Firestopping and Fireproofing in Head of Wall Assemblies Head of Wall - Firestopping Firestopping and Fireproofing in Head of Wall Assemblies Fireproofing material is sometimes removed to facilitate installation of steel tracks for gypsum walls. The removed fireproofing material results in a thermal short or unprotected area that could result in a fireproofing failure. Here we see photos of a situation that you all may have seen. Fireproofing material is scrapped off a beam to accommodate attachment of a steel track of a gypsum wall assembly.

Firestopping and Fireproofing in Head of Wall Assemblies Head of Wall - Firestopping Firestopping and Fireproofing in Head of Wall Assemblies Third party testing has shown the potential down falls of removing fireproofing materials to facilitate gypsum wall assemblies Thermocouple indicated an unprotected beam would reach the limiting temperature for the structural member. Gypsum boards on one side of beam do not provide adequate fire protection for the beam. Through third party testing we have discovered that removing the fireproofing is a problem. When a thermocouple is placed on the beam we learned that the temperature on the beam exceeds the limiting temperature of the beam for the fireproofing performance. The layers of gypsum board on the side of the wall do not provide adequate fire protection for the beam.

Firestopping and Fireproofing in Head of Wall Assemblies Head of Wall - Firestopping Firestopping and Fireproofing in Head of Wall Assemblies A couple potential solutions are to use Z-Clips prior to fireproofing the beam or filling the track with the same thickness of fireproofing that is applied to the beam. Therefore, the fireproofing material must not be removed from beam to attach the track. Some solutions to the issue are shown here. On the left Z Clips are attached to the beam prior to fireproofing the beam and the track is attached to the bottom of the Z Clips after the fireproofing is installed. On the right the track is attached directly to the beam and fireproofing material is installed into the track to the same thickness as the rest of the beam.