The challenge
A fine old building on the Spuistraat in Den Haag has been converted into three apartments, with a shop on the ground floor. During the conversion, the steel load-bearing structure, the ventilation and the penetrations into the shafts had to be made fire-resistant.
Our approach
We dealt with the structure, the ventilation and the penetrations:
- Steel structure: clad with Promatect boards, giving the structure 60 minutes of fire resistance (fire resistance with regard to collapse).
- Ventilation ducts: each duct fitted with a fire-rated ventilation grille or a non-return valve.
- Penetrations into the shafts: all fire-stopped, with the right material for each type of penetration.
The result
The building has been converted into three apartments with a shop, with a steel structure clad for 60 minutes of fire resistance and fire-resistant ventilation and penetrations.
Key facts
- Project type: Renovation: three apartments and a shop
- Location: Den Haag (city centre)
- Year: 2026
- Certificates: All handed over on completion
- File: Recorded and kept up to date by us
Services deployed
All certificates handed over, everything recorded
At handover, the client received all certificates. Every provision we installed has been recorded, and we keep those records up to date.
The file covers the 60-minute cladding of the steel structure, the grilles and non-return valves in the ventilation ducts and the seals of the penetrations into the shafts.
A certificate alone does not prove that a provision is right. What also matters is where and how the product was applied. That is why the record for each provision states which system was installed where. This lets the owner show that the fire protection provisions are present and correctly installed.
Is there an inspection by the municipality, fire service or insurer, or is a pipe or cable added later? Then the file shows straight away which system is where, so that a seal that has been opened can be restored with a suitable system.
Fire safety duty of care under the Bbl: what does it mean for owners and users?In the file
- All certificates, handed to the client at handover
- For each provision: the location, the material and the date
- Photos of the work
- Kept up to date by us, also after handover
What this means for your own building
What 60 minutes of fire resistance means for the structure
The requirement concerns the load-bearing structure: it must not collapse within 60 minutes in a fire. At high temperatures, steel loses strength and stiffness. The Promatect boards insulate the steel, so it stays below its critical temperature for longer.
Fire-Resistant Steel CladdingBoard cladding or coating?
Board cladding and an intumescent coating can both protect steel. Which one fits depends on, among other things, the required duration, the section, whether the steel stays visible and the situation on site.
Fire-resistant coating or cladding: which suits your steel structure?A new use calls for a fresh look
When a building is converted to a new use, such as apartments above a shop, what is required of the fire protection often changes too. So have it assessed beforehand what the structure, the ventilation and the penetrations need to achieve.
Understanding Dutch fire safety regulations: a practical guideOther work by our team
Maanplein Den Haag
Shafts, toilet waste pipes, heat recovery ducts, water pipes and meter cupboards fire-stopped in a new apartment complex.
Middin Kijkduin
Fire-resistant floors and walls, penetrations, air ducts, fire dampers and cable trays during the renovation of a building more than a hundred years old.
Commercial unit Emmeloord
Steel columns and edge beams boxed in with fire-resistant board cladding, running continuously from floor to ceiling.