On 13/05/2016 21:25, Tim Lamb wrote:
In message ,
writes
On Friday, 13 May 2016 20:58:55 UTC+1, wrote:
Could the vertical faces of the beam be plasterboarded and skimmed,
but the underside of the metal painted without being plastered?

Depends ... the beam might have to be encased to maintain structural
performance in the event of a fire. If you need an unencased beam for
aesthetic reasons you'd need to have specified that before specifying
the beam.

BC accepted timber cladding as fire protection of a steel beam here. 20
years back so regs. may have tightened.

You can get intumescent paints to protect ironwork.