I've been renovating the top two floors of my house over the last four years while living in the basement suite. The renovations involved a full strip down, reinforcing joists, working with a structural engineer, spray foam insulation, and new wiring and plumbing. The inspector has been with me throughout this process, and he agreed that the basement wasn't going to be a legal suite, allowing us to avoid certain requirements like a one-hour fire separation since it's technically just part of our family home.
However, on the final inspection day, he suddenly said I needed the fire separation. This means tearing down the entire ceiling and a wall of the basement to install fire-rated drywall, which is a huge setback considering we need to move into the main house, but it's not passing inspection. I'm completely frustrated after four years of work, and I'm trying to figure out if there's a simpler way to meet this requirement without completely gutting my basement.
1 Answer
Instead of tearing it all down, consider just adding fire-rated materials over your existing drywall. It might complicate things a bit for your lights and outlets, but it’s definitely less messy and keeps your space livable while you sort everything out.
That could work, but my basement has a textured popcorn ceiling, and finding studs is tough. Plus, the drywall is fastened to 3/4" strapping against the studs, so I wonder if adding multiple layers of drywall will be too much weight.