Importance

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Abstract

An interior building wall construction is achieved which is superior in its combined capabilities for resistance to both seismic activity and fire. The head-of-wall construction at the interface between an interior building wall employing sheet metal framing and a ceiling thereabove exceeds even the most stringent building code requirements for fire and seismic resistance. Seismic resistance is achieved by providing the beam at the top of the wall with slots elongated in a longitudinal direction in the web of the beam and with vertically elongated slots in the side walls of the beam. Standoff washers are provided in the elongated slots and the ceiling fasteners and stud fasteners employed extend through these standoff washers to securely join the studs, beam, and ceiling above together, yet permit limited relative movement therebetween when the building is subjected to seismic activity. Superior fire resistance is achieved by employing an economical, fire resistant, resiliently compressible, sponge-like mineral fiber insulation in any cavities above the beam and along the top of the wall. Strips of this mineral fiber insulation material are held in place along the top of the wall by providing a double thickness of wallboard at the head-of-wall in which an outer, secondary layer of wallboard material overlies and projects vertically beyond an underlying primary wallboard panel. A gap is left at the tops of both of the layers of wallboard so that strips of the mineral fiber insulation can be packed into these gaps between the wallboard and the ceiling and will remain in position without any type of adhesive or other fastening system. The beam of the head-of-wall is die cut to form anchoring tabs that can be bent upwardly into sections of mineral fiber located in one or more tunnels formed by the flutes of decking above the wall.

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First Claim