6 Building Construction Components Flashcards
Walls that are erected to limit the maximum fire spread
Firewall
Firewalls are typically constructed of
Masonry
Firewalls are constructed with a rating of
2-4 hours
Firewalls can be constructed as either freestanding walls or
Tied walls
Freestanding walls must be designed to resist a lateral load of at least
5 pounds per square foot
A tied firewall is erected in a column line in the building steel or concrete frame construction true false
True
True false no combustible structural members may penetrate through a firewall
True
Height of the parapet wall varies from
18-36 inches tall
All door openings in firewalls must be protected by
Either automatic or self-closing fire doors
If the firewall is required to have a fire resistance rating of four hours the openings for them they will be protected with what rated fire door on each side
Three hour rated fire door
Smoke dampers are required inside of ducts penetrating fire walls with a fire resistance rating of
Two hours or greater
A wall that lies on a lot line between two buildings and is common to both buildings, erected to limit the maximum spread of fire
Party wall
True false party walls are usually never loadbearing
False party walls are almost always loadbearing
Party walls frequently function as
Firewalls and extend through a building from basement to roof
Very common location for breaches in party walls is in
Attics and cocklofts
True false it is not against code to reach a party wall for any reason
False
Interior walls used to subdivide area of a building or floor but do not qualify as firewalls
Fire partitions and fire barriers
Walls directed from the floor to underside of the floor above or bottom of fire rated ceiling may not extend continuously through a building
Fire partition
Fire partitions are typically fire resistive for how long
One hour
Fire resistance rating for fire barriers ranges from
1-4 hours
Walls used for area separations hazard protection stairwells and shaft. Also used to create areas of refuge
Fire barrier
Instruction a fire barriers is identical to fire partitions except the partitions are allowed to terminate at the bottom of a fire rated floor or ceiling assembly and fire barriers are required to
Terminate at the bottom of the roof deck or at the floor above
The partition wall separating adjacent units in an apartment building may be required to have a fire resistance rating of
One hour
Common method of construction for a partition wall that is not loadbearing
Half inch gypsum both sides of 2.5” steel studs
A fire partition wall with half inch gypsum board on both sides of 2 1/2 inch wood studs would have a fire resistance rating of
One hour loadbearing
Enclosure walls are required to have a fire resistance rating of
1-2 hours depending on the height of building
True false enclosure walls are usually loadbearing
False they are usually non-loadbearing
The design function of the curtainwall is to
Separate interior environment from exterior environment
Required fire resistance rating of a curtainwall depends on the separation distance between
Separation distance between buildings and the buildings occupancy
True false movable partitions are never loadbearing
True
Fire resistive movable partitions generally have a fire rating of
1-2 hours
Identifies the amount of time and material or assembly of material will resist a typical fire as measured on a standard time temperature curve
Fire resistance rating
Embers can ignite the roof deck under roof tiles and Spanish tiles by
From the Ember blowing underneath the tile
Roof method of holding down covering are using rock over tarpaper rock helps with concerns of fire and provides wind resistance
Ballasted roof
Flooring material consisting of marble and stone chips set instrument or epoxy resin and ground to a smooth finish
Terrazzo
Sometimes referred to as Mexican paper tiles used in interior and exterior commercial and residential applications as flooring material
Clay tiles
Most commonly used method of fire protecting steel structural members
Gypsum board, concrete, sprayed on material
From a fire protection standpoint the most substantial wood floors are those found in what type of construction
Heavy timber type IV
The floor decking and a type IV construction is
Minimum 3 inches thick plank with 1 inch finish the flooring
Heavy timber beams for floor units are what dimension
6 x 10” beams
Floor joists in ordinary woodframe construction vary in size from
2 x 6”-2 x 14” spaced 12-24 inches apart
Floor decking for ordinary woodframe construction is typically plywood or nominal board subfloor of what thickness
1 inch
Building codes may require wood or metal diagonal bracing were solid blocking between joints to keep the floor supports from twisting underload. This is called
Bridging
