James hardie fiber cement siding is fire resistant which is a huge advantage compared to wood or vinyl siding.
Is james hardie siding fire rated.
James hardie siding products will not combust or spread flame and can be installed as part of a 1 hour fire resistance rated wall assembly which can help buy critical time for the homeowners to evacuate and fire professionals to extinguish flames a main reason it.
Warnock hersey fire resistance rated wall assemblies warnock hersey product listings standards products are certified against astm iso en can cgsb can ulc 1 hour fire resistive rated wall assemblies click the link above each design number below represents a james hardie 1 hour fire resistive wall assembly jh fcs 60 01.
Read more about fire resistant cladding here.
This means that it is a non combustible cladding and will not ignite when exposed to direct flame or extreme heat nor will it contribute fuel to a fire.
However they do qualify for use in certain 1 hour fire rated warnock hersey and ul assemblies.
A homeowner cannot get any better fire safety quality than that.
Of course wood siding is rather vulnerable to fire due to its nature and building material.
Designs listed are minimum construction requirements to achieve fire rating.
All james hardie siding and trim materials from hardieplank lap siding to hardiepanel vertical siding to straight and staggered edge hardieshingle siding are rated as non combustible based on astm fire resistance tests.
Ubc 7 1 94 uniform building code standard.
Nfpa 251 fire tests of building construction and materials.
Because of this the product itself is not 1 hour fire rated.
It is not 1 hour fire rated but it is still classified for use in certain 1 hour fire rated warnock hersey and ul assemblies.
While jameshardie products will not ignite when exposed to direct flame or contribute fuel to a fire heat will transfer through them.
That said while james hardieplank siding won t allow fire to penetrate your home s interior it does allow heat to transfer.
Ul 263 fire tests of building construction and materials.
Unless otherwise noted fire ratings apply to tests conducted on both sides.
The astm rating for james hardie siding classifies it as non combustible.
It does not provide a good barrier for flames.
A fiber cement product simply does not burn.
Think of jh products as a pan used for cooking.