"Extinguished" Cigar in Potting Soil Ignites, Causing ONE MILLION in Damage!

Yeah, you read that right...the estimate is One Million dollars plus contents when an unidentified man placed a cigar into a potted plant to put it out. Most potting soil contains a lot of organic matter that can ignite, and this cigar ignited the soil in the pot, bursting into flame and causing enormous damage.

SIOUX FALLS, SD - 

Sioux Falls Fire Rescue is ruling an apartment building fire accidental, and officials don't plan on filing charges.  A cigar sparked the flames, which led to more about $1 million in fire damage. The fire started on a deck of the third floor of a building at Penbrooke Place. Insurance adjusters are still trying to determine whether the owners can save the building.

READ THE REST HERE   http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/cigar-potting-soil-spark-1-million-fire/?id=180756

Nevada Coating Systems Granite Deck-Client Says It Burns...

A local competitor in San Luis Obispo puts down Nevada Coating Systems Granite Deck . The manufacturer claims it can be put down on decks, which you could if you didn't know better...

One of my clients had received a bid from Deck Tech, Inc of Grover Beach. They specified "Granite Deck" (oooooh, it sounds like tough stuff doesn't it?) to install for the client.

The client was almost sold that day, but did call Central Coast Waterproofing for a bid. We came and looked ta the job, discussed the products and showed the client our ICC report for Desert Crete. 

We left a sample of the Desert Crete so they could compare it to the NCS Granite Deck...I told the client that Granite Deck has no testing or evaluation to certify it's use a as a deck coating, only manufacturer claims...

The client is a smart guy, he did some research,  investigating my claims and  I got an email back from him, he did his own "testing" of the NCS Granite Deck and Desert Crete...here are the clients own results.

"I tried to reach the fire department about fire-proof ratings, etc, but was unable to get through.  So, I tried lighting the sample you gave me and also the sample from decktech:  the decktech material catches on fire after exposure to a flame from a cigarette lighter; your material does not.  This is a very important consideration for us."

If  having deck coating materials that don't catch on fire is important to you, please call Central Coast Waterproofing today at 805-545-8300.

ENDURO PRODUCTS ANNOUNCES THEIR UPDATED ICC-ES REPORT FOR TRAFFIC COATINGS

DeckExpert.com advertiser ENDURO products of Anaheim CA let us know that their Deck Coatings Enduro-Kote and Enduro Flex Coat have been evaluated by ICC-ES and a new report for Wind resistance, durability, fire resistance and fire classification has been released.

The new report  (ICC-ESR 2245) provides proof that the products meet 2009 IRC, IBC codes as well as the older 2006 IRC/IBC and 1997 UBC codes. 

ICC reports verify manufacturer's claims through independent testing and evaluation of the results, thereby assuring users that they are code compliant for roof decks, walkways and stairs where One Hour and Class A fire resistant construction is required.

For more information and to read the new report, click here to go to ICC-ES' website.

For more information and to find where to purchase Enduro Products at Enduro's website, click here. 

FROM FireEngineering.com-Article- Construction Concerns: Combustible Metal Deck Roofs

For decades, builders have been using metal roof decking supported by bar joists, covered with combustible insulation board and a roof membrane that is often topped with gravel. The earliest of these roofs had melted asphalt mopped onto the steel roof deck to hold down the insulation board with additional melted asphalt mopped between and on top of the layers of roofing felt. This was known as a “built-up” roof and was inexpensive when compared with other types of roofs.

(1)
A potential problem with this type of roof was recognized more than 50 years ago: If a fire heated the underside of the roof deck, it could melt, vaporize, and ignite the asphalt on top of the deck, starting another fire in addition to the original one inside the building (see Brannigan’s Building Construction for the Fire Service 4^th Edition, 213-214). This roof fire could spread far ahead of the original fire and ignite other fires when burning asphalt found its way through the steel deck.

Roofs of these types are sometimes inaccurately advertised as “fire-rated.” They do not have a “fire rating” from testing under National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 251, Standard Method of Tests of Fire Endurance of Building Construction and Materials (ASTM E119) like a wall or a floor-ceiling assembly. Rather, they have been tested under NFPA 256, Standard Method of Fire Tests of Roof Coverings (UL 790; ASTM E-108) for exposure to fires originating outside the building. They are rated Class A (severe), B (moderate), or C (light), based on the severity of fire exposure they can withstand. Tests for the rating include ignition from flaming brands, intermittent flame exposure, rain, weathering, and flame spread.

READ THE REST BY CLICKING HERE!

Desert Crete/Magnesite Decking Systems ICC-ES Report Has Been Renewed

Hill Brothers Chemical Company manufacturer's Desert Crete and Magnesite, two walking deck coatings in Division 7 of CSI. Their deck systems are among the best in the industry, with a Class A and One Hour Fire Resistant assemblies.

