I have an Architect stating a Fire Department Garage, if over 5,000 sf, is not required to be sprinkled. He is stating it does not meet the intent of Commercial motor vehicles definition. Of course per the 2021 IBC section 903.2.9 Group S-1 item 4) A group s-1 fire area used for storage of commercial motor vehicles where the fire area exceeds 5,000 sf requires a sprinkler system.
The definition of Commercial Motor Vehicle sates: A motor vehicle used to transport passengers or property where...
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I need to add a walk-in cooler to my store, which would require a 5 ft wide by 24 ft long addition. I have had a designer draw it, and the engineer stamped it.
We are in a park so no municipality and under the arm for Building permits of the Office of the Fire Commissioner. Have been asked for a Building code analysis.
The house was built in 2009 to attach to the store that was built in the 30's to 40's. The store is all pine inside but has been redone with new insulation ect.
The house's...
Hi,
For a funeral home there is a chapel on one side of the building and a reception hall on the opposite side. There is a wide hallway/corridor leading from one to the other. We're using "7" for the factor for the chapel and assembly, what factor would you use for the hallway? Presumably it's for the same people that would be in the chapel/reception.
IIB, NS building, 1018 IBC. Proposed change of use to beauty salon, with a 100sf² raised platform, 18" AFF where people sit to get there feet worked on. Would you consider this a platform, a floor, or something else?
So, in my area, the inspector (office of the fire commissioner) is now asking for a code analysis. This is something new to me, as in my 35 years, we have never been asked for this.
I am building a deck for my resort that is not attached to any building. It will give my guests a place to sit and eat. The deck is 903 sq ft and 600mm off the ground.
I have had the drawings stamped by the engineer. What is the deck's classification, and what codes would apply in the code analysis?
I did a...
I've been wanting to post this question to the group for a long time. I finally took time to draw up the two options to (hopefully) clearly describe my thoughts.
I understand that "Floor Area, Gross" and "Floor Area, Net" are defined in Chapter 2, and that Table 1004.5 Maximum Floor Area Allowances Per Occupant exists to help classify uses of spaces. My question is how to calculate gross areas, as it seems that there could be two ways of doing it.
In Opt 1, I used the term "gross" quite...
What section of the I-Codes designates the occupancy of the pump area of a gas station? I reviewed IBC 406.2 and 406.7, and 309.3 indicates this is a Mercantile occupancy… but I have a hard time believing that the pump area is also considered an M occ.
Background - a client is asking if it is possible to place an R-2 apartment above the canopy of their gas station. My initial reaction was ‘of course not’ but I’m now looking for the code section that justifies this response.
Thanks!
Exterior access only...The OH doors...would/ do you consider them egress doors and meet all of the requirements? They need to be accessible to "get in" but I don't see them meeting most of the requirements to get out like latching/ locking, landings, and maybe some others....Whaddaya think?
It is clear that MEP penetrations in protected stairways and exit passageways are not permitted by Code.
If we encase such penetrations in a rated shaft, (horizontal or vertical), can we say that these spaces are not part of the stairwell/ passageway and get away with it?
This is common practice in quite a few European countries, where they require additional bracing for such shafts to withstand mechanical forces.
Is this possible in Canada to have such a security door in the middle of an intermediate landing in an exit stairway? I don't think so because just by being there it could slow down or delay the emergency response operations.
Scratching my head on this....
Convergence requirements per 1005.6 are clear for a simple staircase. We must add occupants coming up from the basement into the LED to occupants coming down from the first floor to the same vestibule, because the relevant populations shall meet by the final exit at the same time and there will be a bottleneck.
How about the following 3 scenarios though?
1. What if occupants from these two levels arrive into an relatively long (say 400 feet long) exit...
Hello all,
I am working on a small renovation of an existing school built in 2011. Single story, not sprinklered, steel construction. No existing drawings available. I think it is Type II-B but not certain. I'm not very familiar with the classifications. Can anyone confirm that?
thank you very much.
I am working on a large fitness center with two distinct outdoor fenced areas with egress gates and panic hardware. The outdoor areas: #1 a pool deck (2,321 occupants + 282 occupants from the building = 2,603occupants) 4 exits required per 1006.3.2 and #2 pickleball courts & an enclosed kid's play area (266 occupants + 193 occupants from the building = 459 occupants) 2 exits required per 1006.3.2 Due to site configuration, we are challenged with providing the required number of exits not...
