Tony, If you can get the head a max of 14" below the deck and its 13R, 2006 IBC 903.3.1.2.1
John Drucker Fire Protection Subcode Official Borough of Red Bank, NJ -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of A.P.Silva Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 10:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Balcony Dry sidewall heads are used to protect exterior balconies. The problem is the ceiling (the underside of the balcony above) is not flat. NFPA 13, 2007 figure A.8.7.4.1.3.3 "Sidewall Under Soffit" depicts a similar situation. The balcony ceiling (at the same height as the deck within the building) runs horizontal (will call this portion soffit) about 39", then rises vertically up 12", then runs horizontal another 7 feet. At the far end there is a 13" deep beam, with its bottom 1" below the soffit. ------------------- soffit-->l l l l <--beam ------ l l l-> dry s/w The dry s/w is 5" below the soffit ceiling, thus 17" below the upper ceiling. The soffit space is not heated, so not possible to install a dry s/w closer to the upper ceiling. This situation does not comply with 8.7.4.1.3.3 Any suggestions? My feeling is sprinklers in exterior balconies are mostly for exposure protection. The beam in this case is a bonus. Normally there is no beam to form a pocket for trapping heat, and the head is set off mostly by radiation. If that was the case, the "Distance Below Ceilings" is not critical and should not apply for this case. Any comments on this logic? Having said this, I would also like to comply with the code as much as possible. Does anyone know of a dry s/w listed up to 18" below the ceiling? I have seen upto 12" but not 18". Tony _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
