Fire Blocking In Exterior Walls

The international building code ibc has fire blocking requirements that are intended to limit the spread of flames smoke and gases in combustible concealed spaces such as a wood frame wall cavity.

Fire blocking in exterior walls.

We will also go through some methods used in home construction to prevent the spread of a fire. 707 2 exc 6 shaft requirement may be eliminated for chimneys when fireblocked 708 4 fireblocking required in fire partitions when not continuous between deck and ceiling 803 4 ftnote a interior finish paneling over furring strips 804 4 1 subfloor construction 1406 2 4 combustible exterior wall veneers. If one should ever occur. Fire blocking between studs.

Materials for fire blocking. In other words these cavities can act like the flue on a fireplace and actually promote the rate in which a fire could grow. In the habitat house we worked in baltimore city two weekends ago the project team installed additional fire blocking in the studs of the house by nailing a 2 4 half way up on the wall. One layer of 3 4 in.

Opening up interior and exterior walls and ceiling reviled a perfect example of chimney walls inside and out connected to ceiling truss bays. Fire blocking being installed both vertical there are no sill plates anywhere and horizontally although each room runs joists different directions wall bays connect ceiling. One layer of 3 4 in. These spaces can create drafts that will allow fire to spread readily if not dealt with.

Particleboard covering any seams. Spaces of masonry or concrete fire wall. Fire blocking is a blocking device inserted between the top plate of your exterior wall and the exterior masonry wall. Horizontal basement wall fire blocking fire blocking must also be installed every 10 horizontally along the wall irc 302 11 1.

Vertical basement wall fire blocking fire blocking basement walls is installed by nailing on strips of 5x8 or thicker o s b. Plywood covering any seams. This provides some additional fire protection benefits and will slow the spread of a fire up a wall by limiting the amount of. Fire blocking in stud walls is required in wood framed buildings to stop drafts in the cavities between framing members.

These requirements contained in ibc 2015 section 718 2 2 state that fire blocking is required vertically at the ceiling. Blocking or nailers used to support fixtures railings cabinets and support of interior and exterior finishes furring strips as permitted in ibc section 803 11 combustible exterior wall coverings balconies and similar projections and bay or oriel windows in accordance with ibc chapter 14. Or drywall to the top plate and over the gap between the concrete wall and the framed wall. Materials approved for fire blocking are just common building materials.