Originally Posted by
Jeff Euriech
I also called out the pull down ladder in the garage due to not meeting the fire separation requirements between the garage and attic.
Therein lies a problem, which was discussed quite recently at some length, because you stated "fire separation requirements" and there are no "fire separation requirements", only "separation" requirements.
(Don't get Aaron started on this again, we finally resolved it, sort of ...
)
I assumed due to the OSB roof sheathing that this would be a problem. Was I correct on that?
Only in that it makes for combustible construction exposed in the attic, and thus, even though the trusses themselves are not wood, that may well put the firestopping requirements for wood trusses back into play (I did not fully approach that issue in my information above - but obviously have not stopped thinking it could be a problem and would need to installation of actual fireblocking ...
Just for the fun of it, what is the correct way to attach a pull down ladder to steel framing? Kind of hard to use nails.
All of those ladders I've seen state 16d common nails, so ... that would mean boxing the steel trusses in with 2x wood and nailing the pull-down stair to the properly anchored wood. Otherwise, either an engineer would have to design it, or the manufacturer's engineering department would need to design for it - either way it is "engineering" which provides for the alternate method of installation and attachment.