We Core It, We Seal It: A Fire Stopping Project in Greater Vancouver

On a recent commercial project in Greater Vancouver, the mechanical contractor needed new pipe penetrations through concrete floors — and every one of them had to be fire-stopped to BC building code before inspection. Instead of hiring a coring contractor and then a separate fire-stopping contractor, the client called scanXpert to do both.

That is the whole idea behind “We Core It, We Seal It”: one crew cores the openings for plumbing and electrical work, and after the pipes and equipment are installed, the same crew seals every penetration to the required standard — so fire and smoke cannot spread between floors or units.

The Work: Coring First

We cored clean, precise openings through the concrete slabs at each marked penetration point. Because we knew we would also be doing the fire stopping, every opening was sized and finished with the seal in mind — no oversized holes, no ragged edges that complicate the firestop installation later.

The Seal: Fire Stopping to Code

After the pipes were installed, we returned and sealed each penetration with fire-rated materials matched to the assembly and the required fire rating. Every penetration was sealed around the full circumference of the pipe, finished clean, and left ready for inspection.

Penetrations are the weak points in any fire separation. An unsealed or poorly sealed opening lets fire and smoke travel between floors and suites — exactly what the BC Building Code’s fire-stopping requirements exist to prevent. Getting the seal right is not cosmetic work; it is life-safety work.

Why One Contractor for Both

Splitting coring and fire stopping between two contractors creates gaps — literally. The coring crew does not think about the seal, and the fire-stopping crew inherits whatever holes they are given. When one crew does both, the openings are cut for the seal from the start, scheduling is simpler, and there is a single point of accountability at inspection time.

Learn more about our fire stopping service in Vancouver, BC, or request a free quote — call scanXpert at (236) 868-2111, open 24/7 across Greater Vancouver and BC.