Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

" wrote in message
news
Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to
the wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I
want to sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been
suggested to me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont
see how as the wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been
able to get a response from local city authorites on this. Any info would
be greatly appreciated.

Building codes usually call for a 5/8" covering of drywall or fire rated
material. On top of that, we, as a society of homeowners, put paneling,
pegboard, paper covering, all sorts of decorative material. drapes, etc.

My garage is detached. I insulated it, put up drywall, but in some areas I
put plywood or pegboard over the drywall for the convenience of hanging. I
don't give a damn about codes, it works. I don't see it as a safety issue
but I take normal precaution of electrical, tools, liquids etc. That, IMO,
is a far greater danger than a piece of plywood to hang tools.

wrote:
Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

The code requirement that I know of is a fire separation between house
and garage.
That leaves the other wall free for what ever you want.

As Palowski notes, real world arrangements includes all kinds of
flammable materials.

TB

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 16:18:21 -0500, "
wrote:

Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.



As long as you cover it with a fire-rated depth of sheetrock, you
should be fine. It used to be that if you had 3/4" of wood,
you didn't need sheetrock at all, but I don't know if that's
still the case. (In a single dwelling unit, that is.)

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 16:18:21 -0500, "
wrote:

Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.


Oh, by the way: If you want a cheaper way out, you could just
run ledger-board the whole length of that wall at two or three
heights. If you put a back-bevel or ship-lap along the to edge,
you can even hang things like cabinets that way.

" wrote:

Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

If the ultimate wall surface is 5/8" firecode drywall it will not make
any difference fire rating wise if there is a layer of plywood between
the drywall and the wall studs (other than the increased cost). The
drywall provides the fire rated protection for the plywood just as it
does for the studs.

Pete C.

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to
the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want
to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested
to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as
the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

If the ultimate wall surface is 5/8" firecode drywall it will not make
any difference fire rating wise if there is a layer of plywood between
the drywall and the wall studs (other than the increased cost). The
drywall provides the fire rated protection for the plywood just as it
does for the studs.

Pete C.
The plywood would be on top.

" wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

Im tired of looking for a stud every time I want to fasten something to
the
wall in my garage and being limited by the position I can put it. I want
to
sheath one wall, maybe two in plywood on the inside It has been suggested
to
me that ths may be against code and be a fire hazard. I dont see how as
the
wall will still be covered in 5/8 drywall. I havent been able to get a
response from local city authorites on this. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.

If the ultimate wall surface is 5/8" firecode drywall it will not make
any difference fire rating wise if there is a layer of plywood between
the drywall and the wall studs (other than the increased cost). The
drywall provides the fire rated protection for the plywood just as it
does for the studs.

Pete C.
The plywood would be on top.

Wrong, put the plywood behind the type X drywall. You maintain the fire
rating and the ability to attach shelving or whatever at any point.
There is nothing to be gained by putting the plywood as the exposed
surface and you loose fire rating.

With plywood on the exposed side, it can be ignited readily since it has
no fire protection and it then provides a fuel source that could burn
long / intense enough to defeat the rating of the type X drywall behind
it and ignite the studs or rafters on the other side. With the plywood
behind the sheet of drywall the plywood receives the full protection of
the drywall.

Pete C.

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

Wrong, put the plywood behind the type X drywall. You maintain the fire
rating and the ability to attach shelving or whatever at any point.
There is nothing to be gained by putting the plywood as the exposed
surface and you loose fire rating.

With plywood on the exposed side, it can be ignited readily since it has
no fire protection and it then provides a fuel source that could burn
long / intense enough to defeat the rating of the type X drywall behind
it and ignite the studs or rafters on the other side. With the plywood
behind the sheet of drywall the plywood receives the full protection of
the drywall.

Pete C.

Why would he lose the fire rating if his wall assembly, (5/8" drywall on
both sides of studs), is still intact?

Tim Mulvey wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

Wrong, put the plywood behind the type X drywall. You maintain the fire
rating and the ability to attach shelving or whatever at any point.
There is nothing to be gained by putting the plywood as the exposed
surface and you loose fire rating.

