Reply to Rowhouse Neighbor with Bed Bugs - Can we Improve Exclusion on Party Wall?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Sorry to bring this up, but if insects are finding ways to get through your party, you may also have a big code issue in terms of fire safety.  I'd call a building inspector and get it checked.[/quote]

OP - OK, this is where I get to show my total ignorance of construction. There is quite a bit online, and a bit in this thread, about the risk of bed bugs moving between construction where buildings or units touch.

In older rowhouses (think 1880-1900), where there is a thick brick wall and foundation (or maybe it is a couple of walls that abut), would you under ordinary circumstances not suspect a problem? If not, maybe I can feel optimistic, do my own treatment, and expect resolution.

If it points to some kind of building repair issue I can have someone check, what am I looking for?  [/quote]

I think this advice is a bit overblown.  The size of a hole that would allow a bedbug to crawl through is not at all an indicator that you have a fire safety issue.  It’s not going to hurt to check it out, but bedbugs can get through just about any size space. And no home is really 100% sealed - otherwise you’d have no air left inside after a while...   New homes are sometime so tightly sealed that they do require some sort of additional air circulation, but that doesn’t mean that an older home is a fire hazard just Because a bug can  slip through from next-door

[/quote]

Says someone who has never read the fire code.  What the OP describes sounds like a code nightmare, particularly the shared attic/ceiling space among units, soft/deteriorating brick party wall, etc. You need a one-hour fire-rated wall (minimum) with continuous fire-rated materials that extends 18" above the roof, ideally.  You want no through-penetrations between the walls or units.  [/quote]

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