During construction aboard ships, it is necessary to protect various surfaces from damage caused by workers' activities such as construction, painting, refit, new build, maintenance and repair. Surfaces requiring such protection include carpet, glass, decks, tile, flooring, fiberglass and bulkheads. Current methods of temporarily protecting such surfaces include the use of drop cloths, tarps, polycarbonate sheeting and polyethylene sheeting with pressure sensitive adhesive (AMERICOVER CARPET COVER.TM., Maritime Resource Group, San Diego, Calif.; Carpet Mask, Poly-Tak Protection Systems, Huntington Beach, Calif.).
Fire safety is increasingly recognized as being important aboard ships and in many other industries, especially during building and construction. These are particularly dangerous periods because the chance of fire is significantly increased during these activities. Fires are particularly life threatening aboard a ship. Although some ship owners require that such materials be fire-retardant, no laws exist in the United States or Europe requiring such protective materials to be fire retardant in the maritime industries.
Fire-retardant materials currently used as temporary protective coverings include non-adhesive fire-retardant 10-30 mil polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyethylene film (COVERGUARD.TM., Bainbridge Aquabatten, Canton, Mass.; MEGA FILM.TM., Mega Film Ltd., Berkshire, U.K.), fire-retardant plywood, door skins, herculite, bergboard and foil paper. Each of these materials must be taped in place, a cumbersome, time-consuming process considering the typical areas on a ship which must be covered prior to construction activity and the area shapes and sizes aboard a ship to be protected. Because commercial ships are rarely out of commission for more than 15 days during a wet or dry dock, the time taken to protect surfaces before work can commence is critical. Moreover, the majority of these materials are fairly expensive.
In addition to the maritime industries, there are numerous other situations in which protective coverings can advantageously be applied to surfaces. Those situations include conventional building construction and renovation, aircraft repairs, painting, automobile maintenance, and the like. Although the need for fire retardant properties in such coverings has not been well realized in the prior art, such properties provide a significant advantage.
Thus, there is a need for an easy-to-install, effective, inexpensive temporary fire-retardant protective covering for ship surfaces and other surfaces, such as those in other vehicles, living areas and work areas. The present invention satisfies this need.