Need ceiling closed up?

[Denray]

Is it OK for this ceiling to be open up through the second floor? It's drywalled except for where the back of the shower is. It is the furnace/water heater closet.

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[Denray]

Ah. Anybody out there?[:-bigeyes

[DeBolt]

Hey Denray,

I'm having a hard time figuring out the orientation of the second picture and I'm not too sure what you are asking.

Are you asking if the missing drywall on the frame is acceptable? If so, I would probably just mention it in the report as missing or unfinished.

Sorry if I misunderstood your question.

[inspector57]

There must be fire-stopping at the ceiling/floor level of each story. I too cannot figure out what I am looking at in the second pic. but if it is the ceiling that is missing, then you have a problem.

[John Kogel]

Is it an old chimney chase?

If so, you can call for fire-stopping or fire-blocking, not sure which it would be in the Golden State. But the lack of a chimney makes it less of a hazard, so it is no different than a laundry chute or a stairwell, no?

[Denray]

Yep, just looking up from the furnace/WH closet at the ceiling that goes straight up to the top of the second floor. It is no different than a stairwell it would seem with a furnace vent going up through it. No draft stops on stairways, but isn't there supposed to be on furnace vent chases?

[Jim Katen]

Yep, just looking up from the furnace/WH closet at the ceiling that goes straight up to the top of the second floor. It is no different than a stairwell it would seem with a furnace vent going up through it. No draft stops on stairways, but isn't there supposed to be on furnace vent chases?

I still don't quite understand what I'm seeing in the second picture. Which way is up? What are the two tubes that I see?

Fire blocking is required in *concealed spaces* between floors, but this doesn't seem to be a concealed space. It's also required at "openings" around vents at each floor level. But this doesn't seem to be an opening, so much as a chase? What's with the missing drywall? Does it only expose the space between the framing or does it lead to other concealed space? Is there fire blocking at the top of the second floor?