Fire resistance of wood stud wall assemblies

Abstract

This paper presents the fire resistance results of seven full-scale wall assemblies that were conducted at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) jointly with the North American construction industry and other Canadian government departments. Parameters investigated for protected interior wall assemblies with a single-row of wood studs included: insulation types and mid-height blocking. Parameters investigated for protected interior wall assemblies with a double-row of wood studs on a separate plate included: insulation types, wood studs spacing and mid-height blocking. The impact of the investigated parameters on the fire resistance of wall assemblies is discussed. Results of the parameters studied showed that the installation of mid-height blocking in wall assembly with a single-row of wood stud and filling the wall cavities with cellulose insulation in wall assembly with a double-row of wood studs improved the fire resistance by 10 to 15 minutes, respectively. However, the other parameters studied had improved the fire resistance slightly by up to 6 minutes.