Providing a room-in-roof solution for 2.5 storey homes, Roofspace Solutions originally specified firestopping materials from various manufacturers for its unique i-Roof system. However, when browsing the market for a supplier that could provide a complete firestopping solution, Roofspace opted for ARC Building Solutions’ array of products for its quality, certification and reputation within the housebuilding industry.

The requirements

Brought to the market in 2008, i-Roof was developed by Roofspace as an innovative new solution to the traditionally built roof. The room-in-roof product uses modern methods of construction to support housebuilders; speeding up build times and reducing the risk of health and safety on site. Over recent years, the system was adapted to include firestopping materials to ensure the correct firestopping was installed and to provide clients with the complete package. The products originally used were from various different manufacturers – meaning that Roofspace needed to adjust their system to match what they offered.

Creating a partnership

Mark Gray, Head of Design and Technical at Roofspace Solutions: “To make the process easier and in order to build better relationships, recently, it made sense for us to look for one total supplier. We work with some of the largest housebuilders in the country and our clients, such as Taylor Wimpey and Barratt’s, were already aware of and trusted ARC as they have been purchasing their products for years. If we chose ARC, we knew that this would eliminate the need for us to introduce a new partner to our clients so speaking to them and finding out what they could offer us was definitely something that we wanted to explore.

“We held discussions with the team at ARC (via Teams!) and it quickly became apparent to us that they would be our ideal firestopping partner. The team were extremely attentive and helpful and introduced us to their off-the-shelf products, as well as demonstrating their ability to provide bespoke sizes for our systems. One of the main reasons that we decided to go ahead with switching our specification to ARC was due to the company’s extensive testing certification. Any claims that they make in regard to the fire performance of its products is backed with testing data and this was really important to us – particularly in light of recent events.”

The system

The i-Roof system now includes the ARC Cavity Stop Sock, ARC Soffit Slab and ARC TCB. The Cavity Stop Sock restricts the spread of smoke and flames within the cavity of external masonry walls and the Soffit Slab is designed to fill the void within the soffit, providing a fire, thermal and acoustic barrier between dwellings. TCBs restrict the spread of smoke and flames within the cavity of timber frame walls, providing up to 60 minutes of fire integrity. All products have achieved CERTIFIRE, an independent third-party certification scheme that assures performance, quality, reliability and traceability.

By utilising modern methods of construction, where the build of the room-in-roof solution takes place offsite in the factory, the i-Roof system allows for a quick and easy on-site installation. Roofspace promises to deliver and install the full system in just one day, which means ensuring that all materials arrive on site on time. However, due to the nature of firestopping products, and the need for them to be compressed during installation, ARC’s products are either delivered to the Roofspace factory or direct to site, and are installed alongside the modular roofs on the day.

Proactive collaboration

Mark continued: “We confidently offer our clients a full system that not only works in terms of performance and quality, but we also guarantee them a pair of roofs in one day; that is the whole concept of our business. Time means money, and by keeping to our promise, housebuilders can continue with other elements of the build process without disruption. To be able to do this, we need suppliers who can meet our output and timescale demands. We know that we can always rely on ARC – they make monthly deliveries to our factory and though they are based in Leeds, they are equally as capable of delivering their products to our sites up and down the country, and on time.

“As well as choosing a supplier that can provide high quality products and meet our needs, we wanted to choose a firestopping partner that we can build relationships and work collaboratively with. Working together with ARC is very much a partnership, it’s not like a traditional supplier relationship. We know that there will continue to be a shift in fire regulations and it is reassuring to know that we have a partner that we will be able to develop new solutions and share information with. We want to be proactive rather than reactive, and together with ARC, we will be able to build homes that are fit for the future.”

To contact ARC Building Solutions, please email sales@arcbuildingsolutions.co.uk or call 0113 252 9428.

ARC products in the Roofspace i-Roof system