Mortar (firestop)

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Firestop mortars are most typically used to firestop large openings in walls and floors required to have a fire-resistance rating. They are passive fire protection items subject to stringent bounding. Firestop mortars most often exhibit densities near 1kg/L. This makes the product easy enough to handle, yet heavy enough to absorb a lot of heat from penetrants, to keep the unexposed side of the assembly cool.

Firestop mortars differ in formula and properties from most other cementitious substances and cannot be substituted with generic mortars without violating bounding requirements.

Firestop mortar, starts as a powder, is mixed with water, forms cement stone, dries hard, is often leavened with lightweight aggregates, such as perlite or vermiculite and pigmented to distinguish it from generic materials in an effort to prevent unlawful substitution and to enable verification of bounding.	Firestop mortar being dumped into trash bin for mixing with potable water, using drill and mudwhip. Larger installations use mixer/feeder pumps, but small firestop jobs use drill and paddle.	20kg bags of firestop mortar are mixed at once for immediate installation.	Firestopped cable tray penetration. The cables and the tray are penetrants.
Cable tray cross barrier firestop test, full scale wall, in Germany as per DIN4102.