I am in Oregon and performed an inspection of a townhome recently and cannot find information on code requirements for firewall/-stop standards in 1995. The common wall between units did not have fire-resistive material/dry wall installed on the side of the unit inspected. When did this standard become adopted?
Matt Fellman @mfellman may be able to help. He’s familiar with Oregon I believe.
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What code did your jurisdiction use or adopt?
According to this Oregon.gov site, they used the 1992 CABO for 1995
Which shows the dwelling unit separation requirement at R-218:
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Unless Oregon requires you to identify this aspect why does it matter with a life/safety issue when it became a requirement?
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Was there some on the other side? Do you have pictures of what you are seeing?
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This… …
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I consider it a safety issue and write it up regardless of the age of the structure. The same goes for firewalls in a garage or the lack of smoke detectors in a 150 year old house.
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Without a picture I am only guessing, but did it look similar to the OP’s pic in the thread below? This type of installation method may cause one to think the the drywall is only on one side of the separating wall.
This is one of the worst cute little sayings that gets thrown around our industry. Safety is ABSOLUTELY grandfathered. That’s the whole point of grandfathering.
Every electric code (and most/many other disciplines) is written for safety, right? So, do those of you parroting this cute little saying cite EVERY code change on EVERY house you inspect? Just picking something out of thin air, I’m thinking it was around the early 90s that the heat rating on Romex got changed. So, do you recommend in your reports that every house built prior should be completely re-wired? If I cared enough to spend the time I could easily find hundreds if not thousands of similar examples. In the early 2000s the large wire manufacturers started color coding wire sheathing for (drumroll please) safety. Again, do you recommended every house prior to 2000 gets re-wired? Especially, those that were, at your recommendation, rewired in the 90s because of the heat rating change? This is the perfect example of HIs needing to understand our purpose and to stay in our lane.
Sorry OP for the drift but that one grates on my nerves. Oregon had a big code change in 1996 so depending on which side of that you fall it could vary but, as others have pointed out, I’m not sure why it matters. There are also variations in requirements for duplexes and larger complexes (I’ve never understood how the fire knows how many units are in a building).
This is probably the most overused phrase that gets thrown around in our industry. What does that mean? Don’t exceed the SOP? Don’t exceed code? Both?
I envision a solid white line on one side and a double yellow line on the other where everyone is driving the same speed and no one is allowed to pass. One side represents the SOP, the other side represents building code and grandfather rules with no one allowed to cross either one. I agree, there are many times when neither line should be crossed.
But, If you want to continue the driving analogy, aren’t there times when you are allowed to cross the line or “change lanes*?
One inspector may have a background in electrical, HVAC or plumbing that gives them the experience to exceed the SOP. Maybe it’s a change in code that results in a quantitative change in safety statistics, such as adding a fire wall in the attic between condo units or a GFCI in the garage.
It’s not just a cliché. Safety isn’t a grandfather issue.
In Indiana, “Unsafe” means a condition in a readily accessible, installed system or component that is judged to be a significant risk of personal injury during normal, day-to-day use. The risk may be due to:
(1) damage;
(2) deterioration;
(3) improper installation; or
(4) a change in accepted residential construction standards
May I ask what material was there? Was it fire rated or could you tell?
Drywall Fire Ratings: Is It All Fire-Resistant? Here’s What to Know
It means stick to what we agreed to do. This industry has just gone to hell with all of us trying to “one-up” each other. Note that the SOP section you quoted says, “significant risk…” A slight change in firewall type/construction (or electrical, plumbing, etc., etc.) doesn’t even come close.
The meme with fire shooting out of a house is like all sides of the media these days… let’s scare the hell out of people to push our agenda or get them to pay us some money for something.
I still disagree with your interpretation of grandfathering. Feel free to post all the code changes that have occurred across all disciplines in house construction over the last 100+ years so I can learn all the “safety” you cite in all of your inspections.
To me it doesn’t matter about the code … All multi units need a proper firewall installed as to prevent fire spread.
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Thank you Dominic. I appreciate your help with this!
I’m confused. What exactly do you look for on a home inspection if you are not calling out safety hazards?
I report on plenty of safety hazards but don’t need the code book to tell me they are safety hazards. Codes have been outside the scope of an HI since their inception 30/40 years ago. As time goes on they are working their way in and it’s a HUGE disservice to our industry. Citing codes elevates buyers’ expectations and puts us at higher liability. There’s a reason citing building codes is excluded from every set of HI SOPs I’ve ever seen. I’m not just making this stuff up.
The real problem is exactly what started this thread - confusion on what was required at a given time or code cycle. What difference does it make? If the fire separation wall is damaged or broken I report on it. An HI’s job is not to redesign the house. It’s to determine if the design is working or damaged (que the “stay in our lane,” comment) “Performing as intended,” is another way to look at our purpose (yes, another phrase found in the SOPs). And my real beef in this case is the ridiculous interpretation of grandfathering.
Fwiw, I’m still waiting for the list of every safety code change that has taken place over the last 100+ years that all you code-junkies use to determine what you report on. Anyone? Buehler? Yep, this debate always falls flat right about here.
I don’t site code either. However, what are safety standards based off of?
I think that you are misunderstanding my interpretation of grandfathering and the intent of the meme.
Codes change in an attempt improve safety.
Code allows grandfathering.
Grandfathering doesn’t improve safety for older buildings.
Hence, “safety isn’t grandfathered”. In other words, when it comes to safety, code cycles and grandfathering is irrelevant. Another way to say it is, Code is grandfathered, safety is not. I think we’re agreeing, not disagreeing.
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