Fire Barriers

Standards

• Building Thermal Insulation

  Thermal insulation installed in the opaque building envelope of commercial, institutional, multifamily, and residential buildings, covering above-grade wall cavity and continuous insulation, low-slope and steep-slope roof and attic insulation, floors and ceilings over unconditioned space, crawl space enclosures, below-grade foundation walls, and under-slab and slab-edge insulation. Covers all principal insulation forms sold in the North American market: mineral fiber batt, blanket, and board; loose-fill and dense-packed cellulose, fiberglass, and mineral wool; extruded, expanded, and graphite-enhanced polystyrene board; polyisocyanurate board; cellular glass; wood fiber and cellulosic board; spray-applied polyurethane foam; and reflective insulation and radiant barriers. Also covers the thermal resistance basis used to demonstrate energy code compliance, surface burning and foam plastic fire requirements, vapor retarder classification and placement, air barrier coordination, thermal bridge mitigation, and field verification before assemblies are concealed.

• Electrical Rooms

  The dedicated indoor electrical room and the electrical closet as a space: the room that houses service equipment, switchgear, switchboards, panelboards, motor control centers, dry-type transformers, transfer switches, drives, UPS modules, control-power batteries and the open or paralleling generator sets installed indoors. Covers the working space and the dedicated electrical space the adopted electrical code requires about the equipment, headroom, the number of entrances, door swing, clear opening and panic hardware, locking and free egress, the fire-resistance rating of the enclosing construction where a code sets one, the exclusion of piping and ductwork foreign to the electrical installation, water protection at the door and on the floor, the heat-release basis and the ventilation or cooling performance the room has to deliver, the temperature and humidity limits taken from the equipment ratings, illumination and emergency illumination of the working space, the convenience receptacle, housekeeping pad provision, floor finish, the room ground bar, the signs on the room door, the coordination drawing that proves every clearance before the room is framed, and the field verification before the room is closed in and before equipment is set.

• Gypsum Board Assemblies

  Interior gypsum board partitions, furred walls, and ceilings, and the gypsum sheathing on framed exterior walls, in commercial, institutional, multifamily, and residential buildings. Covers the gypsum panel products by exposure and duty: regular, Type X, and Type C board, sag-resistant ceiling board, mold- and moisture-resistant board, glass-mat faced board, abuse- and impact-resistant board, the wet-area backer boards that carry tile on framed walls, gypsum base for veneer plaster, shaftliner in area separation walls, and glass-mat and paper-faced gypsum sheathing. Covers the nonstructural steel studs, runners, furring, and resilient channels furnished to ASTM C645 and installed to ASTM C754, the suspended and direct-attached ceiling framing that carries gypsum board, deflection heads and partition bracing, in-wall blocking and backing for the trades that hang work on these walls, execution of fire-resistance-rated and sound-rated assemblies to their design numbers, perimeter acoustic sealant and electrical box treatment, fastening, multi-layer application, trim accessories, control joints, joint treatment, levels of finish, and textured finishes.

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