Its expert was “deeply concerned”, she told NHBC. Heath told a colleague they had thrown so much data at the LABC certificator “we probably blocked his server”. The inquiry has already concluded that plastic-filled aluminium cladding panels used to wrap Grenfell Tower during its refurbishment were the primary cause of fire spread. Kingspan told the inquiry it had not known its material was being used on Grenfell and has argued that non-combustible insulation could also fail fire tests. A cladding expert has told the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that manufacturers and contractors should have been less “complacent” before the 2017 tragedy … It is an arcane world: the British Board of Agrément (BBA) rules on a material’s performance; Local Authority Building Control (LABC) decrees if a material meets regulations; and NHBC, a warranty and insurance provider for new homes, assesses risk. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Colourful green and blue panels designed to improve insulation and soften the look of the brutalist concrete block. Material would help make the flats look better from outside, planners noted But no warning had been given to Grenfell. John Hoban, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea building control officer had consulted that very certificate to assure himself the material was safe before approving the Grenfell works. It was “great news” in 2009, when Heath told colleagues that LABC had awarded K15 a certificate for use on high-rise buildings, saying that it was “limited combustibility”. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Shockingly, the death trap combination was found in at least 60 other blocks. The material used in the cladding on Grenfell was the cheaper, more flammable version of the two available options, an investigation of the supply chain … For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Dozens died after a huge blaze hit Ladbroke Grove's Grenfell Tower, Residents claimed cladding on the outside of the building went up 'like matchsticks', Similar panels are believed to have been used on developments across London, Marcio Gomes, father of Grenfell Fire victim Logan Gomes, tells the tragic story of his son who never got to live as the Grenfell Fire Inquiry begins, London Fire Brigade warned all 33 councils in the capital about the risks of cladding on tower blocks. Overall, 111 high-rise blocks use a combination of material which failed the second of six new tests rolled out in the wake of Grenfell. Roper told the inquiry he had “felt incredibly uncomfortable with what I was being asked to do”. Adrian Williamson QC, counsel for the bereaved and survivors, said the evidence revealed “an industry in which Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan were content to push hazardous products into the marketplace and sought to market them dishonestly”. PROPOSED CLADDING MATERIALS Project: Grenfell Tower Refurbishment Project File ref. “The rig was being over-engineered to achieve a pass,” he said, adding that even at the time it had seemed “dishonest”. The flammable cladding panels used on Grenfell Tower made their manufacturer around a third more in profit than the fire-resistant alternative, an inquiry has heard. The US firm that supplied cladding used on London’s Grenfell Tower says it has ended global sales of the product for use in high-rise blocks. Roper had cautioned they might “take the view that our product realistically shouldn’t be used behind most cladding panels” because it might burn. It had called it “the Kingspan route”. Evans had asked Roper to produce slides about the test for “general use” to reflect that. Reynobond PE features a polyethylene core. But this effectively meant “you could staple the foil facer to dynamite and put it on a building above 18 metres and call it class 0”, suggested counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett QC. Construction materials come with safety certificates which designers, builders and building control officers rely on as assurance they aren’t breaking fire safety laws. Arconic gave the instruction to no longer use PE on projects in France in May 2016, said Barwise. Thousands of people still remain at risk. Leaked emails seen by The Times reportedly show that Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), who managed the building on the council's behalf, saved £293,000 by downgrading the material used to clad the 1970s tower. Email sent during tower's refurbishment demands 'good costs' for Conservative councillor Kingspan, which made some of the insulation, said everyone at the firm had been “deeply shocked”. One strategy had been to test the spread of flame across the foil which covered the boards. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Celotex, a Suffolk-based firm acquired in 2012 by the French materials giant Saint-Gobain, had watched Kingspan’s success with envy, the inquiry was told. They are supposed to guarantee safety but product manufacturers at Grenfell treated them as “mere marketing tools”, the inquiry heard. Grenfell Tower cladding that may have led to fire was chosen to improve appearance of Kensington block of flats. Concerns were also raised about cladding on three Premier Inns in Maidenhead, Brentford and Tottenham, because they did not appear to comply with government guidance for tall buildings. Councils across the country tested materials on their own buildings - here's what you need to know about the controversial decor dubbed a "silent killer". The cladding used on Grenfell was Reynobond PE, aluminium panels containing a plastic filling, that were popular in cost-conscious council refurbishment schemes. Trendy panels were used to spruce up appearance and improve insulation, but experts say they were a 'silent killer'. In 2007 Kingspan’s tests had also caused “a raging inferno”. A new product manager, Deborah Berger, asked to see the BRE test report after the product launch in October 2014 and was so alarmed at the picture of the test rig showing the fire-resistant magnesium oxide panels she scrawled “WTF?” in the margin. That year Kingspan had carried out a test on a 6-metre high wall using its K15 brand of phenolic foam. A public inquiry which opened in September will look at the material and the role it played in the fire. Rainscreens can be made with … Arconic’s representative in the UK, Richard Geater, had emailed fabricators to say that the cladding “is like a chimney which transports the fire from bottom to top … within shortest time”. In 2013, there had been a fire in a high-rise in Dubai using aluminium composite material (ACM) panels. Salford had already begun removing cladding, and nine towers to failed fire safety tests. “Kingspan, Celotex and Arconic [which made combustible cladding materials used on Grenfell] have faced no consequences – they are still making profits … But Kingspan had pushed back saying there had been two successful tests, even though the inquiry heard one of these had been a fail. For instance, the inquiry heard how in 2013 Celotex executives had known that “in the event of a fire [its insulation] would burn”. By the Summer of 2015 Wehrle had emailed colleagues with what he admitted as an “anti-commercial” opinion: “PE is dangerous on facades, and everything should be transferred to fire-resistant as a matter of urgency.”. It was a fateful moment. Public statements by Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan at times contrast what inquiry was told had been said in private. Despite the new formula, Kingspan had stuck to using the 2005 test pass to help sell the foam boards. A new regulator will be established with powers to ban the use of dangerous building materials, following evidence at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that manufacturers covered up safety issues. “The use of highly combustible materials in residential buildings is now simply an accident waiting to happen.”. Grenfell Tower in 2009, before the renovation and the installation of the cladding Grenfell Tower underwent a major renovation, announced in 2012 and conducted over 2015–16. 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