There is evidence of an old fire above the boiler in our home (charred wood!). We discovered this after an air sealing contractor removed part of the basement ceiling. What would be a safe, fire-resistant material to use as replacement ceiling over the boiler? Thanks.
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Depending on the age of the home, it's not unlikely that there was once a wood or coal fired burner of some sort in that location, so the charring may have no relationship to the current heating system. If there was a ceiling over the current unit and it showed no sign of scorching then this is almost certainly the case.
In any event, drywall is an excellent fire-resistant barrier, especially if doubled up with the joints not being in the same place between the two layers. And there is "fire-resistant drywall", if you want to be super sure.
Drywall 5/8" type X has a one
Drywall 5/8" type X has a one hour rating. Put up two layers with stagerred jointing and you have a two hour rated assembly