that the total number of seams in a wall is reduced by up to a factor of six (fire-rated gypsum generally comes in 4' x 8' or 4' x 10' sheets).

SIP manufacturers and builders are encouraged to contact us at (800) 638-4570 for further information on how Blazeguard can help save considerable time and money on their next SIP construction project.

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10 June 2009

Commercial Modular Sales Volumes exceed 21,000,000 sq. ft.

The concept of using Barrier's Pyrotite™ technology as part of a fire-rated commercial modular roof deck assembly in partnership with Mule-Hide Products began back in 2002 and 2003. Upon successful completion of fire testing, Class A and Class C Roof Deck Assemblies were listed with UL (Underwriters Laboratories). In 2004, Barrier began to manufacture and private label the FR Deck Panel for Mule-Hide with ABC Supply Company as the primary distribution source.

The Mule-Hide FR Deck Panel being installed as part of a Class C Commercial Modular Assembly.

A Commercial Modular building constructed using the FR Deck Panel in the roof deck.

In Year 1, sales exceeded 1.5 million sq. ft. In Year 2, sales grew 87% to almost 2.8 million square feet. The following year sales grew another 36%, exceeding 3.8 million sq. ft. In 2007, the FR Deck Panel began to evolve into the "product of choice" for a growing number of modular manufacturers. Sales grew another 58% to exceed 6 million sq. ft. The economy and the battered construction industry did impact sales in 2008 - but we still sold about 5.6 million sq. ft. Total sales volume into the commercial modular sector from inception in 2004 through May 2009, have exceeded 21,000,000 square feet.

The FR Deck Panel has secured a large market share among the commercial modular manufacturers. That, coupled with recent break-throughs in Canada and large government projects, presents strong potential for increased sales as the economy begins to slowly recover.
Fire rated sheathing, fire rated osb, fire rated plywood, fire resistant sheathing, fire resistant osb, fire resistant plywood, multifamily construction, small cap, otcbb, ibtgf, barrier, Blazeguard, Mycoguard, fire rated paint, intumescent paint, class a flame spread, class a wall assembly, class c wall assembly, mold resistant, mildew resistant, fire retardant plywood, fire retardant osb, fire retardant sheathing, frt, sips, fire rated structurally insulated panels, thermal barrier, fire rated wall assemblies, fire rated commercial modular roofing, fire rated modular construction, green building products, leed, electrical panel backer board, sips, wildfire protection, forest fire protection, non combustible exterior wall sheathing, ignition resistant exterior wall sheathing, ignition resistant eaves, non combustible eaves, ignition resistant soffets, non combustible soffets, esr-1365, wui approved, wui listed, California state fire marshal approved building materials, specified building product, architectural specifications, builders specs




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Location: Watkins, Minnesota, United States

Barrier develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials designed to help protect people and property from the destruction of fire. Barrier's award-winning Blazeguard® structural wood panels exceed International Building Code requirements in every targeted fire test and application. Blazeguard® is coated with Barrier's patented, non-toxic, non-combustible Pyrotite formulation, which releases water when exposed to the heat of fire.