Firewall In Condo Attic

Apparently when the condo s where originally built the common wall was not extended to the roof sheathing.

Firewall in condo attic.

I checked with a couple other inspectors and the general concensus was the firewall was missing. Looked at a job air sealing and adding some insulation in a condo. For example if there is a middle located townhome with adjacent units on either side you will have 1 hour of fire separation at each side. Arriving at a condo development with many small buildings each building with two levels and housing 10 or 12 units i was met by the buyer who already lived in a different building and the seller.

Owner is very interested in having the work done but. Also the units were converted to condos townhomes in 2007 and the builder made significant updates but again the attic was not changed. Material needed to fix a firewall at home. The first picture below illustrates a portion of a townhome unit s firewall in an attic that is totally sealed off to provide 1 hour of fire protection on both sides.

In tha attic there were firewalls between the units. It didn t seem right though as it was just such a huge oversight. And that is true condos have fire protection between units for a reason. In addition each unit needs to be self supporting where the collapse of one unit will not damage the neighboring unit.

I guess im just looking for. I dont inspect a lot of condos but this morning i did one. The firewall should extend into the attic separating your attic space from the attic above the neighboring units. The international residential code requires that in townhomes and duplexes each unit needs to be separated from the next by fire walls.

Because of this the condominium association wants a fire barrier put in if any work is done in the attic. Designed as an extra layer of protection between the house and the garage an intact firewall resists the intrusion of fire into the home.