High-rise office building, predominantly light hazard occupancy. Water supply is designed for a 30 minute duration (roof mounted gravity water storage tanks).
We need a 1-hour separation between two tenant spaces. The architect has specified a glass partition. As such closely spaced heads are being proposed to achieve an equivalent rating. Does the water supply now need to be upgraded to provide a 1 hour supply of water? Similarly, if sprinklers are being used to provide an equivalency rating on a required 2-hour rated partition, does the water supply need to be able to supply 2-hours of demand? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
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We are converting a 3 story condo building (was designed to NFPA 13R) to a hotel. The ground floor will have a restaurant, a bar, and a spa. The upper floors will remain residential.
Will the addition of these new occupancies change the whole design of the building? Will the upper level residential units be required to be designed to NFPA 13 standards? This building is in Bermuda if that helps. Thank you in advance for your help! Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have a residential R-2 occupancy, four-story, combustible Type V-B, new construction building with an NFPA 13 system. The floor/ceiling assemblies are built with open-web wood trusses.
All of the interstitial spaces around these trusses are to be filled with non-combustible insulation, which allows sprinklers to be omitted within them in accordance with NFPA 13-2013 8.15.1.2.7 "concealed spaces filled with noncombustible insulation shall not require sprinkler protection." The IBC (2015) requires drafstopping in combustible construction to "subdivide floor ceiling assemblies" above an in-line with dwelling unit and sleeping unit separations (IBC 2015 718.3.2). However, an exception exists for buildings equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 (an NFPA 13 system). If these spaces omit sprinklers due to non-combustible insulation, is draftstopping still required per the IBC? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Can an NFPA 13R multi-residential apartment building use commercial concealed pendent sprinklers with standard response instead of quick response?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe For areas with high water vapor concentrations (such as near showers, steam rooms, etc), what type of sprinkler would perform best? Wax coated? Concealed with gaskets?
There's many circulated images of corroded sprinklers, but I'm interested in what others feel is current best practice for these areas. Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Attached is a sketch of an interesting design issue we’ve been dealing with. We have a convenience stair connecting multiple floors of an office building. With this, we need to treat the opening as an Atrium opening. So we have told the architect that we need a draft curtain with closely spaced heads. The sketch attached shows some limitations that we’ve been given. My question is, how would you suggest we accomplish the required protection given the constraints of this particular stair?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Being told I need a sprinkler head that exceeds 350 degrees. Not sure one exists. What are the highest temperature sprinklers on the market and what's the best way to go about finding them?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe On a combination Class I standpipe/sprinkler riser with automatic standpipes, what is your process to determine exactly where pressure reducing valves should be used?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I am looking for some options on the following and if anyone has code to backup reasons. We have a facility that produces plastic pallets. Some pallets are reinforced and some are not.
They want to store to pallets to 18 feet high before loading them on trucks. The question being should the facility be protected using NFPA 13 (2016) Section 12.12 dealing with idle pallets or just use Group A plastics in piles? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Got a question regarding sprinkler protection above hung ceilings. NFPA-13 states that sprinkler protection is NOT required above hung ceilings if the area above has non-combustibles even with small openings in the ceiling.
However, I seem to recall a requirement that if there are large openings in the hung ceiling, sprinklers are required above the ceiling, but only for a certain distance in from the edge of the opening. Thoughts on what section provides that distance? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe NFPA 13 (2016 Edition) Section 8.5.5.3 requires sprinklers to be installed underneath fixed obstructions over 4ft (48") in width and provides no further information on how that 4ft width is determined to be an obstruction. For most situations this is rather straightforward, but the open ended 4ft wide requirement leaves quite a few obstructions up to interpretation.
With that being said, how is it determined that an obstruction such as a duct, can be considered unobstructed if it is 40" wide by 6ft long, but if it is 48" wide by 3ft long, it is considered an obstruction? How is the obstruction rule only applied to the width of a piece of equipment and in turn is not applied to the length? Is there a ratio or rule of thumb that is widely used to determine whether an item hanging below the ceiling is considered to violate the 4ft rule? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I just got one in to review where the designer used the Room Design method for am NFPA 13 retirement home corridor, but did not use the Corridor 5-sprinkler provision. He was considering the corridor the "room", but really didn't even include the entire corridor. I think I can help him out by directing him to the 5-sprinkler corridor methods (opening protection doesn't even come into play). It is a corridor protected by a single row, BUT another corridor tees off it at 90-degrees.
