Fire-Resistant Insulation and Systems

It's not just the major building blocks of your home that need to be fire-rated. Your safety also depends on eliminating gaps where fire breathes in oxygen and moves through walls and into the rest of your home. Caulking holes where pipes intersect with floors and on walls around door and window casings with a product such as UL-listed Metacaulk 1000 could help contain fires and keep them from spreading. This water-based, fire-rated caulk expands and hardens at about 375 degrees F to seal off voids. Most silicone-based caulks will begin to char and burn at around 300 degrees. (See metacaulk.com for more information.) $9.45; ebuildingproducts.com