Steel Fence to Thwart Fire?
Has anyone tried this, or have any thoughts on whether this could meet code: To circumvent the 3-ft noncombustible material regulation, install a solid steel privacy fence that acts as a fire barrier. Is there anything in code that allows a wood deck with a fire-stop barrier? It seems so logical, but of course the…
Has anyone tried this, or have any thoughts on whether this could meet code: To circumvent the 3-ft noncombustible material regulation, install a solid steel privacy fence that acts as a fire barrier. Is there anything in code that allows a wood deck with a fire-stop barrier? It seems so logical, but of course the entire regulation defies logic.
That’s a good question. A deck and a roof deck are actually considered very different items and are mentioned in different sections of the code. A roof deck falls under section (Subchapter) 5: FIRE PROTECTION CONSTRUCTION
REQUIREMENTS, Article 4: PREVENTION OF EXTERIOR FIRE SPREAD: 27-338 Roof structures:
(j) Miscellaneous roof structures. – The following roof structures may be constructed of combustible material if
less than twelve feet high above the roof: antenna supports; flagpoles; clothes drying frames; duckboarding or
platforms that do not cover more than twenty per cent of the roof area at that level.
“platforms…” is what refers to roof decks.
The 3 feet doesn’t apply because the roof itself should have fire rated construction within 3 feet of the lot line, or have a 12″ high parapet providing fire separation between buildings.
JH
Thanks, JimHill, I’ll try that first on my own. Do you know if the 3-foot property line regulation negates the 20 percent limit on combustible material on a roof deck.
I think you’re asking way too much of a plan examiner. There certainly isn’t a section of the code that specifically addresses this suggestion, so even if they thought it was an acceptable solution, they would disapprove it because the code says no combustible deck construction within 3 feet of the lot line. This is not necessarily because the examiner is being stupid or unreasonable. The examiner’s job is to enforce the code as it is written, not to interpret it. That’s the borough chief’s job.
If you really want to pursue this, you’d have to file a pre-consideration application so that a chief examiner can see it and provide a ruling based on an interpretation of the code. The actual pre-consideration application is really not that bad, so go ahead, consult an architect and ask her/him to file one for you, or do it yourself. The forms is a CCD1: Construction Code Determination Form, and doesn’t even need an engineer to sign it if the job has not yet been filed.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
Urban Pioneering Architecture
OK then, CMU.
Now, is anyone familiar with anything in the building code that would allow a deck of combustible material with a CMU wall at the property line — that is, a fire barrier?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_masonry_unit
what is cmu, other than carnegie mellon university?
I don’t see how the “entire regulation defies logic”. People cook out on grills on back decks. With fire and burning coals and all that.
steel melts when there is a fire, that is why it needs to be encased with fireproofing in new construction. If you want a firestop you need a brick or cmu wall.
What about installing a fire suppression system like they use in restaurant exhaust hoods…or gas stations.