Industry Reminded to Check for Kingspan K15 Products with Retracted Tests

THE GOVERNMENT has written to Building Control bodies reminding them that tests on Kingspan’s K15 insulation products have been retracted.

Kingspan Insulation Ltd retracted three test reports on their K15 products. This was because the products placed on the market were different to the products tested and there were inaccuracies in the test reports.

Kingspan wrote to inform the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in October 2020 when the fire safety tests on K15 were exposed as false during the Grenfell Inquiry.

Review Building Assessments

The letter published by The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) says it means that fire safety professionals and buildings control bodies should review their records. They need to check that any assessments on buildings (direct, extended application or fire engineering assessment) they have carried out using these tests are identified and revisited in light of Kingspan’s withdrawal of the tests.

The retracted tests may have formed part of an assessment carried out by competent professionals to justify the use of Kingspan K15 on a range of different combinations on various building projects before the retraction of the tests.

It is also important that fire safety professionals fully consider the tests that failed to achieve a BR135 Classification via a BS8414 test, which are now published on the Kingspan website.

MHCLG says where an assessment is identified which relies on the information provided by these tests, fire safety professionals and building control bodies should make all reasonable efforts to revisit the conclusions of their assessment and that the materials used are appropriate.

Kingspan Retracted Tests

The inaccurate test reports relate to:

• K15 + cement particle board carried out in 2005 Test Report No 220876 carried out in 2005 to BS 8414-1 – Dated December 2005 Classification Report No P101812-1000
• K15 + “standard” HPL carried out in 2014 Test Report No 293940 dated 2014 to BS 8414-2 No classification due to early termination
• K15 + terracotta tiles carried out in 2014 Test Report No 297099 carried dated 2014 to BS 8414-2 Classification Report No 291642

However, the situation is complex because Kingspan has released different versions of their Kooltherm insulation cladding products over the past two decades. They have also been combined with High Pressure Laminate (HPL) facades. It means that the company should be contacted to confirm which products were supported by which tests at the time in question.