2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSIONDECISION
of17January2003
establishingtheclassesofreaction-to-fire performance forcertain constructionproducts
(notified under document number C(2002) 4807)
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(2003/43/EC)
(OJ L 13, 18.1.2003, p. 35)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Decision 2003/593/EC of 7 August 2003 L 201 25 8.8.2003
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 33, 8.2.2003, p. 44 (2003/43/EC)
▼B
COMMISSIONDECISION
of17January2003
establishing the classes of reaction-to-fire performance for certain
constructionproducts
(notified under document number C(2002) 4807)
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(2003/43/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988,
on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions
of the Member States relating to construction products (1), as amended
by Directive 93/68/EEC (2), and in particular Article 20(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Directive 89/106/EEC envisages that in order to take account of
the different levels of protection for construction works at
national, regional or local level, it may be necessary to establish
in the interpretative documents classes corresponding to theperformance of products in respect of each essential requirement.Those documents have been published as the ‘Communication ofthe Commission with regard to the interpretative documents ofCouncil Directive 89/106/EEC (
3)’.
(2)With respect to the essential requirement of safety in the event
of fire, interpretative document No 2 lists a number of interre-
lated measures which together define the fire safety strategy tobe variously developed in the Member States.
(3)Interpretative document No 2 identifies one of those measures asthe limitation of the generation and spread of fire and smokewithin a given area by limiting the potential of constructionproducts to contribute to the full development of a fire.
(4)The level of that limitation may be expressed only in terms ofthe different levels of reaction-to-fire performance of the
products in their end-use application.
(5)By way of a harmonised solution, a system of classes wasadopted in Commission Decision 2000/147/EC of 8 February
2000 implementing Council Directive 89/106/EEC as regardsthe classification of the reaction-to-fire performance of construc-tion products (
4).
(6)In the case of certain wood-based panels, it is necessary to usethe classification established in Decision 2000/147/EC.
(7)The reaction-to-fire performance of many construction productsand/or materials, within the classification provided for in Deci-
sion 2000/147/EC, is well established and sufficiently well
known to fire regulators in Member States that they do notrequire testing for this particular performance characteristic.
(8)The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordancewith the opinion of the Standing Committee on Construction,2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 62, 28.2.1994, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 50, 23.2.2000, p. 14.
▼B
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The construction products and/or materials which satisfy all the
requirements of the performance characteristic ‘reaction-to-fire’without need for further testing are set out in the Annex.
Article 2
The specific classes to be applied to different construction products
and/or materials, within the reaction-to-fire classification adopted in
Decision 2000/147/EC, are set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 3
Products shall be considered in relation to their end-use application,
where relevant.
Article 4
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 3
▼B
ANNEX
The tables set out in this annex list construction products and/or materials which satisfy all the
requirements for the performance characteristic reaction to fire without need for testing.
Table 1
Classesofreaction-to-fire performanceforwood-basedpanels (1)
Wood-based panel
products (2)EN product
grade refer-
enceMinimum
density (kg/
m3)Minimum
thickness
(mm)Class(3)
(excluding
floorings)Class (4)
Floorings
Particleboards EN 312 600 9 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
Fibreboards, Hard EN 622-2 900 6 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
Fibreboards, Medium EN 622-3 600 9 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
400 9 E, pass EFL
Fibreboards, Soft EN 622-4 250 9 E, pass EFL
►C1Fibreboards,
MDF(5)◄EN 622-5 600 9 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
►C1Cement-bonded
particleboard (6)◄EN 634-2 1 000 10 B-s1, d0 BFL-s1
►C1OSB board (7)◄ EN 300 600 9 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
Plywood EN 636 400 9 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
Solid wood panels EN 13353 400 12 D-s2, d0 DFL-s1
(1) EN 13986
(2) Wood-based panels mounted without an air gap directly against class A1 or A2-s1, d0 products with minimum
density 10 kg/m3or at least class D-s2, d0 products with minimum density 400 kg/m3.
(3) Class as provided for in Table 1 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
(4) Class as provided for in Table 2 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
(5) Dry process fibreboard.
(6) Cement content at least 75% by mass.
