I recently put an addition on my house with an attached screened porch. The house and the porch share a common attic space. The ceiling on the porch is tounge and groove redwood. I had the final inspection and the inspector said I needed to take down the wood and put up drywall due to the common attic space.
First of all I would like to know if this is correct, the inspector could not tell me where in the code book to look. Secondly if it is correct, is there another alternative? Any input is greatly appreciated.
Lipper
Replies
Mr. Lipper,
In construction, you have to think like water, think like termites, think like the wind, think like gravity, and in this case, think like fire. These are all your enemies, sooner or later. What is the weak point? Where will it fail?
While fires are not common starting on porches [what do I know?], it is possible - perhaps a brushfire or something. Heat rises. Then it burns thru the wooden ceiling and gains access to your attic. So your inspector has some point there.
Now to solve the problem: Fires stop at drywall. Perhaps you could put a layer of drywall above the porch joists but this would be weak so maybe cover it with some OSB or something. Make sure there is firestopping. Another possibility is building a separator wall over the front wall of your house in the attic. Again use fire blocks and seal all electrical and plumbing, etc. penetrations.
Hope this spurs further comments.
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