Firewall installation help needed in Charleston

[Elysia Hou]

Hi everyone!   So my case here is I do not have a fire wall behind the dry wall in my townhouse rental, and for a newbie like me, I am getting lost in what options I have.  HOI will not take on the townhouse without a firewall installed so my thoughts are 1. Front the money to get the dry wall installed and hope the tenants can live around the issue  2.  Contact the investor next door because they also have skin in the game here.  They're trying to sell the middle unit so it may come up in their home inspection report.  3.  Look for a different HOI that will take on the risk  .  Is it just my responsibility?

What do you guys think I could do?

Appreciate any thoughts !

[Mike Reynolds]

Originally posted by @Elysia Hou:

Hi everyone!   So my case here is I do not have a fire wall behind the dry wall in my townhouse rental, and for a newbie like me, I am getting lost in what options I have.  HOI will not take on the townhouse without a firewall installed so my thoughts are 1. Front the money to get the dry wall installed and hope the tenants can live around the issue  2.  Contact the investor next door because they also have skin in the game here.  They're trying to sell the middle unit so it may come up in their home inspection report.  3.  Look for a different HOI that will take on the risk  .  Is it just my responsibility?

What do you guys think I could do?

Appreciate any thoughts !

 Do you have the report from the inspector? If so, could you post the pertinent info for the wall?   You say that you have no fire wall behind the drywall but the drywall could be the actual fire wall. Is it not fire rated rock or what? If it is not then you just need to install 5/8" fire rock for a 1 hour wall. 2 layers for 2 hour fire wall. You will need 2 hour for this I am almost certain. 

You say it was build in 1980 so the 4' on the roof should not be there unless it was remodeled and permitted later. This code came out in the mid 1990's. You should be grandfathered but understand that the 4' on the roof is very very good peace of mind. Up to you and your AHJ though. I am old enough to have lived through these codes as they evolved but have seen what that extra 4' does in an actual fire. 

In 1980, you should have inside that wall 2 stud walls. The studs in each of these walls will be staggered. There will be no drywall between them at all. The drywall will be from floor to ceiling (on the outside of the wall) 2 layers of 5/8" fire rated drywall. This should be each side. Yours and your neighbors. If your inspector says it should be between then walls I would ask him where he got that info from. Is it a local ordinance? If so, I would clarify that with the building dept. 

If you need more help let me know. I know of an equally old contractor in the area and can hit him up for local code stuff if needed. Let us know how it goes.