Sprinklers Above Ceiling with Overhead Door?

8/26/2021

I'm designing a school that has overhead doors that are 8'-0" x 7'-0" that run up above a 10'-0" or 10'-6" ceiling. The structure is non-combustible (steel beam & steel bar joist) and the walls go deck.

The opening for the door in the drop tile ceiling is an 8'-6" x 1'-0" opening.

This opening does not meet the 70% open ceiling requirement and I'm not sure it meets cloud ceiling requirements.

The plan reviewer is asking me to place upright sprinkler heads above the ceiling. My interpretation is that I don't need sprinklers above the ceiling.

Are sprinklers required above the ceiling?

Thank you in advance.

Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe

8 Comments

Alex

8/26/2021 07:58:24 am

Hi Anonymous,

What a cool problem this is. Something you don’t see everyday for sure! What code are you working under?

NFPA 13 (2016) 8.15.1.2.1.2 states that small openings, not more than 20 percent of the ceiling, shall be permitted where a length greater than 4 feet shall not have a width wider greater than 8 inches. Do you believe that the garage door would fit through 8 inches not the 12 currently designed?

If not possible, could you work with the architect to build a wall around the garage door above the ceiling creating a concealed space. Therefor, you will only need to provide a few heads to protect the small area bounded by the walls.

Best of luck!
Alex

Alex

8/26/2021 08:11:26 am

HI quick follow up, Joe also wrote a good post on this a while back (3/7/2018). If you click on Blog and search 'A New Calculator for Cloud Ceiling Sprinklers' you will be able to see his explanation of the code.

Franck

8/26/2021 08:24:10 am

Is the door combustible ?
If the door is nor combustible, why should you need sprinkler above it?
I could understand the provision of sprinklers underneath the door (when there is no ceiling) as they may create an obstruction to sprinkler located at the ceiling level, but not in what I understand from your description..

Steven

8/26/2021 08:41:19 am

If I am understanding it correctly, the door slides straight up (along straight tracks) into the 8'-6" x 1'-0" opening, and the concern is that there is an opening in the dropped ceiling to the space above.

I like Alex's approach, but if that doesn't work and the plans reviewer insists on adding sprinklers above the dropped ceiling, I believe you could use the code allowance of NFPA 13 (2016) 8.15.23.3. There is a sketch in the Annex, and although it is a bit different from your situation, I think it could be applied. So, you would need only to provide upright sprinklers to a distance of 0.6*Sqrt(Design_Area) beyond your opening, or a minimum of 24 feet (13: 8.15.23.3.1). If your design area is 900 SqFt from QR Area Reduction, then the 24 feet would apply.

Adding the sprinklers above of course does seem a bit overkill... I am curious if anyone has other suggestions to omit the sprinklers above altogether.

Glenn Berger

8/26/2021 09:12:20 am

I have additional questions -

Is the door combustible?
How is the door controlled? If motor operated, where is the control unit located.
In the region of this project - Is the door normally opened or normally closed?

Pete

8/26/2021 01:58:41 pm

I have to agree with the posters who asked the question about the combustibility of the door, and would also extend it to the general school construction/structural members in the area.

Mike

8/31/2021 08:12:44 am

I did a firehouse addition, occupied 24/7, where sprinkler heads were required above and below doors because the roll up doors were left open for extended periods of time. They were viewed as an obstruction over 48" wide.

Tim

3/15/2023 09:36:51 am

I have this same situation and am curious how this was resolved. Protecting 24' around the gap seems excessive. I have a 13' x 10" gap, putting it outside of the 8" gap allowed for lengths over 4' into a concealed space. If cloud ceilings with a 10' CH allow a 10" gap (with under 150 sq. ft. spacing per NFPA 13-2016 Table 8.15.24.1) why would this single gap in a 406 sq. ft. room require it?

Leave a Reply.

Home
Our Cause

The Blog
The Forum

PE Exam Prep
The Toolkit
MeyerFire University

Pricing
Login
Support
Contact Us

MeyerFire.com is a startup community built to help fire protection professionals shine.
Our goal is to improve fire protection practices worldwide. We promote the industry by creating helpful tools and resources, and by bringing together industry professionals to share their expertise.

MeyerFire, LLC is a NICET Recognized Training Provider and International Code Council Preferred Education Provider.
All text, images, and media Copyright © 2016-2024 MeyerFire, LLC

We respect your privacy and personal data. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The views, opinions, and information found on this site represent solely the author and do not represent the opinions of any other party, nor does the presented material assume responsibility for its use. Fire protection and life safety systems constitute a critical component for public health and safety and you should consult with a licensed professional for proper design and code adherence.

Discussions are solely for the purpose of peer review and the exchange of ideas. All comments are reviewed. Comments which do not contribute, are not relevant, are spam, or are disrespectful in nature may be removed. Information presented and opinions expressed should not be relied upon as a replacement for consulting services. Some (not all) outbound links on this website, such as Amazon links, are affiliate-based where we receive a small commission for orders placed elsewhere.

Sprinklers Above Ceiling with Overhead Door?

Leave a Reply.

ALL-ACCESS

SUBSCRIBE

COMMUNITY

YOUR POST

PE EXAM

FILTERS

ARCHIVES

PE PREP SERIES