Spray foam insulation as fire barrier
Do any of the spray foam insulations rate as a fire barrier without having drywall over them? I realized that for sealing the space between the garage and the apt. over it, spray foam would be a great choice as it will seal all of the penetrations. But all the duct work, plumbing pipes, etc make it tough to put up drywall.
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It's a fine draft stop, but not a firestop.
Google foam + fire spread
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i think some of the new dow brand foam is actually fire rated.don't remember the specific name though.good luck!
matt
I know they've made some less dangerous to breathe the smoke when it melts or buirns, but hadn't heard about fire rating any.
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airkrete.com
Bill are you a dealer/installer for air krete?busta
No, I'm not a dealer / installer of Airkrete. I did look into becoming one a few years ago but was not convinced that there was a big enough market for it here in Omaha, NE.
The plastic foams are more available and faster to install. However, Airkrete is the real thing when it comes to fire proof and insulation that will not produce toxic gases.
No. Absolutely not.
BryanSayer,
Some foam is coated with a fire supresant like Arco polymers. While not a true fire supresant it will go out when the source of ignition is removed.
However the cost of a few panels of type X sheetrock is really nominal so I would never under any conditions fail to use it.
It ain't the cost of 3 sheets of type X. It's the pain in the aze of installing it around all the obstructions.1 return
4 supply
1 gas pipe
2 water supply pipes
1 3" exhaust pipe
and the wiringAll mechanicals for the apt. are in the garage.
The AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) will have to make that call for you. If you can show enough information about it as a valid fire-stop, you may sway them - but it will be tough. I suppose you might be able to get a PE stamp to help?
Here in WI, all exposed foam of any kind must be covered with a fire rated surface (such as 1/2" drywall) before you can move in. The one exception is that you can spray-foam floor-joist bays at the rimboard. The reason (I am guessing) for the joist bay exception is that the joists help to isolate the spread of the fire.
I know this because I considered ICF's for my basement foundation. Not knowing if the basement was going to stay dry enough to eventually finish-out (high water table), and being on a tight budget, kept me from immediately drywalling the basement.
However, there are some high expansion firestop products out there (I think. . . )
Didn't someone post here once about what they read on their can of Great Stuff about this? Maybe that was draft stopping only. . . .
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