Sound-transmission-class (STC) and fire-resistance (FR) ratings for many of the generic construction assemblies traditionally used in construction of Canadian housing and small buildings have been published in the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) since 1950. While some of those ratings were updated over the intervening years, many of them had not been revised since 1965. Therefore, in 1992 the Canadian Commission for Building and Fire Codes decided to delete from the 1995 edition of the NBCC, all STC and FR ratings that could not be supported by contemporary data.
Architects, fire-protection engineers and building officials make extensive use of the STC and FR ratings in the NBCC when designing and approving housing and small buildings in Canada. The STC ratings are also used extensively in the design of larger engineered structures. Wood-frame assemblies more than any other, are designed and constructed in accordance with the STC and FR ratings listed in the NBCC. Therefore, it was crucial for the wood industry to generate the necessary data to retain STC and FR ratings for wood-frame assemblies in the building code.
No single organisation in Canada could afford to bear the costs associated with a testing program to determine STC and FR ratings for all assemblies commonly used in Canadian housing and small buildings. Therefore, a partnership of affected industries and governmental organisations was created, and the National Research Council Canada (NRC), in collaboration with those partners, commenced a research program to quantify STC and FR ratings for generic building assemblies protected by gypsum board. Forintek Canada Corp., in conjunction with the Canadian Wood Council and a number of North American manufacturers of engineered wood products, is participating in that program on behalf of Canada’s wood products industry. This report describes progress achieved in that research program between April 1, 2001 and March 31, 2002. It also includes, in tabular form, a summary of all fire tests and all sound-transmission tests (both STC and IIC) carried out on wood-frame floor assemblies.
A web page with all pertinent information about for the collaborative research project to assess fire and acoustical performances of floor assemblies (FLOORS-2) can be found at: www.nrc.ca/ir/ie/acoustics/floors2/priv/
A web page with all pertinent information about the collaborative research project to assess flanking sound transmission in multifamily dwellings (FLANKING-2) can be found at:
www.nrc.ca/irc/ie/flanking
A number of technology-transfer activities were carried out between April 1, 2001 and March 31, 2002, including the following:
Forintek researchers gave two presentations entitled “Fire Safety in Wood-frame Housing” at the Canadian Wood Council Wood Solutions Fair in Edmonton.
Forintek researchers gave a presentation entitled “Fire Safety and Acoustical Design of Wood-frame Buildings” at woodWORKS! Wood-design Conferences in Vancouver and Victoria.
A paper by Forintek researchers entitled “Thoughts and observations on fire-endurance tests of wood-frame assemblies protected by gypsum board” was accepted for publication in Fire and Materials.
Forintek researchers wrote three TECHNOTES:
§ Fire performance of engineered wood products – facts & fallacies.
§ Design of wood-frame floor assemblies for fire resistance and noise insulation.
§ Noise transmission in wood-frame apartment buildings – solutions to flanking.
A paper entitled “Flanking Sound Transmission in Wood-frame Construction” by researchers at NRC was published in Canadian Acoustics/Acoustique canadienne.
NRC published an Internal Report entitled “Impact Sound Measurement on Floors Covered with Small Patches of Resilient Materials or Floating Assemblies”.
NRC published an Internal Report entitled “Sound Insulation of Load Bearing Shear Resistant Wood and Steel Stud Walls”.
This research project will be continued in 2002/2003. The ultimate completion date for the project is March 31, 2004 (unchanged).