[moneymgmt]

Building my very large attached garage. The plans call for drywalling the firewall and the ceiling... not the side walls. For the time being I only ran a sub panel and two outlets for inspection purposes. The long term plan is to eventually rewire it specific to where I set up my workshop and insulate when I can heat it.... a few years out for sure.

As the electrical inspector was walking through he gave me a heads-up that he believes new code requires drywall on ALL load-bearing walls, which in this case means the entire garage. This kills my budget and timeline on three accounts.... insulation, wiring, and more drywall. And my drywallers are scheduled for next week.

I can't find the language specific to this and all my searching finds articles many years old that say 'firewall only'. Anyone shed any light on this? I'm an hour NW of Detroit, MI

 

[WhatRnsdownhill]

why dont you call the building dept that issued you a building permit? and see if there is a time factor to a final inspection that would give you time to do it if its needed...

 

[craig11152]

I would try talking to somebody in the building department for clarification.

I live in Ann Arbor 30 minutes west of Detroit. In theory , several years ago Michigan adapted the use of a uniform code, so in theory, no matter where you are in Michigan everybody plays by the same rules.
In reality some (many?) building departments act as their own little fiefdoms, interpreting the code in some "strange" ways sometimes. It can be hard to argue with them and if you piss them off they can make your life miserable going forward.

So again I would try going in to your local building department and get clarification.

Edit: To sum it up it hardly matters what it says in the code book, it only matters what your local department thinks it says.

 

[craig11152]

What do your prints show?
You should have a set of prints approved by the building department on site and everything gets built to those prints.

 

[moneymgmt]

I don't believe prints show drywall specifically but I can look again. I know I can call this week, and I will, but this hit me out of the blue yesterday and needless to say it is weighing on my mind this weekend! Curious if this requirement had been seen elsewhere by the folks here.

 

[concretemasonry]

The model codes adopted by the municipality are just minimum national standards, but a local organization can modify them if the do not "weaken" the end result. This applies everywhere.

When it comes to fire, modifications are common and a steel frame for "wrinkled tin" provides little fire protect since the strength can be reduced quickly (even faster than a wood structure). The most common variation from the model codes is the minimum opening requirements that are increased because of the fire fighting equipment the municipality has. - If you can't get in to fight the fire, you might as well let it burn.

Many local codes have a requirement for distance to the property line to protect adjacent buildings, and this may be the case for the building discussed here if it is not far enough from a property line. - The fire officials have a lot of power when it comes to life-safety code applications.

Dick

 

[AllanJ]

The drywall on all load bearing walls gives more time before something collapses due to fire burning through load bearing structure.