Web Exclusive Feature: Fire and Acoustics Project Yields Important New Information for Construction Industry
Canada's IRC and a group of industry partners have just completed the second phase of a project that studied the fire and acoustical performance of traditional building systems.
Canada's Institute for Research in Construction (IRC) and a group of industry partners have just completed the sec-ond phase of a compre-hensive collaborative project that will pro-vide major benefits to both parties and to the construction industry as a whole.
The first phase of the project, completed in 1998, led to a better understanding of the fire and acoustical performance of traditional building systems used in residential construction. Specifically, fire-resistance ratings (FRR) and noise-control ratings for 177 generic floor assemblies were added in 2002 to the National Building Code (NBC) Part 9, Appendix A. This increased number of assemblies has led to greater choice and the potential for better performance at reduced cost to designers, builders and consumers.