Elevator smoke curtain and fire curtain installation
We furnish and install elevator smoke curtains, vertical and horizontal fire curtains, smoke curtains, and deployable draft curtains on commercial buildings, anywhere in the US. You send the bid invite. We price the curtains, supply them, install them, and test them before handover.
Elevator smoke curtains
Elevator smoke curtains are most of what we install. The curtain sits in a slim housing above the elevator door. When the fire alarm goes, it drops and seals the opening so smoke doesn’t travel up the hoistway to other floors.
Why GCs see them in bid invites
Many buildings have to protect elevator hoistway openings from smoke. A smoke curtain at the door can meet that requirement without building an enclosed elevator lobby on every floor. That saves floor area and framing. Whether it’s allowed on your job depends on the code edition and the local official.
What we coordinate
The housing goes above the door, so we work out the head detail with the framer, the ceiling contractor, and the elevator contractor before anything gets built.
How it connects to the alarm
Your electrician brings power and the fire alarm signal to our junction box. We make the final connections inside our box and test the curtain.
Fire curtains
Fire curtains are rated fabric assemblies that stay rolled up out of sight. When the alarm goes, they drop and close off the opening to stop fire from spreading. Architects use them where a rated wall or door would block the space the design needs.
Vertical fire curtains
These close off openings in rated walls, like large openings into atriums, corridors, or open floor plans.
Horizontal fire curtains
These close off openings in rated floors and ceilings.
Smoke curtains
Smoke curtains stay hidden until the alarm goes, then drop to keep smoke from moving through the building. They let the architect keep spaces open without adding doors or walls.
Corridor smoke curtains
These close off corridors to split a floor into smoke compartments.
Open-area and atrium smoke curtains
These drop around atriums and large open areas to keep smoke from spreading between floors and zones.
Deployable draft curtains
Deployable draft curtains stay hidden in the ceiling and drop on alarm to hold smoke back around open floor connections, like atriums and escalator openings. Because they stay retracted until the alarm goes, the architect gets an open ceiling with no fixed baffle hanging down.
What furnish and install includes
When we take curtain scope, this is what you get:
Submittals
Product data and shop drawings for each opening, sent for approval before we order.
Field verification
We check the openings in the field before the curtains are made.
Coordination
We coordinate head details and backing with the framing, ceiling, and elevator trades.
Installation
Our crew installs every curtain and housing.
Alarm connections
Your electrician brings power and the alarm signal to our box. We finish the connections inside it.
Testing and closeout
Operational test of every curtain, punch list, O&Ms, and sign-off. For testing after the building opens, see fire curtain inspection and testing.
What we need from other trades
- Framer: backing and blocking at each housing location
- Electrical: power and fire alarm conductors to our junction box
- Ceiling: openings and access per our shop drawings
Brand-neutral. We match the curtain to the opening and the code.
We don't push one product. We price what fits the opening, the rating, and the code. If the spec names a product, we price that.
Questions GCs ask about curtain scope
On many projects, yes. It depends on the code edition the jurisdiction uses and what the local official accepts. The drawings usually show which way the architect went. We'll confirm it when we review the bid invite.
Your electrician brings power and the alarm signal to our junction box. We finish the connections inside it and test the curtain.
No. We furnish and install. That way one company owns the product, the install, and the test.
Yes. Each curtain is tested at handover, and on a schedule after the building opens. We do both. See fire curtain inspection and testing.
Got curtain scope in a bid invite? Send it over.
Tell us what you're working on. We reply the same business day.