ULC CAN/ULC 701.1:2025 Standard for Thermal Insulation, Polystyrene Boards

PREFACE

This is the Sixth Edition of the Standard for Thermal Insulation, Polystyrene Boards, CAN/ULC 701.1.

This Edition of the Standard has been formally approved by the ULC Standards Committee on Thermal Performance and Energy Use in the Built Environment.

This Standard has been developed in compliance with the requirements of SCC for accreditation of a Standards Development Organization.

Only metric SI units of measurement are used in this Standard. If a value for measurement is followed by a value in other units in parentheses, the second value may be approximate. The first stated value is the requirement.

Annexes A and B, identified as Normative, form a mandatory part of this Standard.

Annex C, identified as Informative, is for information purposes only.

In Canada, there are two official languages, English and French. All safety warnings must be in French and English. Attention is drawn to the possibility that some Canadian authorities may require additional markings and/or installation instructions to be in both official languages.

This Sixth Edition National Standard of Canada is based on, and now supersedes, the Fifth Edition.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this Canadian standard may be the subject of patent rights. ULC Standards shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Requests for interpretation of this Standard should be sent to ULC Standards. The requests should be worded in such a manner as to permit a “yes” or “no” answer based on the literal text of the requirement concerned.

This CAN/ULC 701.1 Standard is under continuous maintenance, whereby each revision is approved in compliance with the requirements of SCC for accreditation of a Standards Development Organization. In the event that no revisions are issued for a period of four years from the date of publication, action to revise, reaffirm, or withdraw the standard shall be initiated.

Comments or proposals for revisions on any part of the Standard may be submitted at any time. Proposals should be submitted via a Proposal Request in the Collaborative Standards Development System (CSDS) at https://csds.ul.com.

This Standard is intended to be used for conformity assessment.

Scope

1.1 This Standard specifies the requirements for factory made rigid polystyrene insulation in the form of boards with or without facings or coatings made by moulding of pre-expanded beads (EPS) or extrusion of polystyrene (XPS). This Standard does not apply to laminated products manufactured with any type of rigid board facer including fibreboard, perlite board, gypsum board, or oriented strand board.

1.2 This Standard describes product characteristics and includes procedures for testing, evaluation of conformity, marking and labelling. This Standard covers four types of rigid expanded polystyrene distinguished on the basis of their material properties.

1.3 Products manufactured to meet the requirements of this Standard are intended for use as thermal insulation in building construction and other applications, whether applied on a building site or in a prefabrication (manufacturing) facility, for service temperatures ranging from –54 °C to +75 °C. The properties contained in this Standard are considered suitable for most insulation applications. If the intended application requires other properties – e.g., cryogenic, flotation, pipe covering, etc. – consult manufacturers for specific recommendations and properties.

1.4 The performance of systems incorporating rigid polystyrene insulation manufactured in compliance with this Standard is not addressed in this Standard.

1.5 Requirements for flat, uncoated EPS thermal insulation boards for use in exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) are addressed in Annex B. Recommended practices for verification of quality consistency by the manufacturer and by a third party are included in Annex C for EPS insulation

1.6 This Standard does not purport to address all possible end-use concerns. It is the responsibility of the user of this Standard to contact the manufacturer regarding design considerations for specific end-use applications. The test methods listed in this document are used to determine the values for the material properties. These values are intended for use in specifications, product evaluations and quality control.

They are not intended to predict in situ end-use product performance.

1.7 The testing and evaluation of a product against this Standard may require the use of materials and/or equipment that could be hazardous. This document does not purport to address all the health and safety aspects associated with its use. Anyone using this standard has the responsibility to consult the appropriate authorities and to establish health and safety practices, in conjunction with any existing applicable regulatory requirements, prior to its use.