Is a new fire alarm system required in a existing suite / building undergoing a minor alteration? The building is fully sprinklered, but there's no fire alarm other than what's required by IFC/CFC 903.4. We searched every room and didn't find a single strobe, smoke detector, or anything fire alarm related. Alterations are relatively minor, so the tenant understandably doesn't want to spend more money on a new alarm system than the alteration. Project is in a medical office suite, Group B...
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The 2021 IBC commentary on 506.2.2 Mixed-Occupancy Buildings, Example 3 on Page 5-20, works through a four-story building which has different types of mixed occupancy on the different floors. I worked through this example then read the commentary and disagreed with their conclusion that the third floor can be considered nonseparated occupancy. In their analysis they only discuss the allowable areas but don’t discuss allowable number of stories, I think the third floor should be separated...
I just wrapped-up a meeting with an architect and a zookeeper. Where the zookeeper is wanting to violate every egress code there is :)
There are 3 swinging man doors entering a Lion enclosure. Inside this enclosure there are 6 separate "dens" each den has it's own animal door leading outside to the habitat area. and the den area is separate from the human area with gates (a main gate enter the den area and each den has it's own gate). However there are times when they bring lions through the...
Given a 1-hr floor ceiling assembly an a VB, R2, consisting of gypsum panel on the bottom, open web floor truss, 3/4" subfloor, and gypcrete floor surface.
Each unit has an air handler within the unit. The steel ducts run down from the unit into the rated floor system and supply the unit air conditioning through the floor. So no through penetrations of the FC assembly, but a top membrane penetration of the FC assembly. Each unit is isolated with its own air handler and duct system so no...
Just verifying that I am correct in that a space enclosed by low walls is subject to the requirements of table 1006.2.1 with respect to the number of exits required.
Assuming everything else is compliant, the seating area in the sketch below requires 2 exits, correct? (Assembly occupancy, sprinklered building, mixture of fixed and moveable seating).
We have a client looking to build some luxury storage units. Most likely VB, <10,000SF per building. Each building would have multiple units, each with it's own half bath, AC, etc. Ideally they would like to have the option to sell these under a horizontal property regime (TN condos).
If they were purely storage they would be S-1 nbd. In addition to storage for when you have too many Porsches; many competitors are marketing them as 'man caves' or places to base a storage based business out...
Hi guys,
I hate to even ask this question, but can anyone help me with the IBC definition of Hotel? We are having a somewhat ridiculous discussion with lawyers and city planners, revolving around the question of short-term rentals versus hotels. I am trying to find a path in the IBC to show that this particular project is considered a hotel.
Here are some quick details. There is a historic business that the fire marshal and I have designated as an R-1 Hotel. It is a bunch of bungalows...
I am looking at an existing design , high rise hotel, where the original design shows a small recess for the ice vending machine and the cleaning staff gear room walls rated 1 hr.
What would be a possible reason for that, for a fully sprinklered building?
Looking at section 420.3 and table 1020.2 I understand that 30 minutes rating is adequate.
Am i missing something?
I have business that is curious about taking over an existing building. The previous use was firearm sales and gunsmithing. The building was built in 1994. However, I do not have any plan sets for any of the previous tenants. The previous 3 tenants were all firearm sales and gunsmithing. In my opinion I believe that the gunsmithing portion of the building would be classified as a F-1 occupancy. I'm open to interpretation on a gunsmithing being an F-1 occupancy. Furthermore, do I classify the...
Does anyone really consider these an M or is it just a Ch. 31 Canopy? I have one associated with another building that needs to be sprinklered and I am not sure it has the FSD to be a separate building and not sprinklered...For the record, commercial fleet facility maintaining their own trucks...
309.1
Mercantile Group M occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure or a portion thereof for the display and sale of merchandise, and involves stocks of goods, wares or...
I am currently in the process of calculating the occupant load for a mixed-use floor plate that includes both Business and Assembly functions. A significant feature of this floor plate is a large central atrium, which is surrounded by common circulation paths on all four sides. To provide more context, the east and west sides of the atrium are are large assembly spaces, while the north and south sides house office areas.
