Performance Concrete

AAC Fire Walls: For every 1" of AAC, equals a 1 hour Fire Rating.

With its minimum two hour UL-263 approved fire rating, fire walls constructed

with AAC are one of the most cost effective applications available. This holds

true for new construction as well as renovations in both commercial and

residential projects.

The most basic fire wall assembly utilizes the 3" x 2' x 4' AAC cladding panel.

The most common design for this wall assembly simply calls for the 3" panels

to be attached to a stud wall in a running bond sequence. The panels, after being

attached to the studs with coarse thread screws, are then thinbed mortared to

complete the 2 hour rated fire wall assembly. Depending upon the client's

requirements, the exposed side of the AAC panel may be finished with an AAC compatible plaster finish, dry walled, wallpapered, painted with acrylic paint,

or simply left exposed.

More demanding or complicated assemblies may be constructed from AAC block, both load and non-load bearing, as well as AAC panels, again load or non-load bearing. Utilization of melt away anchors, which were developed to work expressly with AAC

fire walls, can often either completely remove the need for expensive steel rebar or at the minimum reduce the size required.

AAC Fire Wall: This AAC fire wall, which was constructed with 8" AAC panels installed horizontally, was called upon to perform as designed for Elm Packaging in Troy, Ohio. The panels, which used the melt

away anchor system, performed perfectly in a July, 2004, fire as the pictures below illustrate. The

picture on the far right is of the undamaged side of the fire wall while the other pictures demonstrate

the extent of the damaged in the fire contained side of the manufacturing facility.

The DCI who originally constructed this facility, estimates that it would only require four days to erect a new 1100 sq. ft.firewall on an existing structure using AAC systems.

AAC Fire Clamps: These pictures are of one of several melt away anchor systems used with AAC. In this fire wall application, which was for a new tenant moving into a 40 year old strip mall facility, the

8" x 8" x 24" AAC block was routered out at the top of the block and the clamp was tube nailed into the block. The block was then installed at the top of the fire wall in between the bar joist system, to

AAC Fire Walls: These pictures provide a view of the most basic AAC firewall assembly, the 3" cladding panel with its UL approved 2 hour fire rating.