2

In my condo (three floor building) the interior walls are all Fireguard-grade 5/8 drywall attached to 11 gauge structural steel studs (which SUCK except for when hurricanes blow through). Each original penetration has a fireguard “box” around it. I’m wondering if this is necessary? The construction is party wall, so there are four sheets of Fireguard between my interior and my neighbors. I’m told my interior wall is required to be 1hr firewall.

picture of drywall box inside stud cavity

tahwos
  • 717
  • 3
  • 9
benmarks
  • 192
  • 7
  • Never seen that before. But then again my experience has all been with single family dwellings. Why don't you ask your local building/inspection department? Even if something like that is not required by code (but I don't know if that's the case or not), your jurisdiction may have stricter standards, – SteveSh Jan 04 '20 at 16:14
  • Are there any penetrations to the other side of the wall in the adjacent stud spaces or above the junction box? – NoSparksPlease Jan 04 '20 at 16:41
  • @nosparksplease - there are not. There is a double firewall between my place and the neighbor’s interior firewall. – benmarks Jan 04 '20 at 16:58
  • What is penetrating the firewall at this location? a few PEX water pipes? – ThreePhaseEel Jan 04 '20 at 17:12
  • @ThreePhaseEel - only a 1G receptacle box. No penetration through back firewall. The blue conduit you see is smurf tube, supplying the 120v THHN. – benmarks Jan 04 '20 at 17:30
  • @benmarks -- ENT was the other thing I would have guessed, didn't notice the receptacle box until now though. How many smurf tubes penetrate the firewall? Just one coming out the back of that receptacle box? – ThreePhaseEel Jan 04 '20 at 17:36
  • In this case there are three penetrations of that odd “box”. But literally anywhere there is any box penetrating my interior wall, it’s boxed within the stud cavity. If the studs were solid I could maybe understand, but they are slotted every 2’ to facilitate pass through of cables/conduit. – benmarks Jan 04 '20 at 17:51
  • @benmarks -- I see where the "box" is penetrated, but that's not the question at hand: I'm asking how many things actually cross the boundary of the firewall itself – ThreePhaseEel Jan 04 '20 at 18:07
  • @ThreePhaseEel - 4 gang spread across a ~30’ wall. – benmarks Jan 04 '20 at 20:23
  • @benmarks -- I mean, *at this point in the wall* – ThreePhaseEel Jan 04 '20 at 23:00
  • Just the one gang outlet. Nothing behind. Nothing in the same stud cavity. I’m stumped. – benmarks Jan 05 '20 at 00:07

0 Answers0