ASTM E136

ASTM E136 is the test method building codes use when they define a material as noncombustible. A small specimen is heated in a 750 °C vertical tube furnace. Materials that meet the method’s criteria are typically classified as noncombustible. It is not the ignition-resistant test. A pass is a lab result for that specimen. It is not a listing and not a permit.

On siding, that mix-up is the usual one. Specifiers write “noncombustible Hardie” when the drawing, the insurer, or ORSC R327 asked for a defined path. Fiber-cement is a product family. Some models name E136. Others do not.

Why it matters

Embers collect at the wall base, at roof-to-wall joints, and against anything that touches the covering. A combustible covering that ignites there can carry flame to windows, eaves, and vents. Codes and insurer checklists therefore ask for noncombustible material in some locations.

They also ask for ignition-resistant material in other locations. Those are different tests. If you treat them as synonyms, you will spec the wrong covering.

How the test works

ASTM’s public scope for E136-24 is a fire-test-response method. The furnace exposes a building-material specimen to 750 °C (1382 °F). There are two apparatus options. Option B points at ASTM E2652.

Materials that pass are typically classified as noncombustible. Limited flaming is still allowed. Do not read the word as “cannot flame at all.”

The specimen is a small, specified volume. It is cut from a thick sheet, stacked from thin sheets, or placed in a container if the material is granular or loose-fiber. ASTM states the method does not test materials in the nature and form used in a building. A pass is not an assembly rating for the wall as built.

ASTM also states the method does not apply to laminated or coated materials, and is not suitable for materials that soften, flow, melt, or intumesce away from the thermocouple. A paint-on coating is outside this method.

The method does not measure an intrinsic property, heat generation, or self-heating. It does not, by itself, decide fire hazard on a lot. Adopted code and the building official still sit on top.

The paths

1. Code definition. Oregon R327, where adopted, defines noncombustible by ASTM E136 (amendment PDF). That definition is what the wall, projection, gutter, and deck menus point at when they say noncombustible.

2. Prescriptive path covering menu, same code. Exterior walls may be noncombustible, ignition-resistant, heavy timber, log, or a tested assembly. Noncombustible is one row. Type X gypsum behind cladding is a deemed-to-comply assembly path. It is not an E136 pass for the visible board.

3. California listing path. OSFM category 8175 is Noncombustible Materials. The 2025 WUI handbook names ASTM E136 as that category’s protocol. Some category 8140 siding and sheathing rows also name E136 and a Noncombustible rating. Listing remains voluntary for most WUI products. Absence from the handbook is not an automatic ban. Presence is not an automatic permit. See OSFM BML.

4. Insurer extras. IBHS Wildfire Prepared Essential does not require noncombustible wall covering. Enhanced does. That is a designation. It is not this test method. Oregon and California are not the same job. Read R327 versus CWUIC.

Metal mesh, metal gutters, and inorganic Zone 0 groundcover also use the word noncombustible. Those are material recipes. They are not E136 listings.

What people mix up

• Calling ignition-resistant the same thing as noncombustible. Oregon R327 ignition-resistant is ASTM E84 or UL 723 extended to 30 minutes, flame spread index not more than 25. OSFM category 8170 is Ignition-Resistant Materials with an extended E84 protocol. Category 8175 is the E136 bucket. Do not swap 8170 and 8175.

• Calling every fiber-cement product noncombustible. On this site, Hardie Textured Panel (8140-2026:0502) and Reveal Panel (8140-2026:0501) carry handbook notes of ASTM E136 and a Noncombustible rating. HardiePlank and HardiePanel (8140-2026:0005) is an 8140 record without that E136 rating on the handbook line we ingested. Confirm the live listing.

• Treating a brand as a listing. The listing is a model, thickness, and often a substrate. “Hardie” is not an ID.

• Painting a fire coating on wood and calling the result E136 or noncombustible. ASTM states this method does not apply to coated materials. Coatings are not on the R327 wall list. See Findings.

• Reading an E136 pass as a permit. A listing body may use the test. The building official still stamps the job. How to read a listing.

• Assuming every metal panel needs an 8175 row. Prescriptive noncombustible metal can meet a code recipe without a handbook line. The reverse is also true. An 8175 line is not an Oregon permit.

How to check

1. Read the adopted code definition. If R327 applies and the path says noncombustible, the definition is ASTM E136.

2. If you spec a listed model, open the product page, then the listing URL. Match the listing ID and the model. Look for test protocol ASTM E136 and a Noncombustible rating when that is the claim. How to read a listing.

3. Search the live OSFM BML record. Do not spec from a screenshot. Listings change.

4. Walk the wall. Note the covering, the first two feet above grade, and anything attached. An E136 line on a panel does not fix a wood fence screwed to the siding.

Limits

This page does not decide what your building official will stamp. It does not make the house fireproof. It does not rank brands. It does not turn an 8175 or 8140 table into a shopping list.

E136 does not test the wall as built. It does not test vents, roofs, or glazing. It does not replace ignition-resistant, heavy timber, Type X, or a flame-exposure assembly test. R327, where adopted, is a new-construction code with replacement and addition rules that the local department interprets.

Products that name E136 on this site

Confirm the live GOVmotus record before specification. This table is not a complete 8175 catalog.

Sources

1. ASTM E136-24 (ASTM International)
2. 2023 ORSC Section R327 amendment (Oregon Building Codes Division)
3. OSFM Building Materials Listing and WUI handbook (CAL FIRE OSFM; categories 8140, 8170, 8175)
4. OSFM Building Materials Listing search (CAL FIRE OSFM)
5. BCD wildfire hazard mitigation (Oregon Building Codes Division)
6. Wildfire Prepared Home (IBHS)
7. 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code