Hello everyone,
I am working on a mixed use commercial project and will appreciate feedback or ideas. the project is in Newark, NJ. The applicable codes are
Rehabilitation subcodes (NJAC 5:23-6)
NJ IBC 2021
The existing building has a retail store on the front and an apartment on the rear side. There is one staircase going to first floor from the main street. No side yard setback as zero side yard setback and zero front yard setback allowed. The building abuts the street. No parking...
Hello all,
I could use some help with this as I have not worked on a project with an elevator that has this many stops before. This is in Colorado under the 2021 IBC.
My client owns a three story plus basement office building built in 1990s, not sprinklered, with two elevators serving all four floors, and a third elevator serving the ground, second, third floors. No elevator lobby, the elevators open to the corridor. The owners are making upgrades to the elevators, and thus triggering the...
So, I hope someone can fix this or at least in your States....But I believe it is on the consent agenda, so I believe it will be code. This will allow 100% of the building occupants to egress to a roof with no path to a public way if the roof has an "unobstructed path of travel" and is 1 hour fire rated or rated to the enclosure that stranded you there:
I really don't think that there will be no egress, as there needs to be access, but I can see this being a problem if it can't get fixed...
Show of hands....Who thinks that this code section means the individual units in a self-storage facility need lights in them? "Serving a room" is a little confusing and whether or not the room (being exit access) is incorporated into that.....
1008.2 Illumination Required
The means of egress serving a room or space shall be illuminated at all times that the room or space is occupied.
Exceptions:
1.Occupancies in Group U.
2.Aisle accessways in Group A.
3.Dwelling units and sleeping units...
My code approach is to call the fifth story addition a story which only takes up a third of the existing roof of a four story building. The existing roof was an occupied roof previously but the plans to alter the building included an addition of bathrooms to the occupied roof and a lounge while also extending the elevator to it. The outdoor space is increased in size but since enclosing occupied space I now have an added story (5th) for the enclosed portion. Since construction is III-A and...
APPLICABLE CODES: IEBC 2021 and NFPA 101
I have an existing enclosed mezzanine, around 5000 sf. The mezzanine has two enclosed exit stairs, both of which do not have rated doors. If the walls are rated, there is no indication. I have now had a second comment from plans review. First they told me both exit enclosure (both of which discharge directly outside) needed to be rated. I responded back with "these are mezzanine exit access stairs. Mezzanines are considered part of the floor...
Is there a specific Florida Building Code (8th Ed., 2023) requirement for the allowable gap at the bottom of railings along a slab.
Many drawings show 2" inches (to stop bottles), but I cannot find it in the code.
All I could find is the basic 4" stop requirement.
Thanks in advance for your response.
IBC 2021 -
So I found an old post regarding this but it's more than 10 years old. I posted my question there but not sure everyone would see it so I'm making a new post. I'm building a new golf cart storage building and was debating using S-2 or F-1 for occupancy, but I see here in the previous posts that everyone thinks it's S-1 which is a bummer. What does everyone think about F-1? I know golf cart storage is not considered manufacturing, but since recreational vehicles are mentioned...
I have a three story mixed use building, the second and third story have been storage for many years, the third floor is now being converted to a business/assembly space ... the only restroom is located on the second floor ... where in the building code does it describe how far you, and number of floors, you can travel to get to a rest room?
Do you see anything wrong with this stair layout? Other than the fact that it can't be built to three decimal points of accuracy : )
This is a small R-2 in CA, four stories tall, less than 50 occupants per floor. It's exterior and the secondary egress stair from the building. Treads and risers meet code. Assume heights of guardrails and handrails are correct.
1011.6 calls for a minimum landing depth equal to the stair width but not less than 48".
A couple of questions in particular...
I have an walkway at the main exit of a restaurant. The overall width is 10'-4". My question is does the 2'-0" low planter wall violate the highlighted section of the code below that refers to the 10' wide space?
2018 IBC
Type VB construction
2 story
no sprinkler system
The first floor is a restaurant / pub. I am unsure of second floor use group - not M, R, I, or H. Might be S-2 or B (assembly less than 50 people if the numbers work).
Anyway, the owner wants a second story 6 ft deep balcony. It is 60 feet from one end to the other and the only door onto and off of the balcony is in the middle. Is this two dead-end corridors that are each 30 ft long and therefore not code compliant?