Blog
Fire Retardant Facts: Intumescent vs Non-Intumescent
There are basically two types of fire retardant - intumescents and non-intumescents. Here's the simple explanation.
Intumescents swell up when exposed to heat. Non-intumescents don't.
More complex explanation.
When exposed to flame or heat above around 325°F, intumescent coatings swell up and form a thick layer of char. The heat causes a chemical reaction that generates gas that fills tiny little pockets in the coating - almost like foam. That foam insulates and protects the substrate
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Mar 31st 2021
Time Ratings vs Class Ratings
When dealing with fire retardants, there are typically two standards - time ratings and class ratings. Class ratings are usually Class A, B or C, with 'A' being the best. This is usually measured with the test for ASTM E84, which measure Flame Spread and Smoke Development. It most often applies to NON-structural building materials, like plywood, fascia, wall coverings, and things like that. Time ratings are usually 1, 2 or 3 hours, and apply to STRUCTURAL things like beams, joists, flo
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Mar 23rd 2021
Fire Retardants for Back to School
Now that schools are beginning to open up, it is time to start thinking about getting your school in line with fire codes. RDR offers fire retardants for most of the typical school requirements - paper and posters on walls, curtains for windows and stages, plastic decorations, holiday decorations, and upholstered furniture. Most often, it involves items that teachers bring in to decorate their classrooms. These all have to be treated to meet NFPA 701. RDR makes it very easy - just give us a call
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Mar 17th 2021
WHY DO FIRE CODES REQUIRE THERMAL OR IGNITION BARRIERS?
SPF (spray polyurethane foam), like most other organic materials, is combustible. Although SPFs are formulated with flame retardants to meet the requirements of various construction codes and minimum performance standards there is still a need to provide further protection from fire. All foams must undergo some common fire tests such as ASTM E84, UL 723 and others, to determine how fast and how far a flame will travel across the surface, along with how much smoke is produced when the foam is exp
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Mar 15th 2021
Fire retardant sprays, painting and coatings - it's what we do!
Welcome to the new website for RDR Technologies! We have completely redesigned our site and shopping cart, trying to make finding the products you need much easier. If you are needing to buy fire retardant spray, RDR represents more than a dozen fire retardant manufacturers from around the country, and our purpose is to get your project up to code with as few headaches as possible. We invite you to give us a call with any questions. Rather than trying to sell you a particular line of products th
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Feb 15th 2014