Adjacent House/Garage Wall - Can I Remove This...?

[bnr32jason]

I was tearing down drywall to prepare for insulation and wiring and came across this board nailed to the studs. This is where the house and the garage share a wall, but I still can't understand why it's there. This thing is really in the way as far as running wiring and I wanted to add some better insulation for sound deadening as well.

I've looked into the fire code and local building codes and everything just says the attached portion of the garage just needs 1hr fire protection, which I can get with properly rated 1/2" drywall. I even called my city and they told me 1hr fire rating is the only requirement as far as wall covering goes. The drywall that's up there doesn't meet that code, so I'm assuming this extra boarding they put up was to meet code, but it causes access problems for me, and creates a step on the wall so the drywall isn't even all the way across. This is a problem because I want it smooth for a makeshift projector screen with some screen paint.

Can I remove this board and just use properly rated drywall instead? If so, that would be much easier for me all around. I'd appreciate any advice! Thanks!

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I was tearing down drywall to prepare for insulation and wiring and came across this board nailed to the studs. This is where the house and the garage share a wall, but I still can't understand why it's there. This thing is really in the way as far as running wiring and I wanted to add some better insulation for sound deadening as well.

I've looked into the fire code and local building codes and everything just says the attached portion of the garage just needs 1hr fire protection, which I can get with properly rated 1/2" drywall. I even called my city and they told me 1hr fire rating is the only requirement as far as wall covering goes. The drywall that's up there doesn't meet that code, so I'm assuming this extra boarding they put up was to meet code, but it causes access problems for me, and creates a step on the wall so the drywall isn't even all the way across. This is a problem because I want it smooth for a makeshift projector screen with some screen paint.

Can I remove this board and just use properly rated drywall instead? If so, that would be much easier for me all around. I'd appreciate any advice! Thanks!

How about furring out the rest of the studs to match?

 

[bnr32jason]

How about furring out the rest of the studs to match?

This was my initial thought, actually I was going to just going to put another piece of 1/4-1/2" drywall over the first piece to get it to match up with that step. I didn't want to mess with the studs since I'll be insulating, didn't want that extra air space. But that still leaves me with the wiring issue. I can cut some access holes and then run wiring up and through the attic if I have to I guess. But seems like it might be just as easy to remove that board (if it's a smart idea) and run through with the existing wiring.