ICC-ES is one of the leading authorities on building products, they evaluate the testing that manufacturer's have done to show that their product is safe and meets the requirements for building codes. Many municipalities have adopted the International Building Code, the International Residence Code or both.

Desert Crete and Magnesite's ICC ES report was recently re-issued as of February 1, 2010. Click to read the report here.

I like Desert Crete a lot, it's what I put down for almost every job I do.

100 Firefighters Battle Apartment Fire in LA-Check Out This Unbelievable Picture

If ever there is a reason to make sure decks have FIRE RATED deck coatings on them, this is it. The whole deck looks like it has ignited!

READ THE STORY AT LA TIMES BY CLICKING HERE

Did Desert Crete Decking Help Foil Arsonist In Monterey Firebombing?

Several years ago one of my clients had me install Desert Crete on one of his properties. (Desert Crete is the only decking system he uses, because of it's resistance to damage and easy care for his apt communities.
In October 0f 2009, someone came onto the property and at several locations threw Molotov cocktails onto the building, in an apparent attempt to harm someone...

25 Displaced After "Suspicious" Apartment Fire in Monterey

Posted: Sep 30, 2009 4:38 AM PDT Updated: Sep 30, 2009 9:03 PM PDT

MONTEREY, Calif -Early Wednesday morning the Monterey Fire Department responded to an apartment complex fire at 2000 David Avenue in Monterey.
Four apartment units were severely damaged, three cars were destroyed and 20 to 30 people have been displaced. The American Red Cross is helping the residents and a temporary shelter has been set up at Hilltop Community Center in Monterey.
The fire department says that the fire started around 3:30a.m.  It was contained in about 30 minutes but crews remained on scene hours after the fire was contained.
No injuries have been reported.
6 engines, 2 trucks, and 30 firefighters were on scene to fight the fire.
The origin of the fire is considered "suspicious" and it is under investigation by the Monterey Police and the Monterey Fire Departments.

We had put Desert Crete decking on a deck over a garage, and on the walkways on the 2nd floor.  I remember talking with the owner about the construction methods necessary to achieve Class A/One Hour fire resistant constrution, as walkways and stairs must be fire resistant constructed materials. The deck and walkways were covered in plywood and then we installed Desert Crete in the methods described in the ICC-ES report #1661.

So that's that then right? Well my client called me up to ask about fixing up some fire damaged decks. I took a ride up to Monterey to walk the job with him. This is what I observed...

                                           Joists under walkway at 2nd floor

                                 Garage joists and plywood severely fire damaged. 

                                  This pic was taken on the deck over the garage.
                                 The fire ran up into the wall, damaging the 1st floor
                                 apt, then continued up into the 2nd floor apt.

                                    I have not seen the walkway yet. I fully expect to see

                                     damaged Desert Crete. The roof of the garage is 

                                    covered in plywood, as the fire dept chopped holes in it to

                                   fight the flames. 

                             Paint melted on the stucco wall under the walkway.
                                                  LETS SEE THE WALKWAYS!

                                This walkway is directly above the garage deck.
                             There is no sign of fire damage to the decking at all!

                                   Second area of walkway where fire below
                                 damaged joists and plywood. No fire damage evident
                                   at all. 

Did the Desert Crete decking system stop this fire before lives were lost? I can't say and neither can anyone else. But you decide what is best for your building; a Class A and One Hour ICC-ES rated system or some crap from the cheapest bidder you can get? It's just your liability at risk...

HUNDREDS HOMELESS DUE TO FIRE ON BALCONY THAT DESTROY'S CALGARY CONDO COMPLEX

Massive blaze in Calgary leaves hundreds homeless
Firefighter injured in condominum inferno
By The Canadian Press
Fri. Mar 19 - 7:12 AMCALGARY — Hundreds of people are homeless after a massive fire destroyed much of a four-story condominium complex in southwest Calgary.
The blaze at a 159-unit building on Millrise Drive, sent massive, dark grey clouds of smoke into the sky Thursday.
One firefighter was injured and taken to Rockyview Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
Deputy Fire Chief Len McCharles said the fire appears to have started on a balcony and when crews arrived about 12:15 p.m., it had spread into two suites, crawling its way up into the attic space where it quickly spread.
McCharles said it's too early to tell the extent of the damage, which appeared to be mainly confined to the top floor, noting water damage to some suites untouched by fire may be extensive.

READ THE REST OF THIS STORY BY CLICKING HERE

ICC-ES Approves Revisions to AC-39-Walking Deck Criteriea. Should Increase Their Revenues, While Confusing Consumers

I think the new AC-39 walking deck criteriea will open up a lot of confusion amongst consumers, Building Officials and enable some to manipulate their report...

