Legal Requirements: building codes

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Legal Requirements building codes
accessibility codes

• Pages 395 - 436 in "Interior Construction
  Detailing" by D.K. Ballast

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44 states and the Department of Defense use the
International Building Code 32 states use the
International Residential Code 32 states use the
International Fire Code
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What are Building Codes?

• A building code is a collection of laws,
  regulations, ordinances or other statutory
  requirements adopted by a government legislative
  authority involved with the physical structure
  and healthful conditions for occupants of
  buildings. Building codes are the government's
  official statement on building safety.

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• Building Codes establish predictable and
  consistent minimum standards which are applied to
  the quality and durability of construction
  materials. "Minimum requirements" means that
  construction meets the criteria of being both
  "practical and adequate for protecting life,
  safety and welfare of the public".

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• So who needs building codes? We all need
  protection from tragedy due to fire, structural
  collapse and general deterioration in our homes,
  offices, schools, manufacturing facilities,
  stores or places of entertainment.

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• Building codes embrace all aspects of building
  construction - fire and structural items as well
  as the plumbing, electrical and mechanical
  systems. They provide safeguards and ensure
  uniformity in the construction industry

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• Inspection during construction is the only way to
  independently verify that compliance has been
  achieved. Inspections are conducted in homes,
  offices and factories to verify conformity to
  minimum standards, prior to the issuance of an
  occupancy certificate.

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• Building codes are adopted by a state or local
  government's legislative body, then enacted to
  regulate building construction within a
  particular jurisdiction. The primary purpose of a
  building code is to regulate new or proposed
  construction.

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• Building codes only apply to an existing building
  if the building undergoes reconstruction,
  rehabilitation or alteration, or if the occupancy
  of the existing building changes to a new
  occupancy level as defined by the building code.

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Ancient History of Building Codes

• Building regulations date back to the beginning
  of recorded history. The Code of Hammurabi (2200
  B.C.) Included a simple but effective building
  code provision if an architect built a house so
  negligently that it fell down and killed the
  owner's son, then the architect's son was put to
  death.

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History of Building Codes in the United States

• In early America, George Washington and Thomas
  Jefferson encouraged the development of building
  regulations to provide for minimum standards
  related to public health and safety.

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• At the turn of the century, the insurance
  industry developed what many consider to be
  modern building codes in response to major urban
  fires in the United States. The National Board of
  Fire Underwriters published its National Building
  Code in 1905 as a model code that is, one that
  could be adopted by a locality.

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• During the early 1900's, model building codes
  were written by code enforcement officials of
  various communities with assistance from all
  segments of the building industry

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BOCA Code

• In 1915, code enforcement officials met to
  discuss common problems and concerns. Out of
  these meetings came the formation of three
  organizations of code enforcement officials. The
  first of these organizations, known as Building
  Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA)
  International, Inc., was created in 1915 and
  represented code officials from eastern and
  Midwestern portions of the United States.

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Testing agencies provide valuable information
used in developing code requirements

• The standards developed by the various
  organizations become a base for the codes in
  order to determine the quality of the material
  and the workmanship.

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• Research and Testing Organizations ASTM -The
  American Society for Testing and Materials NFPA
  - National Fire Protection Association UL -
  Underwriting Laboratories FM - Factory Mutual
  Engineering Corp. ANSI - The American National
  Standards Institute

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• Professional Associations ASHRAE - The American
  Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air
  Conditioning Engineers ASCE - The American
  Society of Civil Engineers ASME - The American
  Society of Mechanical Engineers

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• Trade Associations APA - The American Plywood
  Association SMACNA - Sheet Metal and Air
  Conditioning Contractors' National Association
  ACI - American Concrete Institute Etc.

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occupancy types

• occupancy type described in terms of
• types
• A assembly
• B business
• E educational
• F factory and industrial
• H hazardous
• I institutional
• M mercantile
• R residential storage
• U utility

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construction types based on the fire resistance
of building components

• Structural frame, interior and exterior bearing
  walls, floor and roof construction.
• Type I the most fire resistive
• Type II
• Type III
• Type IV
• Type V the least fire resistive

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building codes address nearly all aspects of the
physical environment

• building codes address the performance of the
  physical environment, and include
• structure
• finish materials
• mechanical systems
• plumbing
• electrical

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Fire urban disasters led to the development and
adoption of building codes

• To read a history of the Chicago Fire Department,
  go to
• http//www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/fired
  ept.html
• To see a history timeline of the Boston Fire
  Department, go to
• http//www.ci.boston.ma.us/bfd/history/bfd_history
  .htm

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The Great Chicago Fire 1871
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After the Chicago Fire
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Chicago in ruins 1871
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Chicago in ruins 1871
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The Great Chicago Fire 1871

• A web site dedicated to the Chicago fire of 1871
• http//www.chicagohs.org/fire/intro/gcf-index.html

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• The blaze began about 9 p.m. on Sunday, October
  8, 1871. By midnight the fire had jumped the
  river's south branch and by 130 a.m., the
  business district was in flames. Shortly
  thereafter the fire raced northward across the
  main river.

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• The waterworks were evacuated although the tower
  was not badly damaged and still stands. During
  Monday the fire burned as far as Fullerton
  Avenue. Rainfall which started about midnight
  helped put out the last of the flames. 300
  Chicagoans were dead, 90,000 homeless, and the
  property loss was 200 million.

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Boston Fire of 1872
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• In 1872 a burgeoning Boston, fat and complacent
  in the postCivil War boom, ignored warnings that
  the city was growing too fast, too soon. The
  result was the Great Fire of 1872, a
  conflagration that left the commercial district
  in ashes and reshaped the citys downtown.

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building fires can be intense, difficult to
extinguish, and very, very frightening
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a house fire
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Americans with Disabilities ActADA

• The ADA is a federal code, with jurisdiction over
  the entire country.
• ADA code web site
• http//www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm4
  .1

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an example of an ADA compliant rampthe incline
can be no steeper than 112
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this restroom is ADA compliant becausethe hot
water pipes are shielded, the size of the room is
sufficient for a wheelchairbound person to turn
around, the faucet handles are automatic no hand
operations are needed to turn on and off the
water.
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fireplaces and chimneys
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in a traditional fireplace most of the heat from
the firegoes straight up the chimney
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the fire chamber has to be lined with special
fire resistantbrick to resist the high heat of
the fire
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wood burning stoveswood must be carried in,
ignited, and then ashes must be cleaned out
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