I saw this in a new construction home yesterday. The view is of the duct chase from inside the crawlspace as it runs up through the 1st and 2nd floors eventually into the attic. The chase walls are drywalled but there were multiple breaks in the drywall exposing wood framing for the walls above. What is the standard or requirement for duct chases like this and do the breaks in the dyrwall necessitate repairs?

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Man, that's one fast way to get a fire from the crawlspace to the attic and burn the house down.

Combine that with those openings you described and you are asking for a fire disaster.

That should be firestopped at each floor/ceiling.

If they were trying to make a chase / shaft, they should use the correct board, typically two layers around the outside with studs then another core board around the inside, of course, though, that would also need 26 gage metal duct in it.

It also looks like the duct board is not mechanically connected to each other, not with the two sections/sizes not meeting well like that.

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Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Ormond Beach, Florida
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )

Thanks Jerry.