Commercial 2 Hour Fire Rated Wall Construction
Each system can be customised to provide the exact level of fire performance required and a range of acoustic and thermal performance to meet each specific application.
Commercial 2 hour fire rated wall construction. Fire resistance ratings are expressed in the number of minutes or hours a structure can withstand a fire simulation test. The supporting construction for fire barrier walls shall be protected to afford the required fire resistance rating of the fire barrier supported except for 1 hour fire resistance rated incidental use area separations as required by table 508 2 in buildings of type iib iiib and vb construction. Recent developments in firewall construction demand some re examination of the original purpose and functions of fire walls. Two hour walls are not required on most conventional single family houses but are standard on multi unit buildings such as duplexes apartments and commercial structures.
Lumber shall be identified by the grade mark of a lumber grading or inspection agency that has been approved by an accreditation body that complies with the. As applied to elements of buildings the fire resistance rating classifies the ability of an assembly to confine and isolate fire within a zone comprised of fire resistance rated. Fire resistance rated construction in other words the time in minutes or hours that materials or assemblies like a firewall have withstood a fire exposure as determined by tests is a passive form of protection that provides resistance to the advance of a fire as. American softwood lumber standard ps 20.
Typical masonry wall in wood frame construction. There are many ways to meet the requirements for 2 hour fire rated separation walls including foundation to roof masonry walls separating the units. 1 hour wall 2 layers of 5 8 drywall i think you can extrapolate from there 8inch concrete block is 2hour most fire rated walls are built around mechanical electrical rooms or as fire breaks between tenant lease spaces. Fire ratedfire resistance ratings have long been used by ul astm and building codes to measure the performance of various constructions for fire containment purposes.
An increasingly common and popular method is the gypsum area separation wall which consists of individual stud framed walls filled with fiberglass insulation for each housing unit which are separated by a special construction that consists of. Fire protection engineering bulletin. Some areas like mine require a minimum of a 2 hour rated wall between a restaurant lease space and another lease space. For class 2 to 9 buildings including multi residential and commercial buildings gyprock fire performance solutions include.
According to the engineered wood association a one hour rating indicates that a wall constructed in a manner similar to the one tested will contain flames and high temperatures and support its full load for at least one hour after the fire begins. Check building codes for specifics on fire rated walls. Table 1 for one hour rated wall assemblies and table 2 for two hour rated wall assemblies. Design and construction of firewalls issue number.