Class A Fire Rated Aluminum Cladding: An Architect’s Guide
Specifying exterior cladding for a fire hazard zone used to be a paperwork exercise. Pull the manufacturer’s brochure, check that “Class A” appeared somewhere, attach it to the submittal, move on. The 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires changed that. AHJs, insurance carriers, and code consultants now want to see the underlying test data and the […]
WUI Chapter 7A Aluminum Cladding for California Buildings
After the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures in January 2025, plan reviewers across Los Angeles County started flagging the same sheet of California Building Code at almost every counter visit: Chapter 7A, Materials and Construction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure. WUI Chapter 7A cladding is no longer a niche concern for […]
Is Aluminum Siding Fire Resistant? Class A Ratings and LA Fire Safety
If you live anywhere in the Los Angeles basin, fire isn’t an abstract worry. The Palisades and Eaton fires of January 2025 destroyed more than 16,000 structures and pushed entire neighborhoods to rebuild from the foundation up. The Woolsey fire before that, the Getty fire, the Saddleridge fire — every few years, the conversation in […]