The Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) has launched a new Best Practice Guide – Walls as a System - to help specifiers, designers, installers and building owners ensure compatibility of compliant test evidence across building components assembled into larger supersystems.
The guide addresses a critical issue in modern construction: the tendency to design and specify building components in isolation, without considering how they interact as part of larger systems.
By introducing the concept of ‘Walls as a System’, FIS is promoting a more holistic approach to building design and construction, ensuring interfaces, penetrations, glazing and doors have compatible and compliant test evidence.
Developed with input from technical experts and wider group of peer reviewers across the sector, including ASDMA, DHF, GIRI, GAI, GPDA and PFKG, this guide represents a collaborative effort to provide clear, relevant, and concise design guidance. It aligns with the RIBA Plan of Work and the Building Safety Act Gateways for Higher Risk Buildings, emphasising early engagement with manufacturers and contractors.
This new guide highlights the importance of early planning and clear communication in the design process. It introduces the term ‘fire wall’ to emphasise the critical protective function of certain walls, aligning with existing terms like fire doors and fire glass. The guide includes up to date guidance on maintaining the compartment lines below raised access floors and above glazed fire walls with drop bulkheads, as well as addressing how the imposed load from the walls, glazing and doors will be supported. The appendix includes a list of all relevant standards and a list of further reading.
Commenting on the guide, Iain McIlwee, Chief Executive of FIS said: “This new walls as a system guide represents a significant step forward in how we approach wall design and construction. By considering walls as integrated systems, we can enhance building safety, performance and compliance across the industry.
“It shows the sector coming together to provide clear, relevant and concise guidance. The core message being early engagement with manufacturers and contractors to ensure that what is designed can be compliantly delivered.”
Michael Skelding, General Manager and Secretary, DHF added: “DHF is proud to have contributed to this important initiative. Our work on the guide ensures that doors and hardware are considered as integral parts of the wall system, ensuring their performance is compatible with the overall design. This collaborative approach is essential to achieving safer, compliant buildings.”
You can download the Best Practice Guide – Walls as a System here https://www.thefis.org/membership-hub/publications/best-practice-guides/walls-as-a-system