ICC-ES Evaluation Committee Highlights

The ICC-ES Evaluation Committee met February 2-4 in Los Angeles to consider new proposed acceptance criteria for alternate products and for products where additional clarification is needed in the code; and for existing criteria that need to be revised to reflect current code, updated standards or changes to products. Twenty-two separate items were considered, with 18 being approved and eight held for further study.


AC39 — Acceptance Criteria for Walking Decks. Revisions were approved to address the 2009 International Codes, to provide requirements for walking decks that are not used as roof coverings and to provide requirements for walking decks used with nonclassified roof coverings.

For more information about the items considered, click here. 

 

ICC-ES TO CONSIDER REVISIONS TO AC-39 Walking Deck Acceptance Criteria February 2nd.

There's a movement afoot at ICC-Es to revise AC-39, the Acceptance Criteria used to determine if a deck coating meets fire resistance, wear and tear etc. I think this will confuse the public, not help...see for yourself and make up your own mind.

Click here to read the revisions being considered.

Nevada Coating Systems-Granite Deck Polyurea as a Deck Coating-Use at Your Own Risk

I've been getting beat up a little bit in a pricing battle with one of the larger local competitors in San Luis Obispo lately...

one of my clients, who is a little more astute than the average guy, came back to me and started asking questions about my competitors bid and product. They had got a bid from local competitor DeckTech, who is using "NCS Granite Deck"

They sent me the other company's proposal for me to review. After investigating the product they were proposing to use, I found out that it's a Polyurea 2 part spray applied coating. The manufacturer, Nevada Coating Systems of Rancho Mirage CA, offers their "NCS Granite Deck" (sounds tough right?) as a solution for walkways and decks.

Nevada Coating Systems website is found at http://www.nevadacoatings.com/; we invite you to look for yourself. On their site is all kinds of mfg specs, videos and marketing yackety yack about how good the product is for various coating needs.

The problem is that their Granite deck IS NOT an ICC-ES evaluated traffic deck coating (I could not find any ICC-ES report at the ICC-ES website) that has been tested and evaluated independently. So while maybe you could put it on, my question is why would you want to?

Reading their literature they have a "warranty" that is predicated on frequent maintenance that traps you into having to use the original installer for the next 10 years. Then I read their disclaimer, which basically negates their warranty...

Then I read their literature on NCS Granite deck....click here to read it yourself at the Material Safety Data section...see firefighting measures and then ask why would I want a coating on my deck that if it catches on fire or is exposed to flame, can ...well read it for yourself below...


5. Fire-Fighting Measures
Suitable Extinguishing Media: All extinguishing media are suitable.
Special Fire Fighting Procedures: Firefighters should be equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus to
protect against potentially toxic and irritating fumes. Use cold water spray to cool fire-exposed containers to
minimize risk of rupture.
Unusual Fire/Explosion Hazards: Toxic and irritating gases/fumes may be given off during burning or thermal
decomposition.

So, no ICC-ES report, doesn't meet traffic coating requirements that it be Class A fire resistant (so people can escape burning buildings safely), emits potentially toxic fumes when burned or exposed to flame...


DECK EXPERT GIVES THIS PRODUCT A "F" for failure, failure to protect, failure to meet the needs of code compliant building products, F for &$!*ed up as a product being sold to unwitting consumers.


I can only recommend that you STAY AWAY far far away and seek a better product that meets code requirements.


Our investigation also shows that Nevada Coating Systems is backed/owned by Dave Krubinski, former manager of Mer-Kote. That explains the shitty "warranty". Krubinski used this same basic warranty/sales formula when he was king at Mer-Kote, to twist extra money out of clients on a maintenance contract.


Further investigation shows that we could not find where NCS granite deck polyurea and their other products is manufactured; by snooping around my competitors trucks, I saw "Reactamine" polyurea on the truck...so by  reviewing their website at www.reactimine.com, it's my opinion that Reactamine sells to NCS and NCS is simply a private labeler, not a manufacturer. Unless NCS is making the stuff in their garage...but that's probably illegal, since the address listed in NCS' website is a residential address.

The 2 companies color charts are virtually identical too; see for yourself by clicking the links and comparing.... NCS Color Chart   Reactimine Color Chart So is their "Disclaimer". If I were a betting man, I'd bet Reactimine makes NCS' products under a private label deal..

Polyureas has a place as a coating, but not for decks under it's current formula. But that's just my opinion using my right to free speech.

Central Coast Chapter of ICC Presents a Half Day Seminar on STUCCO, DRYWALL & FIRE RESISTIVE ASSEMBLIES April 29th in Atascadero

Free for ICC Central Coast Chapter members, the rest of us will pay $35.00 to hear Michael Logue and Darren Coates present a half day seminar. While stucco and drywall are part of fire resistive assemblies, Deck Expert is gonna be asking hard questions about decking.

One deck coating system in particular....

I think I'll bring my laptop and ask if I can show my video footage....

