INDUSTRY WATCH

SFA’s Fire & Acoustic Guide Now Includes More Than 220 Rated Assemblies
The Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) recently announced that updates to its “A Guide to Fire and Acoustic Data for Steel Floor, Wall and Roof Assemblies” now also provide 20 rated assemblies for roofs and ceilings as well as Sound Transmission Class (STC) values for more than 90 assemblies lacking acoustic values in previous versions. Updated annually by the SFA to add newly tested or discovered listings for cold-formed steel, the guide is offered as a free download and is also available as a searchable directory on the SFA Web site.

The guide was originally developed in 2004 to enable builders and designers to more easily find and specify fire- and sound-rated assemblies by bringing all known assemblies together into one “easy to reference” document, and lists them by application (load-bearing and non-load-bearing wall, floor, roof and ceiling). With the additions to Version 7 – December 2007, the guide now includes more than 220 rated floor, wall, and roof and ceiling assemblies.

Produced by the SFA with the support of the Steel Stud Manufacturers Association (SSMA), the Fire and Acoustics Guide is especially useful for design professionals, architects, engineers, specifiers and builders.

Data is compiled from the Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada, National Research Council of Canada Institute for Research in Construction, the Gypsum Association and Factory Mutual Research.

For more information, contact the Steel Framing Alliance at (202) 785-2022 or visit www.steelframing.org.

Source: Walls & Ceilings, April 15, 2008