American Wood Council Releases Update to Design for Code Acceptance (DCA) 3
Press Release Summary:
The American Wood Council has added 2x6 wood exterior wall assembly to the AWC’s Design for Code Acceptance (DCA) 3 - Fire-Resistance-Rated Wood Floor and Wall Assemblies. The assembly has passed the ASTM E119 1-hour fire endurance test. For meeting the new energy requirements, the designers have been asking to utilize asymmetrical exterior wood-frame walls that are constructed with 2x6 studs spaced at 24 inches on-center with fiberglass cavity insulation.
Original Press Release:
2x6 Wood Exterior Wall Passes Fire Test – Added to Fire-Resistance-Rated Wood Assemblies
LEESBURG, VA. – The American Wood Council (AWC) has released an update to “Design for Code Acceptance (DCA) 3 - Fire-Resistance-Rated Wood Floor and Wall Assemblies.” The updated DCA 3 can be found on the AWC website: http://www.awc.org/codes-standards/publications/dca3.
“To meet new energy requirements, a number of designers have been asking to use asymmetrical exterior wood-frame walls constructed with 2x6 studs spaced at 24 inches on-center with fiberglass cavity insulation,” said AWC Manager of Engineering Technology Jason Smart, P.E. “To prove the required fire resistance of this configuration, a wall assembly with these parameters was successfully fire tested.”
Not only did the assembly pass the ASTM E119 1-hour fire endurance test, but the required hose-stream component of the test was successfully conducted on the same assembly, even though the test allows conducting a separate, shorter duration fire exposure just for the hose stream portion. The new 2x6 assembly has been added to AWC’s Design for Code Acceptance (DCA) 3 - Fire-Resistance-Rated Wood Floor and Wall Assemblies.
The American Wood Council (AWC) is the voice of North American wood products manufacturing, an industry that provides almost 450,000 men and women in the United States with family-wage jobs. AWC represents 86 percent of the structural wood products industry, and members make products that are essential to everyday life from a renewable resource that absorbs and sequesters carbon. Staff experts develop state-of-the-art engineering data, technology, and standards for wood products to assure their safe and efficient design, as well as provide information on wood design, green building, and environmental regulations. AWC also advocates for balanced government policies that affect wood products. www.awc.org | @woodcouncil
MEDIA CONTACT
Heather Stegner
Vice President, Communications
202-463-4756, hstegner@awc.org
