Originally Posted by
Jeff Eastman
Thanks Jerry, but is the ceiling for "separation" or for being a "fireblock"?
More for separation anxiety issues - that's what the psychiatrist said anyway.
Being as the ceiling is not a "fire rated assembly", the only fire blocking would be in the concealed spaces within the walls.
It's more for "separation", energy code, etc.
As Tim was alluding to, if there is no ceiling in that closet, there is no insulation, that means the entire closet and its door needs to be insulated and the door weather stripped, no openings to the 'house', and two pipes sticking down into the closet, one high and one low.
You would then think of the unit as being 'mounted in the attic' which is what it basically would be, although a confined attic with limited working space. You would need to apply all requirements for appliances in attics, etc.
That means the 'walls' are now considered 'ceiling area' and would need the higher R value insulation required for 'ceiling areas' than what would be required for 'wall areas'.
Just opens a whole big can of worms.