cburgess
Member
Does a simple wood-framed wall and ceiling (studs and joists), covered with a sheet of 5/8" gyp board, qualify as a V-A construction type? It was my understanding that there's a difference between a rated assembly (such as the ones I described) and a rated protected structural member, which is what "A" is all about. For starters, it's the whole assembly that results in the hour rating, including what's on both sides of the system. The single layer of 5/8" gyp on the room side doesn't give an hour protection to the studs and joists in the wall/ceiling, does it? If this were II-A, I'd expect to see each member, including individual joists, completely enclosed in fire-resistant materials. Does a different standard apply to wood, or am I misunderstanding the whole concept?
This seems to me to be a very basic question that every person who uses the building code needs to come to grips with. And yet I've never seen a definitive explanation in the code itself.
Thoughts?
Craig Burgess
This seems to me to be a very basic question that every person who uses the building code needs to come to grips with. And yet I've never seen a definitive explanation in the code itself.
Thoughts?
Craig Burgess