Technical Articles

Part 1: NFPA 13 Requirements The comedian Bill Engvall made the saying “Here is your sign” well known. When Bill said it, it was directed at someone who just said something that was obvious or just plain stupid. One story I remember Bill telling at a comedy show was about a gentleman who was …

Fluctuations Can Cause Problems Temperature fluctuations can wreak havoc on certain types of systems in certain configurations. The most susceptible type of system to temperature fluctuations are dry-type systems, specifically dry-type systems which utilize a direct differential style dry valve. By direct differential style dry valves, it is understood to …

Wood Joist Versus Composite Wood Joist NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, allows the omission of sprinkler protection from some combustible, concealed spaces for both wood joist and combustible wood joist construction. (See section 8.15.1.2.) Historically, though, only the composite wood choice had to apply a 3,000 …

Continuing With the Z Dimension That’s right… you read the last paragraph of my previous article in the September/October 2016 issue of Sprinkler Age correctly (see page 44 of that issue, or click here to see the blog post). Sensitivity and discharge are not equal in the eyes of the …

Seeking Solutions in NFPA 25 to Unusual Challenges Inspection, testing and maintenance service providers face many challenges, which we in the “training community” often espouse in articles and live seminars. All too often, we focus on the obvious issues associated with liability, contractual structure and responsibilities to meet requirements of NFPA …

Extend the Life of Your Fire Protection System A storage facility in Minneapolis sits quietly one early morning in January. Without warning, and with no one around, water starts to gush from the ceiling. It goes undetected until the alarms sound and maintenance is called. It’s too late – the …

Theory vs. Practice Every industry has areas where theory and practice just don’t quite meet. The fire protection industry is no exception. If your firm is responsible for performing inspections on water-based fire protection systems, then you can relate to that statement. Honestly, trying to complete the various code inspections …

Can They be Near the Sprinkler? When using sidewall sprinklers can there be obstructions at the ceiling within 4 ft of standard sprinklers or 8 ft for extended coverage and residential sprinklers? Since the 2002 edition of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, it has been fairly …

Satisfactory Sprinkler Performance Can be Achieved An integrated architecture and engineering firm, Clark Nexsen is recognized nationally as a leader in student life design. With multiple student housing projects in design and under construction simultaneously, we are continuously working with code reviewers and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) to resolve any …

Part 1: What About the Z Dimension? So, there I was, trying to enjoy a nice meal with my family. The restaurant was chosen by my princess because it was “fun” and had “cool things” in it. I should have known. Little did I know that I was going to …