Siniat's Interhome (Low-Rise) is a tried and tested separating wall system suitable for adjoining residential dwellings such as duplexes or townhouses. It offers simple and safe installation on-site for builders and contractors and it has been designed as a superior solution over masonry, conventional double stud framed separating walls and other party wall systems.
There are four design elements that set Siniat’s InterHome apart from conventional separating wall systems:
InterHome is differentiated from conventional double stud separating walls by its central fire barrier built between timber or steel house frames.
This central fire barrier consists of the following:
- One layer of ShaftLiner or InterShield. Shaftliner is a 25mm thick, solid plasterboard that has been formulated to resist sound and fire. InterShield is exactly the same as ShaftLiner, but it offers enhanced water and mould resistance capabilities.
- ShaftLiner is encased in the InterHome H-studs spaced at 600 mm centres.
- It is structurally supported by InterHome aluminium clips to the two stud frames.
This central fire barrier limits the spread of fire from one dwelling to adjoining dwellings. There is a reason why the clips are made of aluminium: In the event of a fire they will melt, allowing the frame of the dwelling exposed to the fire to detach from the central fire barrier. In this way the dwelling affected by the fire can degrade, even collapse, without spreading the fire to the adjoining dwelling.
The laminating method is an important feature of the InterHome fire protection of floor junctions and cavities. It provides a convenient alternative to the complicated construction methods of conventional systems where fire rated plasterboard is fixed to timber trusses or secondary wall frames built above the ceiling level.
Siniat recommends the use of mould resistant Multishield for lamination of the central fire barrier. Together with Intershield it provides superior protection against mould forming on the interstitial structures during construction.
InterHome makes it easier to install penetrations for electrical and plumbing services. It is always difficult to incorporate services like electrical cables, power points and plumbing pipes in masonry and conventionally framed separating walls while maintaining the fire protection and sound insulation.
Installation of conventional systems are time-consuming and inspection is difficult once completed.
In an InterHome system the central fire barrier maintains fire protection and sound insulation performance. Services can therefore run through the wall cavity and penetrations can be made in the outer layers of plasterboard without the need for fire baffles in the cavity.
There is no requirement for fire rated power point boxes and fire collars around the PVC pipes. Independent test have proven that the installation of back-to-back services in an InterHome system does not degrade the fire and acoustic performance.
(Please refer to the Interhome Installation Guide for more details.)
Because the central fire barrier provides required fire rating, non-fire rated installation techniques can be used for the outer layers. The outer plasterboard lining adds to the acoustic performance of the system to meet the BCA’s requirements for sound insulations between separated dwellings.
For more information about Siniat’s InterHome system - complete the form below to download the Siniat Interhome Manual.