Anyway, if you want to go, email Dave Muehlhausen at dmuehlhausen@atascadero.org and tell him to put you down to attend. You'll get a free continental breakfast and a copy of the Fire Resistive Design Manual.

See you there!

Pacific Polymers Elastodeck 5000 FR Walking & Roof Deck System Has Class A Fire Rating in Newly Issued ICC ES Report

Issued February 1st of 2009, ICC-ES's first published report in 2009 on Pacific Polymers Elastodeck 5000 carries a Class A fire classification rating when installed in conformance with the report's instructions.

This product would not be able to be used on an area where a "One Hour Assembly" is required in public buildings and homes; but can be used anywhere just a Class A is required. Make sure to read your specs before spec'ing this product, a One Hour Assembly may be required on your job.

Click our headline to read the report at ICC-ES's site yourself...

Excellent Article on Fire Tests of Roof Assemblies at UC Berkeley

Steven L Quarles has an excelelnt booklet about fire ratings and testing of....read it all by clicking our headline. Very good info and pictures of various fire tests to help you understand!

Click this link to see various images from UC Berkeley testing labs of decking materials from eon, trex and others. Very startling pictures are here...

Decks In the Line of Fire" a good article on deck building in CA fire zones

I found this article in Professional Deck Builder online regarding the new fire codes for decks in wild land interfaces. Written by Santa Barbara author and deck builder Bill Bolton, there is some good info here to know and implement into your building strategy.


First 100 Words:
Decks in the Line of Fire Deciphering the code behind fire-resistant construction Bill Bolton As a deck designer and builder on the West Coast, I occasionally build decks in what's called the wildland-urban interface. The geography here is a little different from, say, the woodlands of New England. Winter rains on the California coast support plentiful vegetation, which then dries out in the summer to become a tinderbox (Figure 1). This large fuel source, coupled with high winds in the surrounding mountains and canyons, creates an environment ripe for the wildfires you see on the evening news. Despite the danger,

Click here or our headline to go to the article at Professional Deck Builder online

Crowded Field of ICC Approved Fire Resistant Deck Coatings Becomes More Crowded

Browsing through the ICC list of tested and approved deck coatings, the addition of Londeck Fire Retardant Roof and Walking Deck as an approved product caught my eye...
so I looked it up and found a Japanese company, Lonseal Inc. with a vinyl type coating that utilizes cement underlayment to help it achieve fire resistance.
I've requested literature and samples from their US based division in Carson CA.
We'll report more on the product once we receive their samples and booklet.
In the meantime, take a look at the ICC reports on file at ICC's website by clicking our headline above...
Or click here to go to Lonseal's website

ICC Online | News and Events |

ICC Online | News and Events |

Fire Safety Tips from ICC, use 'em or risk losing your house.

Should it be Law that All Deck Coatings MUST Be ICC One Hour Fire Rated?

Should it be Code or Law that any deck coating applied to plywood decks be One Hour Fire Rated? Makes sense when we live in such a volatile area that is so subject to fire.

I've bid jobs that require a tear off the existing system (due usually to neglect and wear and tear)and replacement with a new coating. I found that sometimes that a bidder with a cheaper (read-non fire rated, non ICC approved)product got the job, based on price. When I try to tell the owner that they are losing their fire protection, often times they shrug and don't care.

I think it should be law/code that only ICC one Hour Rated coatings can be applied to plywood covered decks-houses may be saved or damage reduced. Readers, what do you think?
Post your comments!

Pacific Polymers

Pacific Polymers: "75 Million Dollar Home employs Pacific Polymers' ELASTO-DECK 5000X2 SYSTEM PORTABELLO ESTATE: On the cliffs near Arch Rock in Corona Del Mar, it’s up for sale for a cool $75 million – the second highest asking price in the nation. The roof is over 22,000 sq. ft. and due to the unique design, the architect specified their Elasto-Deck 5000 X2 system, which carries a Class 'A' fire rating."

Should all deck coating systems installed in California be required to be "One Hour Fire Rated"?

Homes built in California today have many ways to resist fire-tile roofs, stucco exteriors, steel railings instead of wood, etc.

With the massive wild fires fires that California is experiencing, shouldn't our deck's be protected with coatings that have "One Hour" Fire ratings too? Fires are everywhere-Griffith Park in Los Angeles, the Zaca Fire, last years San Diego wildfires, Tahoe, the list goes on...

It's my philosphy that decks over living spaces are essentially roofs first, and decks to walk on second. Roofs are required to be fire rated and newly installed replacement roofs must be too.

However, in the case of decks, many decks that are being coated/waterproofed on new and rehab work are not receiving fire rated coatings-despite call outs on plans and specifications.

Should California pass a law requiring the installation of only one hour fire rated deck coatings? It would seem to make sense.

Your comments?