Fire Tape any experience?

[Teken]

I am on the long road and process of building a few rooms which are fire rated for 4 hours.

Has anyone ever used this fire rated tape to join the dry wall?

http://cableorganizer.com/ez-fire-tape/

 

[kbs2244]

It says it is for "mudless" installation.
Chicago has the toughest fire code in the country.
They are happy with regular paper tape when it is covered with mud.

 

[Teken]

It says it is for "mudless" installation.
Chicago has the toughest fire code in the country.
They are happy with regular paper tape when it is covered with mud.

I don't think applying some mud to the product would do any harm you think? I was of the opinion of adding the mud on to the tape no matter what.

 

[abnorm]

Read the specs at your LINK........It's only rated/approved for 1 hr and 2 hr assemblies....

 

[Teken]

Read the specs at your LINK........It's only rated/approved for 1 hr and 2 hr assemblies....

Yes, I know . . . Several of the rooms will be using 5-6 sheets of 5/8" fire rated drywall to up the burn time. All of the rooms will have interior / exterior fire suppression systems in place as well.

All of the wall panels will be cross staggered to ensure a solid structure and reduce fire penetration in the seams.

 

[Steevo]

Just curious.
How do you attach the second, third, etc. layers of drywall? Are they glued to the first layer? Or do you use r-e-a-l-l-y l-o-n-g screws?

 

[Teken]

Just curious.
How do you attach the second, third, etc. layers of drywall? Are they glued to the first layer? Or do you use r-e-a-l-l-y l-o-n-g screws?

I will be using a combination of really long screws and some new channel holders to keep the drywall in place.

All of the walls will be using Roxul fire rate insulation in all the interior walls. Some of the walls will have two separate chambered walls to ensure the longest fire suppression to keep the fire contained and isolated.

Lots of work, money, an effort to do this. Hence why I am only doing one zone at a time to do it right. I can't afford to do all the rooms at once!

 

[Provincial]

Wow, you must be 40 miles from the nearest fire station! Have you thought of a sprinkler system instead? Or an industrial fire suppression system like they have in server farms?

Fire codes can be strange. Around here if your shop is over 3000 square feet, you can't weld in it without a sprinkler system! I would think that the smaller the shop, the more cluttered it will be, and the more likely to get a fire going.

 

[Teken]

Wow, you must be 40 miles from the nearest fire station! Have you thought of a sprinkler system instead? Or an industrial fire suppression system like they have in server farms?

Fire codes can be strange. Around here if your shop is over 3000 square feet, you can't weld in it without a sprinkler system! I would think that the smaller the shop, the more cluttered it will be, and the more likely to get a fire going.

There will be 3 fire suppression systems in place as stated above. One is based on dry chem, the other will be liquid based, all of which require no electricity.

The others will be simple hand carry fire extinguishers . . .

 

[Greatbear]

Teken is going to be totally equipped for the upcoming zombie apocalypse, if tallying up various threads here is any indication.

 

[slip knot]

Wow! 4hr fire ratings gonna be a tough project. I would look at a commercial fire control installation. Not sure I've seen a 4hr rating there either.

I don't see adding aditional sheets of gyprock as being the answer. Your gonna have to look at the support structures as well.

 

[Sureshot]

Why not build with concrete and metal? Nothing to burn but furniture and even then alot of that can be had with little wood or flammable fabric. You also make it somewhat more tornado proof etc.

 

[6768rogues]

You should take a look at a UL, FM or equivalent manual. They list fire rated systems of all types with construction details. Those manuals will list tested systems. Any inspector who knows what he is doing will want the system number so that he can properly inspect it and know that it is a tested system, not just multiple layers of stuff.

 

[Teken]

Teken is going to be totally equipped for the upcoming zombie apocalypse, if tallying up various threads here is any indication.

I don't know if I will make the 2012 dead line to be honest! But, I am sure trying hard to get what I can in place . . .

Wow! 4hr fire ratings gonna be a tough project. I would look at a commercial fire control installation. Not sure I've seen a 4hr rating there either.

I don't see adding aditional sheets of gyprock as being the answer. Your gonna have to look at the support structures as well.

I am building to meet the minimum of 2 hours rating. But, the modifications of adding fire rated Roxul, 5-6 sheets of 5/8" fire rated dry wall, along with dual chambered walls separated with a fire rated fabric in between.

My hopes is that it will extend the fire rating way above 2 hours. The reality is IF there is a fire for more than 2 hours the house is lost no matter what.

The intent is to simply contain, by time, and hopefully allow the fire systems that are in place to activate, or at least allow the fire dept to reach the home and do their thing.

Why not build with concrete and metal? Nothing to burn but furniture and even then alot of that can be had with little wood or flammable fabric. You also make it somewhat more tornado proof etc.

Two of the rooms will be made of concrete cinder blocks for the safe room. The entire basement reno will be structured with metal studs. All of the removable ceiling tiles will also be fire rated along with some of the paints which are all low VOC, and slow burning.

You should take a look at a UL, FM or equivalent manual. They list fire rated systems of all types with construction details. Those manuals will list tested systems. Any inspector who knows what he is doing will want the system number so that he can properly inspect it and know that it is a tested system, not just multiple layers of stuff.

I have been looking at a few on line resources with respect to building a bomb shelter, safe room, along with fire rated structures. Right now I am just staging some of the ideas along with getting some feed back from professionals as to how best maximize the end goal on a budget.