The major disadvantage of masonry building components is
Is the weight of the material or assembly
Floor finishes are classified by
The amount of heat that can be applied before it ignites and fire spreads
Class i floor coverings can withstand higher temperatures before igniting than
Class ii floor coverings
The fire resistance of a floor assembly plays a primary role in preventing
Vertical communication a fire and products of combustion
The interstitial space between a floor bottom and the ceiling system can be used as a return air Plenum him. In this case, Inspectors must ensure the materials wires ducts pipes etc. are
Are noncombustible are rated for Plenum use
Stairs that are built to resist the spread of fire and smoke are called
Protected or enclosed
Stairs that are not required to be part of the means of egress system and typically connect no more than two levels are called
Access or convenience stairs
And both the NFPA and international code Council, ICC, stairway rise and run are specified after
4-7 inches rise, 11 inches run
Each successive step cannot different in size from the one before or after by more than
3/8 of an inch
Although these Systems have been used in the past as a means of egress, they are no longer allowed as components required means of egress from normally occupied space
Fire escapes escalators and fix letters
Depending on building height, protected stairs are in close with fire rated construction usually rated at
1-2 hours
Penetrations for billing services prohibited in protected stairways. Additionally what type of door is required
Self or automatic closing fire rated doors
Stair enclosures using active or passive smoke control may be defined as
Smoke proof
Billing code allows the use of unprotected stairs building is when they
Connect only two adjacent floors above the basement level
Doors maybe classified by the way they operate generally the following five types of doors are used
Swinging. Sliding. Folding. Vertical. Revolving
Type of door that rotates around a vertical axis by means of hinges secured to the side jams of the doorway framing
Swinging door
Generally swinging doors are required as
Exit doors in means of egress
Sliding doors are never allowed as part of
Part of a means of egress because they slow the travel of people through the door
Distance from any given area and a structure to the nearest exit or to a fire extinguisher
Travel distance
A revolving door is used to minimize what through a door opening to reduce heating and cooling costs
Airflow
From a firefighting standpoint, a revolving door prevents the movement of
Equipment and firehose
To overcome restrictions under emergency conditions the wings of the revolving door must
Collapse to provide an unobstructed opening
The use of revolving doors in a means of egress is severely limited and must provide what
Swinging door within 10 feet of revolving door
Coach limit the amount of force required to collapse the wings of a revolving door to
130 pounds
A type of door that consists of vertical and horizontal members that frame a rectangular area
Panel door
Fire doors are rated at what time
4 hours. 3 hours. 1.5 hours. 1 hour. 3/4 hour. 1/3 hour.
This indicates the type of opening that is to be protected based on the location and required level of protection. Form of classification no longer used
Alphabetical fire door
Class a fire door
Openings and firewalls. Openings in wall that divides structure into separate fire areas
Class B fire door
Openings in vertical shafts such as stairwells and openings in 2 hr rated partitions
Class C fire door
Openings between rooms and corridor having fire resistance of 1 hour or less
Class D fire door
Openings and exterior walls subject to severe fire exposure from outside building
Class E fire door
Openings and exterior wall subject to moderate or light exposure from outside
A code may permit an opening in a two hour rated stairwell enclosure to be protected with what rated fire door
1.5 hour rated fire door rather 2 two hour rated fire door
A code may also require 23 hour rated fire doors to protect an opening in a four hour rated wall and may not permit what doors to be used
May not permit a 3 hour tour in combination with a 1.5 hour door to satisfy the requirement
What type of door rating maybe found used as a smoke barrier and an opening to a hallway
1/3 hr
Difference between rating of a firewall and a fire door assembly is because of
Firewall assumes there are combustibles close to all unprotected side. Fire doors are assumed to have a clear space on protected site
What type of fire door may not be subject to a hose test
1/3 hr
For a fire door to effectively blocked the spread of fire it must
Remain closed and attached to the fire rated wall under fire conditions
