Originally Posted By: psmothers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
This is a picture of a townhouse attic fire wall. The home was built in 1984. In the attic both firewalls ran all the way to the inside of the roof line and the rock was stamped fire rated. None of the joints were taped and floated. Was this execptable when this house was build? I know that today this would have to be taped and floated.
![](upload://pLjZuiYTQ3n74ExGhM2MM0UUDZ7.jpeg)
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Originally Posted By: mboyett This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I had a similar situation a month or so ago. Our local fire marshal’s office indicated the drywall did not need to be taped/floated as long as the gaps were less than 1/16". He said nothing about double layers. So, that’s just my AHJ opinion.
Originally Posted By: mcyr This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Most typically, 5/8" drywall up in the attic is installed to provide a smoke barrier when the area in square feet exceeds 2700 s.f., and/or to provide a fire barrier between the garage and the house.
In either case the joints should be taped over to provide the smoke barrier and/or fire rating that is necessary to meet local codes.