I’m not a builder, but I’m hoping someone here can help me out with a question. I am a photographer and am building portable walls to be used to display photos at trade fairs and art shows. The show I’m getting ready to attend has a rule that walls constructed of wood need to have a visible wet stamp.
I’m planning to use fire-rated plywood, which meets all of the other required standards, but when I asked at the lumberyard about a wet stamp the employee didn’t even know what I was asking about (and neither did I).
After some research it seems this is something usually applied by an architect or contractor to certify the fire rating (maybe?). Is there any way that a person can get this applied to something they build themselves? I’m only making temporary, portable walls, so there is no architect or contractor involved.
Thanks for any help you can offer in understanding this!
Replies
Wet stamp= original stamp of approval...not a copy!
Wet stamp refers to an original stamp of certification..not a photo copy. What you are being asked is to provide an engineer-certified structural plan BEFORE you build your wall. This is required as a precaution by the folks who run the trade fair. They would be held liable if your wall fell and injured someone. Expect to $hell out $ome $erious greenback$...sigh!
To some extent this engineering is a scam. In Florida you need stamped plans for just about anything, even a shed. When I designed my addition the intake techs insisted on engineering although everything was pretty much standard practice and I copied the details from mastered plans of the houses my wife was building.
I went to an engineer who drew up plans based on my drawings, added the details he got from the state and it failed, He worked on them some more and it failed. Then he took my original plans, laid that on the copier surrounded by the state's details and if flew through. I think he was embarrassed because he never sent me a bill.