With plywood on the exposed side, it can be ignited readily since it has
no fire protection and it then provides a fuel source that could burn
long / intense enough to defeat the rating of the type X drywall behind
it and ignite the studs or rafters on the other side. With the plywood
behind the sheet of drywall the plywood receives the full protection of
the drywall.

Pete C.

Why would he lose the fire rating if his wall assembly, (5/8" drywall on
both sides of studs), is still intact?


By putting a large quantity of unprotected fuel in direct contact with
the rated wall?

Pete C.

By putting a large quantity of unprotected fuel in direct contact with
the rated wall?

Pete C.

A sheetrock wall covered in plywood takes longer to
burn through than a sheetrock wall not covered in plywood.

Goedjn wrote:


By putting a large quantity of unprotected fuel in direct contact with
the rated wall?

Pete C.

A sheetrock wall covered in plywood takes longer to
burn through than a sheetrock wall not covered in plywood.

Quite possibly, however the burning plywood fuel attached to the wall
will in all probability burn through the sheetrock on the ceiling and
ignight the joists or rafters above far more rapidly than say some
burning boxes on the floor of the garage.

Pete C.

On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 19:36:53 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

Goedjn wrote:


By putting a large quantity of unprotected fuel in direct contact with
the rated wall?

Pete C.

A sheetrock wall covered in plywood takes longer to
burn through than a sheetrock wall not covered in plywood.

Quite possibly, however the burning plywood fuel attached to the wall
will in all probability burn through the sheetrock on the ceiling and
ignight the joists or rafters above far more rapidly than say some
burning boxes on the floor of the garage.

My impression is the opposite.
If the plywood on the wall isn't constantly heated by an external
flame, it's likely to just go out. Plywood backed
by sheetrock doesn't burn worth a damn, and the fire-rating
of the ceiling assumes direct contact with an open flame anyway.
My guess is that the plywood will improve the performance of
the wall, contribute toxic gas and smoke to the room it's
in, and not noticably affect the ceiling.

1/2" exterior grade douglas-Fir plywood has
a flame spread rating of about 140. (ASTM-E-84)

I don't know what the numbers mean,
(Inches per hour, maybe?)
but according to this site:
http://www.awc.org/Publications/dca/dca1/DCA1.pdf
450 is a limiting number.

In any case, if OP is worried about it, beyond
code-compliance, he could always paint the
resulting plywood with flame-retardant paint.

--Goedjn

"Goedjn" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 19:36:53 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

Goedjn wrote:


By putting a large quantity of unprotected fuel in direct contact with
the rated wall?

Pete C.

A sheetrock wall covered in plywood takes longer to
burn through than a sheetrock wall not covered in plywood.

Quite possibly, however the burning plywood fuel attached to the wall
will in all probability burn through the sheetrock on the ceiling and
ignight the joists or rafters above far more rapidly than say some
burning boxes on the floor of the garage.

My impression is the opposite.
If the plywood on the wall isn't constantly heated by an external
flame, it's likely to just go out. Plywood backed
by sheetrock doesn't burn worth a damn, and the fire-rating
of the ceiling assumes direct contact with an open flame anyway.
My guess is that the plywood will improve the performance of
the wall, contribute toxic gas and smoke to the room it's
in, and not noticably affect the ceiling.

1/2" exterior grade douglas-Fir plywood has
a flame spread rating of about 140. (ASTM-E-84)

I don't know what the numbers mean,
(Inches per hour, maybe?)
but according to this site:
http://www.awc.org/Publications/dca/dca1/DCA1.pdf
450 is a limiting number.

Finally got a reply from local government on this. Plywood actually makes
the wall have a better fire rating although it does add to available fuel
in case of a fire. plywood attached to sheetrock does not burn as readily a
a piece just stored in the garage. Anyway installed the plywood Saturday an
first thing I noticed was how much quieter it was when the HVAC came on,
not just in the garage but in the whole house.