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Robin E. Snyder
Senior Member
Username: robin

Post Number: 460
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 12:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

USG's installation manual states: Ceiling-height door frames may be used as vertical control joints for partitions. However, door frames of lesser height may only be used for this purpose if standard the control joints extend to the ceiling from both corners of the top of the door frame.

GA-216 states: Full height door frames shall be considered equivalent to a control joint.

I have one architect that is asserting this implies that every door jamb needs a control joint. Another one asserts that the full-height door (or door with control joint above) can serve as a control joint as required for the "every 30 feet" requirement, but is not required at every door. I can't locate a clear explanation, although the latter makes more sense to me. Anyone have a clear explanation?
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg

Post Number: 522
Registered: 12-2006


Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 01:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

My understanding has always been that you use the 30-foot rule and that full-height doors can be used within that rule. Less than full-height doors can be used based on the criteria given; they just don't have to be. You could locate a control joint several feet from a standard-height door and not have anything at the door.

Does your designer contend that all punched openings require control joints as well or just doors? Where do they 'draw the line?'
David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI
Senior Member
Username: david_axt

Post Number: 1330
Registered: 03-2002


Posted on Friday, May 24, 2013 - 02:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

Robin,

Send me an email and I will send you a copy of the Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau Technical Document 300 - Application of Gypsum Board.

Or you can go to the website, log in and get it. www.nwcb.org

daxt@pacifier.com
Sheldon Wolfe
Senior Member
Username: sheldon_wolfe

Post Number: 644
Registered: 01-2003


Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 06:45 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

Reading all of GA216, 4.7, I don't see where your designer comes to that conclusion.

4.7.3 states where control joints must occur; 4.7.1.1 merely states that a full height door frame serves as a control joint.
Terry Kastner (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - 12:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

A Control Joint provides a break or open joint between subsequent sheets of drywall.

When a door frame is full height the wall partition drywall terminates at the side of the frame thereby forming a "break" between the next sheet of drywall on the opposite side of the door frame.

The term "full height" door frame is meant to clarify that there is no drywall above the head of the door. This type of door frame was and still is popular in tenant type construction where the doorframe, and drywall partitions, terminate at the underside of an acoustical or drywall ceiling.

In situations where the frames are not full height, and/or you have drywall installed over the head of the door, a break/control joint must be installed between successive layers of drywall, at the distances recommended by ASTM C840, the Northwest Wall & Ceiling Bureau and others.

If you have a control joint on one side of a door installation you do not need another control joint on the opposite side of the door. The requirement is every 30 feet not every 30 feet and on each side of a door. A control joint that is installed at the head of a door opening provides an opportunity to install a control joint in a location that is least intrusive to the appearance of the wall.

The control joint must extend from the base of the drywall through the top of the drywall. At the finish face of the drywall, a trim accessory such as the 093 Control Joint may be installed to provide a finished appearance. For those areas above the ceiling and not visible, a trim accessory is not needed, but again, a gap or joint in the drywall must extend from the base of the drywall and be continuous through the top of the drywall.

Extra care must be taken when installing control joints in fire rated partitions and should follow the guidelines provided by the Gypsum Association in their Fire Resistance Design Manual GA 600-2012 under Strain-Relief Systems beginning on page 222.

[reformatted paragraph spacing for better readability - Colin]

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