CONCEALED SPACE SPRINKLERS

[coarts]

If there is a ceiling that is 8" below the solid wood joists and the steel that supports the ceiling is 2" thick, would you consider this exempt from needing sprinklers above and below? It may be a little picky but the space to fit the pipe and upright cc2 head is really limited if not impossible to fit everything in. Would you follow the letter of the code or say close enough?

 

[skdesigner]

When you say "the steel that supports the ceiling", do you mean the thin hat track that holds the drywall up? I'm not just picturing it.

Is the building existing, or new? If new, ask the arch/GC to raise the ceiling 2" or just board to the underside of the joists.

 

[SprinklerDesigner2]

You are talking about a combustible concealed space where some sort of suspended gypsum board ceiling is fixed to a metal frame?

I would sprinkler it.

To make a call "close enough" is well outside the limits of a layout technicians competency.

If for some reason I felt it wasn't necessary I would hire a competent PE or FPE to evaluate the situation and if he told me, on letterhead with signature please, sprinklers weren't required then I would leave them out. That said good luck on finding one that would sign off on something like that.

When I have questions I always ask myself "what would a FPE tell me?" which always causes me to do what I wanted to get out of doing.

 

[chevy4x4trucks]

I would either have them raise the ceiling 2" or put a layer of rock on the bottom of the 2x's