4 ms·

I'm well aware a sustained fire will melt and burn the bricks. The question is how fast and how easy it is to ignite. Sand has a lot of thermal mass, so with s

by labawi 6y ago

I'm well aware a sustained fire will melt and burn the bricks. The question is how fast and how easy it is to ignite. Sand has a lot of thermal mass, so with some insulation against surface fires (PE surface is easy to ignite) - say a proper coat of paint, or maybe some plaster - a lone kindling would not ignite the bricks. A proper fire will, but then you should be running away anyhow. Still, if I were a firefighter, I would not approve of such building materials, unless the shoddy construction is well known, so noone dares go inside, mainly because it's likely to collapse and turn in to a bunch of hot burning goo. Luckily, they seem to use it for pavement.

LegitShady 6y ago
> a lone kindling would not ignite the bricks again, far before a fire reaches a point where it's widespread the heat of the gasses created by a small fire are already 4x what these bricks can stand before the binder involves melt. So long before you're worried about thermal mass, there would be nothing holding these bricks together and you have a mass of loose sand and melted plastic. You could paint it with intumescent paint but I doubt it would be effective given the low melting temperature, and would probably end up costing as much or more as the brick.
- labawi 6y ago
  I dare you to take a thick PE panel/plate, paint the surface with regular non-flammable interior paint (enough so you can't see through), and then light it with a match or a cigarette. Preferably in a vertical position through the painted side. If unconvinced, try the same with a piece of old sofa, fake leather or vinyl flooring (with or without paint).
  - LegitShady 6y ago
    I actually studied fire engineering, so rather than a dare, I've actually burned loaded concrete/steel beams, and connections in giant furnaces that get a lot hotter than your match to evaluate their fire performance. I don't think you're listening to what I'm saying about the common air temperature around small fires (auto-ignition of hot gasses at ~600°C is common) and the melting temperature of the binder in these bricks (150°C max). It's not about ignition of the PE, its about cohesion of the brick PE binder (and thus the sand) at higher temperatures. Your painting this brick that will lose cohesion will do exactly nothing for the performance of the brick. I dare you to think about it critically, instead of making useless dares that don't address what the other person is saying.
    - labawi 6y ago
      So you're saying the bricks that are close enough to an actual (not teensy) fire will melt/spill/spread? Why is that such a big deal? I mean, yes, it's nowhere near western building codes, and if there is a non-trivial fire, you need to get out, fast. Much faster than with most typical building materials, though the bricks won't come loose instantly, and that has to do with thermal mass, conductivity, temperature and amount of heat. Note, a match will not do, if painted. A blast furnace will, but I do not see the relevance. Yes, I may have overestimated how much fire the bricks might survive, in my first comment, but I'm not saying the building would withstand a fire - the main point is, that it's more resistant than EPS cladding, couches and PVC flooring, so not as dangerous as it might seem.

by labawi 6y ago

LegitShady 6y ago

> a lone kindling would not ignite the bricks again, far before a fire reaches a point where it's widespread the heat of the gasses created by a small fire are already 4x what these bricks can stand before the binder involves melt. So long before you're worried about thermal mass, there would be nothing holding these bricks together and you have a mass of loose sand and melted plastic. You could paint it with intumescent paint but I doubt it would be effective given the low melting temperature, and would probably end up costing as much or more as the brick.

labawi 6y ago
I dare you to take a thick PE panel/plate, paint the surface with regular non-flammable interior paint (enough so you can't see through), and then light it with a match or a cigarette. Preferably in a vertical position through the painted side. If unconvinced, try the same with a piece of old sofa, fake leather or vinyl flooring (with or without paint).
- LegitShady 6y ago
  I actually studied fire engineering, so rather than a dare, I've actually burned loaded concrete/steel beams, and connections in giant furnaces that get a lot hotter than your match to evaluate their fire performance. I don't think you're listening to what I'm saying about the common air temperature around small fires (auto-ignition of hot gasses at ~600°C is common) and the melting temperature of the binder in these bricks (150°C max). It's not about ignition of the PE, its about cohesion of the brick PE binder (and thus the sand) at higher temperatures. Your painting this brick that will lose cohesion will do exactly nothing for the performance of the brick. I dare you to think about it critically, instead of making useless dares that don't address what the other person is saying.
  - labawi 6y ago
    So you're saying the bricks that are close enough to an actual (not teensy) fire will melt/spill/spread? Why is that such a big deal? I mean, yes, it's nowhere near western building codes, and if there is a non-trivial fire, you need to get out, fast. Much faster than with most typical building materials, though the bricks won't come loose instantly, and that has to do with thermal mass, conductivity, temperature and amount of heat. Note, a match will not do, if painted. A blast furnace will, but I do not see the relevance. Yes, I may have overestimated how much fire the bricks might survive, in my first comment, but I'm not saying the building would withstand a fire - the main point is, that it's more resistant than EPS cladding, couches and PVC flooring, so not as dangerous as it might seem.