UL 263: Fire Tests of Building Construction and Material

Standard: UL 263 – Fire Tests of Building Construction and Material

Scope: These requirements are intended to evaluate the length of time that various types of assemblies will contain a fire or retain their structural integrity, or both, dependent upon the type of assembly involved, during a predetermined test exposure. The test evaluates the assembly's resistance to heat, and in some instances to a hose stream, while carrying an applied load, if the assembly is load bearing.

Applicable Products: These fire tests are applicable to assemblies of masonry units and to composite assemblies of structural materials for buildings, including bearing and other walls and partitions, columns, girders, beams, slabs, and composite slab and beam assemblies for floors and roofs. They are also applicable to other assemblies and structural units that constitute permanent integral parts of a finished building.

Test Procedure: Under these requirements a specimen is subjected to a standard fire exposure controlled to achieve specified temperatures throughout a specified time period. In some instances, the fire exposure may be followed by the application of a specified standard fire hose stream.

End Result: These test requirements provide a relative measure of fire performance of comparable assemblies under these specified fire exposure conditions and assign a time-based fire resistance rating identifying such performance. These requirements cover measurements and determinations during the test exposure to include

Measurement of the transmission through the assembly of heat, and of gases sufficiently hot to ignite cotton waste in walls, partitions, floors, and roofs.
Measurement of the load carrying ability of load bearing elements in wall, partition, floor, and roof assemblies.
Measurement of the load carrying ability of individual load bearing assemblies, such as beams and columns, with consideration for the end support conditions, either restrained or not restrained.

If certification is chosen, the Listing Report and application Design Listings will be created and published following successful testing. Both the test report and Design Listings will include the achieved Fire Resistance Rating.

Intertek Testing Locations: Elmendorf, TX; Coquitlam, BC*; Middleton, WI*; York, PA* (*Vertical assemblies only)