Building code requirements, Halifax, NS
7/2/2021 at 2:35:52 PM
Niece owns a semi and the attached neighbors have have a teenage son who decided that firing real pucks at the basement fire wall would be fun. Needless to say, he blasted through in 5 or 6 spots. The parents have taken responsibility and have agreed to fix (patch only) my nieces side but don't want to do their own side. My niece had a contractor come in for a quote and he said since its a fire wall, both sides have to be fixed to make it right again. I agree but the other owners dont care. I have been trying to convince my niece to file an insurance claim so their contractors can quote and pressure the other side to do it properly. Sorry for the long winded back story.
My question is if this 45 year old ish fire wall is being touched, does it need to be brought up to current codes. It is currently just 2 layers 5/8, 2 x 4 framing, 1 layer 5/8. Just finished a Habitat for Humanity semi here and we had to do 5/8 drywall, rock wool, 5/8 drywall, rock wool, 5/8 drywall with 1 in air gaps on both sides. 2 X 6 framing for both units. Also had to fire caulk total perimeter except for basement floor.
7/2/2021 at 9:22:20 PM
If you were doing some kind of major restoration such as gutting and refinishing the entire basement it's possible your municipality would request that a deficient fire (& sound) separation be brought up to current Code. With this kind of minor repair there would be no similar expectation, provided it satisfied the Code of the day.
In my work (dealing with leaky condos) I often see fire rated drywall being left off walls and ceilings for extended periods of time (years) until the leakage can be figured out and corrected - often a very difficult task.
Don't have any bright ideas for how to twist their arms if they're reluctant to act.
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