Patent ID: 8322096

Claim:
A fire-resistant and structural wall system comprising: a wall frame assembly: a fire-resistant assembly coupled to the wall frame assembly, the fire-resistant assembly having a first structural member spaced apart from a second structural member, the first structural member having an upper planar sheet and a lower planar sheet, the first structural member further having an integral stiffener extending from the upper and lower planar sheets, the integral stiffener extending out-of-plane from the upper and lower planar sheets, the integral stiffener forming a channel having channel walls that include a plurality of perforations; a fire-resistant filler received between the first and second structural members, the filler also extending through the plurality of perforations to fill the channel of the integral stiffener while providing, structural continuity between the channel and the space between first and second structural members; a floor assembly; and a plurality of joist hangers coupled to floor assembly and respectively coupled to the fire-resistant assembly, wherein the fire-resistant assembly structurally supports the floor assembly while maintaining a desired fire rating for the wall frame assembly.