The primary goal of the structures is that it will appear like any other normal room in anyones home. There will not be anything out of the ordinary unless you point it out to people.

Having said that the first priority is that all zones are properly chambered, sealed, and do not allow fire propagation.

This will require that the entire underside of the home be filled with fire rated Roxul. Added benefit is that the theater room will be nice and quiet and keep all the heat in the home longer during extended cold weather seasons.

The under side joists will all be covered / treated with a fire proof spray and metal end caps.

The other objective is that the primary fire suppression system does not require any human intervention, or electricity. The fail over system will be a monitored dry chem fire system which is electronically controlled.

The room that is being built and protected the most is the telecommunications room which houses all the systems which control, monitor, and activates the Home Automation, Security, and Fire Control, and Network Systems.

The only other room more important is the safe room which will have its own stand alone air, water, electrical, communications.

This whole thing will take quite a bit of time to complete so I am sure many things will change, get modified, or improved as I learn what *Not to do*

I thank everyone for their insight and feed back! I come here as always looking for critical feed back and knowledge which many of you share so freely!

 

[Teken]

I was asked by a few members to clarify and elaborate as to what I intended to use and the systems which will be helping me in this long term endeavor.

A lot of you don't know me at all. Those that do know that I try to do things differently than most. Not, just to be different but because I know there has to be a better way to do the same job!

One of my pet peeves in doing a lot of these projects is that I wanted an *A Typical* home look. With out the industrial work environment look many office building have due to code compliance issues.

Some quick back ground for you all: My primary goal when I built my home was to have the most safe, efficient, and enjoyable home possible. The end result of this pursuit has been major savings in monthly costs for utility bills. The biggest pay off has been the on going house insurance from a whopping $1200.00 per year to a measly $458.00 a year!

Due primary in part in making my home the only UL listed home in my city!

Below are some of the new system placed in service to allow me, my family, and the home to stay safe. Should there be a mishap, accident, or what have you.

This is a MAB fire grenade: These devices are mounted in all areas / zones where a potential fire hazard could occur. The photo to the left is the fire grenade(s) there are 16 of these units ready to be installed when the time comes.

Next is the MABO wall hanging fire extinguisher. This device is made of a none toxic, enviro green chemical which is rated to work in extreme cold below -35'C. These devices will explode at 155'F and will snuff out A,B,C fires and will not allow a re ignition of said fire.

There will be 24 of these devices mounted in various parts of the home. They will blend into the walls very well as light fixtures. This may be hard to tell but the fluid is blue. They will be back lit with a high output LED so they will appear to be light fixtures when in reality they are fire extinguishers mounted in strategic locations in the home, server, and communications areas with out distracting from the decor.

Below is a YouTube video of the fire system in operations:

Lastly these are the other redundant fire systems being deployed in the garage and around the home to put out any mass fires which can not be contained by the MABO systems. They will be mounted in the ceilings so only the probes appear so not to detract from the decor.

 

[danski0224]

The MABO units look pretty cool.

What kind of coverage do they provide?

Almost looks like a no-brainer.

 

[Teken]

The MABO units look pretty cool.

What kind of coverage do they provide?

Almost looks like a no-brainer.

It depends upon how it is installed and deployed. If you install it above the ceiling than it will cover a much smaller area. The intent of the MABO is to protect the wall(s) from the spreading fire.

Fire propagation along with the generation of smoke is the killer here.

I initially wanted to deploy a halon type system but couldn't do so because of the huge risks of harming my family. The areas which require a none caustic / none harmful to electrical components that is similar to Halon is something I am trying to find which doesn't cost a arm and a leg.

There are several products on the market that work like Halon. But, the costs are far above what I am able to deploy in a small home environment.

The manufacture will have the specs as to the area coverage as I don't have it in front of me.

 

[Rentawrench]

I see you take your Family safety as Very Important. A couple of questions.

How will you /they breathe ? If in that room.

Is it possible to build self closing fire doors to seal of the room on fire /an could you get out( open the door)?
Could you have a Fire suit like race car driver wear made like a robe to Help protect you an your family while trying to leave?

Been thru a few fires,1st was my apartment burned( no one was Hurt) ,2nd was my oil delivery truck burned in the driveway.( 3500 gal tanker with Alu body an 1500 gal of oil, melted the tank an it looked fire burning on top of the pool of oil.) 3rd was next doors shop/apartment burned,it ran out of air an when fire department riped open the metal building wall an fueled the fire . It went from a dull glow to burned out roof in min.

Good Luck Family Safety is Number 1

 

[Teken]

I see you take your Family safety as Very Important. A couple of questions.

How will you /they breathe ? If in that room.

Is it possible to build self closing fire doors to seal of the room on fire /an could you get out( open the door)?
Could you have a Fire suit like race car driver wear made like a robe to Help protect you an your family while trying to leave?

There are fire blankets in each level of the home accessible from all points. Area's such as the utility room, safe room, communications room will all have dedicated fire blankets.

The safe room will have its own independent chambered air supply, along with food and water. All of the electrical, communications, and security are confined and separated from the primary systems in the home.

This was designed to ensure fail over and redundancy in case of a complete
melt down, or if the primary systems were compromised due to human intervention, or accidental mishaps such as a fire.

Its a long road but so far its been really fun learning what NOT to do!!

You just have to be wrong once . . .

 

[gatchel]

Those MABO units are bad ***.

 

[Teken]

Those MABO units are bad ***.

Only if it works . . . I honestly don't want to find out!