AskCodeMan

I just ran into these today on a ceiling inside of a villa. They are foam plastic, very thin and glued to the drywall ceiling. They have a class A flame / smoke spread test although according to the test data the material was covered when it was tested. I can't find a NOA or any official docs on these. Have you run into this before?

David McCabe

bigdog wrote:I just ran into these today on a ceiling inside of a villa.

David,

Inside a villa? As in inside a townhouse?

There are no requirements of limitations placed on what people can do inside their own dwelling.

They can attached burlap fabric to the walls and ceilings if they want to.

I would make sure, to the best you can given the limitations you have (such as non-destructive and access related, along with other limitations) check as much as possible for the separation walls and that they continue up to, and tight against, the underside of the roof sheathing, and that the roof sheathing is protected from fire or fire rated type, for a minimum of 4 feet from the wall face (not from the center of the wall, which is a common contractor mistake). And that there are no openings through the roof in that area. Also, that the separation walls go all the way out across the soffits to the fascia.

Other than that, I would inform my client of the risks of leaving this in place (if they want it left in place) and the potential work which may likely be needed to remove them (drywall repairs, etc).

Not sure what else can be done. Other than to impress upon them that fire extinguishers may extinguish the fire, but fire extinguishers will not do anything about toxic fumes, if any, produced by those things burning or melting.

If in a condo, then drywall ceiling repair may be part of the floor-ceiling or roof-ceiling fire rated system. Depends, drywall may not be part of the fire rated system in a concrete building with concrete floor and roof slabs.