The internal condition of a building's passive fire protection is now expected to be identified and evidenced alongside cladding works — not just the façade. We survey behind the plasterboard, record every defect against the fire strategy, and hand you compliance evidence you can act on.
In July 2026 the Building Safety Regulator made its expectation clear: non-cladding fire safety defects are expected to be identified and dealt with alongside cladding works — including where no funding stream covers them. Paraphrasing the regulator: the assessment process needs to take account of the internal state of a building’s passive and active fire measures as well as the cladding, and a building put up badly on the outside was probably put up badly on the inside too. (Paraphrased from the Building Safety Regulator, July 2026.) In our experience that is exactly right — behind the plasterboard commonly sit unsealed penetrations, missing cavity barriers and compartment lines that were never continuous. We find them, record them, and evidence the fix.
Building Safety Regulator, July 2026, as reported by the Fire Protection Association.
A non-destructive, visual condition survey of the passive fire protection concealed in a building's fabric, verified against its fire strategy and compartmentation drawings where available, and against the construction observed where they are not.
The fire-resisting lines that divide a building into compartments — checked for continuity where they meet structure, services and each other.
Every pipe, cable, duct and tray passing through a fire-rated wall or floor, checked for a tested seal appropriate to the service and substrate.
Head-of-wall, wall-to-wall and expansion joints, where movement gaps are routinely left unsealed or sealed outside their tested scope.
Barriers in concealed voids, external wall cavities and at floor-to-wall junctions — the routes fire and smoke spread unseen.
Shaft walls and floor closures at each level, a common point where compartmentation is broken during services installation.
The concealed plenums above and below occupied space, where later works routinely puncture the compartment line without record.
Door sets audited against current guidance — gaps, seals, hinges, closers, glazing, signage and installation — recorded defect by defect.
A written narrative report of what was surveyed, the condition found, and the priority actions — structured so a non-technical duty holder and a specialist reviewer both read the same conclusion.
Every defect logged with its location, a photograph, a defect type and a P1/P2/P3 priority against defined criteria — the same priorities used in the report and on site, so everyone speaks one language.
The register is built so the remediation can be costed without a second investigation visit — by us or by any contractor you appoint.
Findings referenced to the compartmentation drawings where provided, with a record of which fire strategy and drawings the survey was assessed against.
A clear statement of the standards referenced, what was and was not accessible, and a signed declaration that the findings are a true record of the conditions observed — the competence evidence a reviewer expects.
Report and register are structured to be retained as part of the building's fire safety documentation — the golden thread of information for higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022.
The register is structured so remediation can be priced without a second investigation visit — by us, or by whoever you appoint. Every defect carries its location, a photograph, a P1/P2/P3 priority and a recommended remedial action, so the schedule is ready to cost the day you receive it.
The evidence of internal passive fire condition your Building Assessment Certificate and safety case now need — captured, prioritised and ready to act on.
The intrusive compartmentation detail a fire risk assessment relies on but rarely covers — a condition survey that feeds your assessment rather than duplicating it.
The non-cladding defect picture the regulator now expects to be scoped alongside the façade — found, recorded and priced-ready before it derails the programme.
These surveys support your own duties as a duty holder — under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the Building Safety Act 2022, including the golden thread of building safety information for higher-risk buildings. Where a defect has no tested solution for the construction present, we flag it to be referred to the designer for a change, or to an accredited third party for an assessment in lieu of test, the position ASFP set out in Advisory Note 17 — never improvised on site. Goldthread Ltd carries professional indemnity insurance, alongside public and employers' liability.
This is a passive fire protection condition survey. It is not a fire risk assessment and does not replace one. It provides the compartmentation evidence your fire risk assessment or remediation strategy depends on.
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