Bass traps, clouds and fire/building codes

[dcwave]

I have been looking at several different basement studio builds. In some studios the owner has used OC13 and 703 stuffed inbetween floor/ceiling joists and then covered the ceiling with some type of fabric (dead ceiling, live floor). I've also seen some studios using traps on the backwalls, usually slot resonators, that have cloth behind the slats. What impact does this have on fire codes and getting permits for contruction?

 

[mshilarious]

You have to use fire retardant fabric. The generally acknowledged cheapest standard is Guilford FR701:

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/fabrics/guilford.asp

You might be able to find it substantially cheaper from a local source, but from others' experience here, that varies a lot.

For a home studio, you can treat any fabric with flame retardant yourself, but for a commercial facility I'm pretty sure they'll demand rated fabric. Check with your local building inspector.