2003/593/EC: Commission Decision of 7 August 2003 amending Decision 2003/43/EC establishing the classes of reaction-to-fire performance of certain construction products (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2003) 2592)
Date: 2003-08-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: building materials, building safety, fire protection, product safety, safety standard

8.8.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 201/25

COMMISSION DECISION

of 7 August 2003

amending Decision 2003/43/EC establishing the classes of reaction-to-fire performance of certain
construction products

(notified under document number C(2003) 2592)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/593/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)

(2)

Commission Decision 2003/43/EC (3) establishes classes
of reaction-to-fire performance of certain construction
products, namely wood-based panel products.

Decision 2003/43/EC should be adapted to technical
through the inclusion of certain gypsum
progress
products,
laminate
certain high-pressure decorative
panels and certain structural timber products in confor-
mity with the classification established in Commission
Decision 2000/147/EC of 8 February 2000 imple-
menting Council Directive 89/106/EEC as regards the
classification of
the reaction-to-fire performance of
construction products (4).

(3)

(4)

Decision 2003/43/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accor-
dance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on
Construction,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Annex to Decision 2003/43/EC is amended as set out in
the Annex to this Decision.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 7 August 2003.

For the Commission

Erkki LIIKANEN

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 13, 18.1.2003, p. 35.
(4) OJ L 50, 23.2.2000, p. 14.

L 201/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

8.8.2003

In the Annex to Decision 2003/43/EC, the following Tables and note shall be added:

ANNEX

‘TABLE 2

Classes of reaction-to-fire performance of gypsum plasterboard products

Gypsum plasterboard

Nominal board
thickness
(mm)

Conforming to EN 520 (except
perforated board)

≥ 9,5

Density
(kg/m3)

≥ 600

Gypsum core

Reaction to fire
class

Paper gram-
mage (1)
(g/m2)

Class (2)
(excluding
floorings)

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: End Use Application

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 substruc-
ture includes supporting members in two directions the maximum span in either direction shall not exceed a dimen-
sion 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.

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 201/27

Classes of reaction-to-fire performance of high-pressure decorative laminate panels

TABLE 3

High pressure decorative
laminate panels (1)

Product detail

Minimum density
(kg/m3)

Minimum overall thickness
(mm)

Interior
Compact HPL panels (3)

grade non-FR

Compact HPL meeting
EN 438-4 type CGS

1 350

6

Wood-based
minimum density 600

core

HPL minimum density
1 350

12 mm
wood-based
core with HPL ≥ 0,5 mm
bonded to both sides

Interior
grade non-FR
HPL composite panels
with
wood-based
substrates (3)

panels
Composite
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 thickness
12 mm complying with
EN 13986, using PVAc
or
thermosetting adhe-
sive at an application
rate of 60 to 120 g/m2

Class (2)
(exclud-
ing floor-
ings)

D-s2, d0

D-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 reaction to 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.

Classes of reaction-to-fire performance of structural timber products (1)

TABLE 4

Product detail

Structural timber

Visual and machine graded structural timber
shaped by
with rectangular cross-sections
sawing, planing or other methods or with
round cross-sections

(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.’

Minimum
mean
density (3)
(kg/m3)

Minimum
overall
thickness
(mm)

Class (2)
(excluding
floorings)

350

22

D-s2, d0