Attic Concrete Chimney Fire Blocking Old Homes

Fire blocking between studs.

Attic concrete chimney fire blocking old homes.

Block chimneys in old houses. Draft fire blocking fire departments in the united states respond to more than 350 000 home structure fires each year according to the national fire protection association. Attics may be painted white to cover over evidence of a fire in the attic or home. They are more subject to cracking leaning and leaking.

Since the space between the studs may vary each reinforcing fire block may need to be individually cut. If a fire starts within the wall the top block stops the fire from getting into the attic. Block chimneys are really meant to be surrounded with bricks. Basically have your chimney lined as soon as possible.

You can think of it like we re filling the smoke chamber with concrete. After a fire has been put out by the fire department they may say the house is basically safe structurally or that it is not safe and the city building inspector checks the house for safety. During a remodel of this type of house it is wise to install fire blocking at the top and bottom of the stud walls. If fire blocking or stopping is not in place the space between each of the wall studs acts like its own high velocity chimney.

On average seven people died in home fires every day between 2011 and 2015. We do this by blocking off the fireplace damper and pouring the cast in place lining material down the chimney. The bottom block stops the fire from getting into the wall cavity to begin with. Block chimneys do work but as a general statement they are less than desirable.