Do these "tee" intersections negate the "single row" provision? Each leg IS protected by a single row so I'm thinking this does not negate the intent. Thoughts? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Has anyone dealt with a building structure comprised of steel hexagonal castellated beams spaced 36" apart with a wood plank deck?
Would this be considered obstructed combustible construction? Also, has anyone seen a combustible concealed space head which is "listed" for such structure? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe When doing zone of influence calculations, NFPA 13 doesn't seem to be specific about whether the weight of drops and sprigs should be included in the weight of the branch line tributary to the lateral brace on the cross main. It states "The zone of influence for lateral braces shall include all branch lines and mains tributary to the brace, except branch lines that are provided with longitudinal bracing or as prohibited by 9.3.5.9.6.1" (NFPA 13, 2016 Edition, Section 9.3.5.9.6)
This ambiguity is frustrating because long drops are quite heavy and can double the weight in the calculation if they are included. It seems like some argument could be made that they aren't "tributary" to the lateral load because they can "swing" independently, but should their influence be considered negligible? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Can someone explain the process for determining if a standpipe system needs to be designed for seismic considerations?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Looking for guidance on pressure gauge selection. Is there a requirement for a maximum pressure gauge for testing residual pressures of 40-50 psi on suppression systems?
Wondering if any pressure gauge is adequate or if there's specific guidance I should be following on gauge selection. Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Clearance around fire sprinklers - NFPA 13 (2016) addresses clearance around sprinklers in 9.3.4.11, A.9.3.4.11, and 9.3.4.11.1. The language is very vague & ambiguous. Could anyone elaborate on this for me?
What type of ceilings needs to have clearance around fire sprinklers when using hard pipe (not flex drops)? Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Does anyone have any experience with determining an appropriate design criteria for protecting rectangular hay bales stacked to about 20 ft. in a 25-30 ft. metal purlin building?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Can we use CPVC pipe material for the inspector's test and main drain?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe When testing a fire pump from the roof is there a calculation that is necessary to ensure that the flow test is accurate (given pipe sizes, elevation increase, etc)?
NFPA 25, 2014 handbook states that flowing from the roof in the explanatory material is somewhat acceptable (NFPA 25, 2014: 8.3.3.1.3). However, NFPA 20, 2013 A.4.20.3.4(2) has a sample hydraulic calculation sheet for sizing the test header when not using the table which appears to take into account items like friction loss, elevation, etc. Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Question about doing hydrostatic testing using compressed gas such as nitrogen rather than using a test pump. Do you know of restrictions to using compressed gas by the standard?
I know there are “other” safety issues when working with compressed gases. Just asking about using high pressure gas for the acceptance test. Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Sorry - seems to have missed the question posted for this one. If you received a blank email today, my apologies. Now onto the question:
Where can I find guidance as to whether or not an oil transformer requires sprinkler protection? I'm specifically looking into standards or requirements concerning deluge sprinklers for oil transformers. Thanks in advance. Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Does the proximity of a residence and the number of windows on that residence make a difference in which system type is used (between NFPA 13, 13R, or 13D)? What are the restrictions that would impact the system type?
Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have a project which is on a steep slope (the bottom of the site is about 120 feet lower than the top of the site). If we attach a fire main to the bottom of the site, the fire pump we have won't have much issue with keeping the city pressure at a 20 psi minimum or above.
If we attach to the water grid at with the fire service main at the top elevation of the site, we will probably need a suction control valve in order to keep the city pressure at 20 psi at the top elevation since the available water supply is so low. My question is - if we pull pressure on a city's system at the low elevation, do we have to chart and consider the rest of the water supply network? There's a chance if we pull the water supply down to 20 psi at the lower elevation that the system at the higher elevations would be well below the 20 psi due to elevation pressure loss. Thanks for your input! Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe My daughter is in fifth grade this year and will be picking out a science fair project.
She really wants to choose a topic relating to fire sprinklers. Obviously, I'm doing everything I can to support this. I'm wondering if anyone out there might actually know of sprinkler-specific science fair projects that have been done in the past? Or maybe some ideas? Thanks! Posted anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe |
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