Type of fire door commonly used to protect and opening a firewall in an industrial occupancy or an opening in the wall separating buildings into fire areas
Overhead rolling steel fire door
It rolling overhead fire door cannot be used on any opening that is required to be part of
The means of egress
Swinging fire doors are available with ratings between what, and can be constructed of a variety of materials
Between 3-hours to 20 minutes
Fire doors with ratings of 1, 1.5, and 3 hours can have glass panels up to what size
100 Square inches
3/4 hour fire doors can have a total glass area that does not exceed what size
1296 in.²
One third of our fire doors can have fire rated glass up to a maximum area to which
To which the door was tested
Louvers can be installed in a fire door so long as they
So long as they close the event of a fire
Swinging doors can be equipped with louvers if the door is rated to what
Up to 1.5 hours
A window that consists only of a frame and a glazed stationary sash
Fixed window
Window that has a side hinged sash that is usually installed to swing outward
Casement window
Type of window that swings outward at the top or bottom and slides upward or downward and grooves it is usually operated by a push bar that is notched to told the window in place
Projecting
What type of frame is a fire window manufactured with
Steelframe
Because other types of fire rated glazing use an interior gel that is not suited for exposure to cold temperatures, what type of glass is commonly used for Windows at exterior openings
Wired glass
Hanging fabric material such as draperies and curtains are not treated as interior finishes unless
They are applied to a ceiling or wall
Building code usually exclude surface treatment such as paint that is no thicker than
1/28 of an inch
A device that is 25 feet long, 17.5 feet wide, and 12 feet high. It is used to determine fire rating
Steiner tunnel test
Most commonly used method for evaluating surface burning characteristics of materials
Steiner tunnel test
Materials with what class rating are required in vertical exits of most occupancies
Class a 0-25
Which class rating is required in hallways or corridors that provide exit access
Class B 26-75
Maximum flame spread rating allowed is
200
As with the flame spread rating red Oak is used as a standard and has the same rating for smokes developed which is
100
Maximum smoke developed rating
450, or 4.5 times the amount generated by red oak floor
Types of fire retardant coatings
Intumescent paint.
Mastics.
Gas forming paints.
Cementitious and mineral fiber coating
The act of dividing the structure into areas that resist fire spread contain combustibles or increase fire protection capability
Compartmentalization
To prevent mushrooming model building codes require what at the top of practically every elevator hoistway
Venting
Fire rating for elevator hoist ways
1-2 hour rating
Single elevator shaft
One shaft one elevator
Multiple elevator shaft
One shaft per elevator
Blind elevator shaft
Elevator does not serve the entire distance of the shaft
Most common fire resistance rating for elevator hoist way door
1.5 hour
Escalator steps usually move at speeds of either
90 ft./m or one 20 ft./m
Escalator stairs are linked together in what is called a step chain.The driving machinery is located where
Under an access plate at the upper landing
Vertical openings over escalators are typically protected by sprinkler draft curtains which are
Curtain walls extending 18 inches down. Row of sprinklers outside draft stop
The model code specifies shaft enclosures to be protected by
Fire resistive construction
Chute provided for the removal of trash and garbage from upper floors of a building
Refuse shoot
Smoke damper is usually actuated by
A smoke detector, automatic alarm signals from building fire alarm system
Most codes require an HVAC system over a certain capacity be provided with an internal duct smoke detection device to turn the system off automatically when smoke is detected. What size
2000 ft.³ per minute
Types of conveyor systems
Roller, chain, bucket system
Most common type of conveyor system is
Horizontal conveyor which must pass through fire barriers
What usually protects conveyor penetrations through a wall
Water spray or a closing fire door
Primary concern for conveyor belt penetrations during a fire is
Incomplete door closure
Term used to describe electrical equipment that is used to isolate circuits and energized equipment
Switch gear
Generators may be limited to operating what
Fire protection and suppression systems
Emergency lighting
Two most common method for cooling transformers
Air cooling. Oil cooling
Lead acid batteries contain the following two hazardous materials
Sulfuric acid. Metallic lead
Sulfuric acid in lead acid batteries also releases what gas
Hydrogen gas during charging
Metallic lead is
A toxic heavy metal
