A new and revised European standard for fire testing of building cladding […]
A new and revised European standard for fire testing of building cladding will take effect on 31 January, 2026. However, DBI encourages manufacturers to test according to the revised standard already now. The new standard will provide a more uniform safety level across countries, as well as new, flexible opportunities for manufacturers.
Building cladding such as plasterboards, wooden panels, and other boards mounted on walls and ceilings plays an important role in fire safety, as it must protect underlying materials in the event of a fire.
Today, when testing how a cladding performs under fire exposure, the assessment is made visually – something that inevitably depends somewhat on the eye of the beholder. In the current standard, for example, it is up to a visual assessment to decide whether the underlying particleboard is charred after the test. This can produce different results depending on which laboratory conducts the test.
“It can be a bit subjective and cause variations from lab to lab. Disagreements often arise in borderline cases,” says Jeanne B. Kirk, Resistance to Fire Engineer at DBI – Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology.
The new standard aims to address these challenges by introducing a temperature-based method in which pass/fail is determined from measured temperatures – e.g., whether they rise more than 270°C. DBI has been involved in developing the specifications for where and how temperature sensors should be placed in the setup to provide an accurate picture of whether the underlying material risks becoming charred.
“It’s about getting data sets that show how the material actually performs. If the temperature exceeds the limit, it automatically fails. This makes the conclusion much more objective,” says Jeanne B. Kirk.
In the European classification system, K1 10 and K2 30 are used to indicate that a cladding must protect the underlying material from fire exposure for 10 or 30 minutes, respectively. These classes have different requirements and application areas, including where and how the material may be installed. The new standard adjusts and expands the requirements for how these classes are documented to avoid a product being approved for an application for which it is not truly suited.
A differentiated approach to application areas
The way application areas are defined will also change. Until now, it has been possible to test on one standard material (particleboard) and then obtain documentation for multiple application areas. In some cases, however, this has led to solutions that were less safe than the test indicated. The new approach introduces three types of standard test substrates: EPS (expanded polystyrene), low-density materials such as insulation, and the classic particleboard. The chosen substrate will determine the subsequent application area.
“If you test on EPS, which is considered the worst-case scenario, you are allowed to install your cladding on anything. But if you test on insulation, you can only install it on similar low-density materials. In both cases, the installation method must be the same as in the test,” explains Jeanne B. Kirk.
This makes test results more reliable and gives manufacturers clearer choices. For example, a plasterboard producer who previously had to conduct a separate test for each desired substrate type – such as cellulose, seagrass, PIR, and PUR – will now be able to conduct a single test on EPS to cover them all.
Wall-mounted testing becomes possible
The revised standard also brings several other benefits. Among them is the possibility to test cladding as wall-mounted rather than ceiling-mounted if it will only be used vertically.
“A lot of people ask why they can’t just test it as a wall – because that’s how it’s actually installed in practice. Now this will be possible, but then of course it can only be used as wall cladding,” says Jeanne B. ,Kirk.
It will also become possible to vary fastening methods. For example, if you test with nails, you will in the future be allowed to use screws in practice – something that was previously not possible without a separate test or an assessment in the European classification system.
Plan for the new standard
The revision also makes it easier to incorporate bio-based materials into construction. Until now, it was necessary to test each individual product and manufacturer if you wanted to use bio-based insulation. Now it will be allowed to switch between suppliers as long as the materials are of the same type and have equivalent properties.
“As it stands, you can’t change anything – not thickness, not density, not manufacturer. Now we’ll have a standard method that allows switching within the same type,” says Jeanne B. Kirk.
The revision has been seven years in the making and will take effect on 31 January 2026. DBI recommends that manufacturers already now begin to plan test procedures according to the new method.
“When you plan a fire test, it typically takes several months. So if you start now, you’ll be ready when the standard will come into effect. And you already know what you need to test for,” emphasizes Jeanne B. Kirk.
The cladding standard
The cladding standard defines how building cladding – such as plasterboards, wall panels, and ceilings – is tested and classified with regard to fire exposure. It determines how well the cladding protects underlying materials during a fire and is therefore an important part of fire safety documentation in construction.
The current 2004 standard has been debated for being subjective. Evaluations are done visually, so results may vary from lab to lab. The revised cladding standard introduces a new method based solely on temperature measurements as an objective criterion and defines three standardized test substrates (EPS, low-density materials, and particleboard), which help determine the subsequent application area. This makes the test both more accurate and more flexible.
The revised standard will take effect on 31 January 2026, but DBI recommends preparing fire tests according to it already now. Documentation from fire tests already conducted according to the 2004 standard will remain valid.
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