Patent Application
20070094945
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a structure having a fire resistance rated, area separation wall and, more particularly, to a two-hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall for a structure including an interior support structure; only an outer membrane on each side of said interior support structure; and a substantially organic thermal insulation barrier between the outer membranes.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Multi-family residential constructions typically include a separation wall constructed of wood members and having an insulating material between the units. These wood members may include dual two-by-four framing with a drywall surface on both sides of the framing. In most cases, this type of construction requires that the drywall be attached to the interior surface of the framing before the framing is placed upright to serve as a wall. After the framing is placed upright, insulation material may be positioned in the framing, and later an additional drywall membrane is fastened to the outside of the framing to complete an interior wall. This process is expensive, labor-intensive and time consuming.
One purpose of such a dual membrane construction of an area separation wall is to provide a fire resistance separation between adjacent spaces to meet federal, state and local regulations concerning the fire resistance of such a construction. Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), an independent, not-for-profit product safety testing and certification organization, has been testing products for public safety for more than a century. Because UL has an undisputed reputation as the leader in U.S. product safety and certification, it is advantageous to obtain classification of a building product by UL. One UL test, ANSI/UL 263 (ASTM E119 and NFPA 251), involves rating such a separation wall for fire resistance. If a separation wall including only an outer membrane could be developed that is sufficiently fire resistant to gain UL classification for two-hour fire resistance, such a separation wall would be less costly to construct than conventional separation wall.
Thus, there is a need for a structure having a fire resistance rated, area separation wall, the structure including a first and second building units and a two- hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall having only outer membranes.
The present invention is directed to a structure having a fire resistance rated, area separation wall including: a first building unit; a second building unit; and a two- hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall having only outer membranes. In the preferred embodiment, the two-hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall includes: (a) an interior support structure; (b) only an outer membrane on each side of the interior support structure; and (c) a substantially organic thermal insulation barrier between the outer membranes. Also, in the preferred embodiment, the structure having a fire resistance rated, area separation wall may include a tying structure connecting the fire resistance rated, area separation wall to the first unit and the second unit.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a structure having a fire resistance rated, area separation wall including: a first building unit; a second building unit; and a two-hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall having only outer membranes.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a two-hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall for a structure including: an interior support structure; only an outer membrane on each side of the interior support structure; and a substantially organic thermal insulation barrier between the outer membranes.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a structure having a fire resistance rated, area separation wall, the structure including: a first building unit; a second building unit; and a two-hour fire resistance rated, area separation wall having only outer membranes, The area separation wall including: (a) an interior support structure; (b) only an outer membrane on each side of the interior support structure; and (c) a substantially organic thermal insulation barrier between the outer membranes; and a tying structure connecting the fire resistance rated, area separation wall to the first unit and the second unit.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings.
In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward,” “rearward,” “left,” “right,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
Referring now to the drawings in general and
The outer membranes 24 preferably are a fire resistant wallboard, including Type X and Type C gypsum wallboard (GWB) as defined in ASTM C11. The gypsum wallboard preferably conforms to ASTM Test C-36-96. The substantially organic thermal insulation barrier 26 between the outer membranes 24 may be selected from the group consisting of fibrous material, granular material, pellet material, aggregated material, agglomerated material and mixtures thereof. The substantially organic thermal insulation barrier 26 may be a natural material. The natural material may be cellulosic. The substantially organic thermal insulation barrier 26 may be an acoustically non-conductive material.
As can be seen, the top of the area separation wall can be formed either by a top plate 37 overlaid with a tying structure 34 or by a top plate 37 overlaid with a second top plate 37 separated by an inch. Thus, there are two configurations. One is with a single top plate 37 and a tying structure 34 that joins the two walls (shown in
Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading of the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.
