Fire Blocking In Exterior Walls

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.

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 stud walls is required in wood framed buildings to stop drafts in the cavities between framing members. Horizontal basement wall fire blocking fire blocking must also be installed every 10 horizontally along the wall irc 302 11 1. In this video i will explain what fire blocking is and how it works.

One layer of 3 4 in. Two layers of 1 by lumber. If one should ever occur. In other words these cavities can act like the flue on a fireplace and actually promote the rate in which a fire could grow.

One layer of 3 4 in. 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. These requirements contained in ibc 2015 section 718 2 2 state that fire blocking is required vertically at the ceiling. 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.

These spaces can create drafts that will allow fire to spread readily if not dealt with. 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. Materials approved for fire blocking are just common building materials. Particleboard covering any seams.

Fire blocking between studs. Opening up interior and exterior walls and ceiling reviled a perfect example of chimney walls inside and out connected to ceiling truss bays. This provides some additional fire protection benefits and will slow the spread of a fire up a wall by limiting the amount of. Vertical basement wall fire blocking fire blocking basement walls is installed by nailing on strips of 5x8 or thicker o s b.

Materials for fire blocking. It s purpose is to prevent the spread of smoke and flames from reaching the bottom of the 1st floor of your home from the basement area thereby burning through and spreading to the 1st floor of the home. Fire blocking is a blocking device inserted between the top plate of your exterior wall and the exterior masonry wall. Plywood covering any seams.