Taping Drywall for Fire Safety
If the space where you're installing drywall is not a living area, a single coat of taping is enough.
Garages, utility rooms, and furnace rooms are often hung with fire-resistant drywall. In these nonliving areas, there’s clearly no need to do three coats of taping, but you do have to apply one coat of joint tape and compound to achieve the desired fire rating. This single coat is commonly referred to as fire taping. Apply tape and one coat of compound to all seams and inside corners in the normal way; you don’t have to tape the fastener heads. Outside corners require metal corner bead, which can be attached after you’ve finished taping, but the bead doesn’t have to be taped. All gaps wider than 1/16 in. around pipes, overhead door brackets, and other protrusions should also be taped.
There is a self-adhesive fire-rated tape available that doesn’t require a coat of joint compound to maintain its fire rating. It is an excellent choice for fire-taping gable ends and attics.
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If I built my dream home but had to look at those half-a$$ed seams every time I went into the garage, I'd be a very unhappy customer.
The garage is where many of us store our most precious four- and two-wheeled possessions, and the explanation that this method meets the fire code minimums does not excuse the fact that it is ugly and one of the worst places for clients to try to save money.