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Exterior hotel walls

J

JPotter04210

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Jan 5, 2012
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I am an engineer who has been charged with designing the structure of a hotel. Our basis is IBC 2009. The builder wants to frame it with wood which is permitted with size and height restrictions - I see it as R-1, type V. They will sprinkle the building and have used that to increase the area beyond the 12,000sf limit. Therefore, I conclude that per table 601 the building must be potected construction. My question is this, it appears that the exterior walls must be fire rated according to the seperation requirements shown in table 602, is this correct and are there any caviats which I am missing in regards to exterior wall openings or planer inconsistnacies?
 
Thanks north star, I am glad you are here to guide me. As they say in Muppet Treasure Island, "even in the South China Sea, Polaris is north".
 
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In looking at Table 601 & 602 [ from the `09 IBC ], it appears as though

your conclusions are correct!

& &
 
Thanks!

As an aside, if I am right does that mean I've done something today and do I get the rest of the day off?
 
VA or B? How many stories? No rating on VB if you stay within the values of table 503 as modifed by the sprinklers (and open perimeter, etc.)...if exceeded, you may need to change construction type!
 
Steve, they will sprinkle the building and use the sprinklers to increase the area beyond the 12,000sf limit imposed by table 503 thus it must be protected; so it must be built as type A (protected) since the area can be increased by 200% if it is sprinkled but not in a type B (unprotected) construction. If I read these tables correctly, that is.
 
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If the tabular allowable area is 12,000sf, then we must be talking about V-A. If the sprinklers are used for an area increase, then they must be per NFPA 13, not 13R (506.3) and cannot be used for fire-resistive substitution (506.3 Exception 3).

If the exterior wall is a bearing wall, then Table 602 is of no consequence to a Type V-A building, as 601 prescribes a 1-hour wall.

If a NFPA 13R sprinkler system is used, then the building may be enlarged by use of Fire Walls per 706. In such case, be prepared to specifically address 706.2 and 706.6, as positions of jurisdictions can differ with regard the allowance of continuous floor sheathing through the fire wall for shear!
 
I believe that you can have a VB sprinklered building and gain the benefits thereof, but I do not know if that is the best way to go.....A and B is to some extent rated and unrated (not always), sprinklers are entirely different.... (protected by rating vs. protection by sprinklers) one of the DP's on here may give you better insight, but that is my simple explaination...
 
Table 602 applies to non-bearing exterior walls and partitions. If the walls are bearing then Table 601 applies as well as 704.10.
 
Aegis,

1) Yes, we are indeed discussing V-A, NFPA 13 must be the sprinkler criteria, and the sprinlers cannot be used for fire resistive subsitution.

2) Table 601 shows footnote 'f' referring to table 602 for fire rating on exterior load bearing walls for type V-A construction, so should't I follow table 602 for those particular walls?

3) Contunity of fire wall construction, specifically through decks, is a complicated issue and one I am taking very seriously. Thank you for the heads up. I believe I do need to follow NFPA 13, as opposed to NFPA13R in this instance as it is a multi story hotel where the sprinkler system has been used to increase the allowable square area. Am I correct?
 
What is the area per story? How many stories? Knowing this will help us understand your situation in regard to allowable area, allowable height, and construction type.

You might as well use Type V-A as the minimum since you'll probably have 1-hour construction throughout to separate the sleeping units. You can go to 1/2-hour rating, but there is only one UL system that I know of with that rating for walls (none that I know of for floor/ceiling assemblies)...unless you choose to use the calculated method.
 
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