Tag Archive for ‘fire rating’
The Easiest Place to Find Fire Rated Assemblies is the Gypsum Association Manual
After several projects of fighting with the UL Manual (Underwriters Laboratories) and the International Building Code I discovered that there is a much easier visual way to find fire rated assemblies. I use the Gypsum Association Fire Resistance Design Manual. Everything is visual and it is generally acceptable to building departments. It contains the most [...]
Rating of Floors and Ceilings of Exit Enclosures
(Disclaimer: Code Analysis especially for egress and fire ratings is very building specific and a solution that works for one building may not work for another.) In a recent project I set about to solve a question that occurs quite frequently in multi-story buildings. Can you rate the ceiling or “lid” of a stair or [...]
2009 International Code Manuals Available for FREE Viewing Online
Electronic versions of the Code books for the 2009 International Codes including the 2009 IBC (International Building Code), the 2009 IRC (International Residential Code) and the 2009 IFC (International Fire Code) have been made available for free viewing by the ICC (International Code Council). The 2009 Code Books are also available for purchase on the [...]
Construction Types V-A and V-B in the International Building Code
Section 6 of the International Building Code defines types of construction for buildings. The type of construction that you select is important because it tells you how big and how tall a building you can construct for your occupancy. For small commercial projects, the most common construction types are V-A and V-B. (The V is [...]
Latch Required in Fire Doors – Opening Protectives
Under the International Building Code, fire doors and swinging pairs of fire doors must be provided with an active bolt that can secure the door when locked. One spot where this could be easily overlooked is restrooms shared between spaces where the restrooms do not have lockable doors. If a door is in a fire [...]
Achieving a 2 Hour Floor Ceiling Assembly From the Underside Only
One of our current projects is a change of occupancy where the change will require a 2 hour rating between the main level A-2 occupancy and the R-2 occupancy above. The challenge in these situations is that you do not want to tear into the floor or change out the floor framing members. In new [...]
Elevator Machine Rooms Need To Be Rated Too
The International Building Code requires that elevator machine rooms and machinery spaces have at least the same rating as the elevator shaft. The openings into the machine room also need to be protected with doors having a fire rating equal to the fire rating of the doors protecting the hoistway (elevator shaft).
Fire Door Protection Ratings May Be Less Than the Rating For the Wall Assembly
There is a common assumption that a wall with a certain fire rating will require a door with an equal rating. While the door will generally need to be rated it oftentimes requires a lower rating. These are the numbers from the 2006 International Building Code. First, exterior walls always allow reduced ratings in doors. [...]
Dwelling Unit Separation Wall at Duplexes and Townhomes (2 Hour Fire Wall)
The International Residential Code requires that in townhomes and duplexes, each unit needs to be separated from the next by fire walls. In addition each unit needs to be self supporting where the collapse of one unit will not damage the neighboring unit. In my experience the best way to make this work is with [...]
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