(7) Oriented strand board.2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 4
▼M1
Table 2
Classesofreaction-to-fire performanceofgypsumplasterboardproducts
Gypsum plaster-
boardNominal board
thickness
(mm)Gypsum corePaper gram-
mage (1)
(g/m2)Class (2)
(excluding
floorings)Density
(kg/m3)Reaction to fire
class
Conforming to
EN 520
(except perfo-
rated board)≥9,5 ≥600 A1 ≤220 A2-s1, d0
≥12,5 ≥800 > 220 ≤300 B-s1, d0
(1) Determined according to EN ISO 536 and with no more than 5 % organic additive content.
(2) Classes as provided for in Table 1 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
Note:EndUseApplication
The gypsum plasterboards shall be mounted and fixed using one of the two following methods:
(a)Mechanically fixed to a supporting substructure
The boards, or (in the case of multi-layer systems) at least the outermost layer of boards, shall be
mechanically fixed to a metal substructure (made from components detailed in EN 14195) or a
timber substructure (in accordance with EN 336 and ENV 1995-5).
When the substructure provides supporting members in one direction only, the maximum span
between the supporting members shall not exceed a dimension equal to 50 times the thickness of
the boards. When the substructure includes supporting members in two directions the maximum
span in either direction shall not exceed a dimension equal to 100 times the thickness of the
boards.
The mechanical fixings shall be screws or nails, which shall be fixed through the thickness of the
boards into the substructure at centres not exceeding 300 mm measured along the length of each
supporting member.
All joints between adjoining boards shall be fully filled with jointing compound as specified in
EN 13963.
The cavity formed behind the boards by the substructure may provide an air space, or may be
filled with an insulating material with a reaction to fire classification of at least class A2-s1, d0.
(b)Directly fixed or bonded to a solid substrate (dry lining system)
The boards shall be fixed directly to a solid substrate with a reaction to fire classification of at
least class A2-s1, d0.
The boards may be fixed using screws or nails fixed through the thickness of the boards into the
solid substrate or may be bonded to the substrate using ‘dabs’ of gypsum based adhesive
compound. In either case the screw or nail fixings or the adhesive ‘dabs’ shall be positioned at
maximum 600 mm vertical and horizontal centres.
All joints between adjoining boards shall be fully filled with jointing compound as specified in
EN 13963.2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 5
▼M1
Table 3
Classesofreaction-to-fire performanceofhigh-pressuredecorative laminatepanels
High pressure decorative laminate
panels (1)Product detailMinimum
density
(kg/m3)Minimum
overall thick-
ness
(mm)Class (2)
(excluding
floorings)
Interior grade non-FR Compact
HPL panels (3)Compact
HPL meeting
EN 438-4
type CGS1 350 6 D-s2, d0
Interior grade non-FR HPL
composite panels with wood-
based substrates (3)Composite
panels
comprising
non-FR
grade HPL
meeting the
requirements
of EN 438-3,
adhesively
bonded to
both sides of
non-FR
grade wood-
based core
of minimum
thickness12 mm
complying
with EN
13986, using
PVAc or
thermoset-
ting adhesive
at an appli-
cation rate
of 60 to
120 g/m
2Wood-basedcore
minimum
density 600
HPL
minimum
density
135012 mm
wood-based
core with
HPL
≥0,5 mm
bonded to
both sidesD-s2, d0
(1) Either directly fixed (i.e. with no air gap) to a material having a reaction to fire of A2-s1, d0 or better and a
density of at least 600 kg/m3, or mounted on a timber or metal batten support frame, with a non-ventilated (i.e.
void open only at the top) air gap of at least 30 mm, the reverse face of the cavity so formed having a reactionto fire classification of A2-s1, d0 or better.
(
2) Classes as provided for in Table 1 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
(3) Complying with European Standard EN 438-7.2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 6
▼M1
Table 4
Classesofreaction-to-fire performanceofstructuraltimberproducts (1)
Product detailMinimum mean
density (3)
(kg/m3)Minimum overall
thickness
(mm)Class(2)
(excluding floor-
ings)
Structural timber Visual and
machine graded
structural timber
with rectangular
cross-sections
shaped bysawing, planing
or other
methods or with
round cross-
sections350 22 D-s2, d0
(1) Applies to all species covered by the product standards.
(2) Classes as provided for in Table 1 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
(3) Conditioned according to EN 13238.2003D0043 — EN — 08.08.2003 — 001.001 — 7