Given that the circulation around the atrium serves both the...
In a high rise hotel , does the FSAE require a lobby and direct access to a protected stairway on the basement level?
Article 3007.1 states that
every floor above and including the lowest level of fire department vehicle access of the building shall be served by fire service access elevators complying with Sections 3007.1 through 3007.9.
Does this mean that the relevant requirements apply to just above ground levels?
A complex question (hence the bullet points to try and help with clarity):
I have a client who purchased an existing A-3 indoor family amusement center (athletic field, laser tag, arcade, bounce house, gym, etc.) in 2011.
The original building was constructed in 1998 (1993 BOCA) as a 2-story fire-suppressed Construction Type 2A building. Steel structure, open web steel roof joists, metal roof deck, precast concrete second floor, and non-bearing masonry infill exterior walls. 2A required...
4 story existing hospital replacing 3 elevators with 2 compliant elevators and current code requirements in a single shaft. The fan and supply air ductwork required to pressurize the shaft is located on the roof to be compliant with 909.21.1.
Question 1: Is the ductwork located on the roof required to be protected with a two-hour fire rating?
Question 2: Would the fan and related ductwork located on the roof be part of the "fan system" and therefore 909.21.4.1 would negate the 909.21.3...
Good afternoon Forum - I am working on a project where I have to fill out a code form for the AHJ. The building is a seasonal, stand-alone, public restroom, single hole, along a public trail. I have determined the occupancy class as U. However, the part that I am stuck on with the AHJ code form is they want me to calculate the occupant load and egress width based on the Function of Space Table 1004.5. Obviously this is not listed in the Function of Space as these types of spaces are usually...
On a project for a university building, an exterior wall is provided to enclose an area with rooftop mechanical equipment. The project is Type 2A under the 2018 IBC. The structural steel does not support any floor, roof, or equipment, but only provides lateral support for the enclosing walls (see highlighted elements in the image below).
Would such framing be considered part of the primary structural frame, and therefore require a fire resistance rating? Fire separation distance is not...
I am trying to determine what construction type an existing building is that was labeled as Type V (UP) in 1995 compared to current construction types. Doing a quick internet search, I am finding conflicting info. Any help would be appreciated.
what occupancy classification do restrooms on airport concourse level belong to? Most of the spaces on this level are A-3. Should these restroom be categorized as A-3, I see some people put them to B.
During a recent yearly inspection, the AHJ cited several egress violations in a municipal building. The most severe citation was the lack of the required number of exits from the 2nd floor, based on the occupant load due to the city council chamber being located on this floor.
The chamber is approximately 2,100 square feet in total. The AHJ used the 1 person per 7 square feet assembly factor for the entire room, resulting in an occupant load of 300 people. However, I have some...
I have an existing 6200 sq.ft. 80 year old ( the majority sq.ft. of S-1 with small apartment R approx. 800 sq.ft.) 1 story Non Sprinklered Type Vb Construction that has had structural remedial work done to it that is over 50% of the building area. I inspected it and the structural work is satisfactory, however an existing apartment exists off the back contiguous to the S-1 area. Since the work is well over 50% of the building area, the building must be brought up to IBC 2024 standards one of...
I'm working on a renovation project (2015 Michigan Building Code) of a tenant suite (Mercantile) in a strip mall. Construction type is IIB, single story. The suite is around 13,500 SF. The City said it will need to be suppressed because the maximum SF is 12,500 per table 506.2. The building is surrounded by parking lot and open space, so I was hoping to use the frontage increase per 506.3.2 to increase the allowable area.
The City's response is that the frontage increase is "only for an...
Hi,
I have a client, who has (1) single-user, unisex/ gender neutral, accessible bathroom in a coffee shop. 2021 IBC applies, with their changes regarding these single user restrooms.
We have 63 total occupants, and our calculations per table 2902.1 and 2902.1.1 result in a required # of toilets @ 0.893. Mostly using the restaurant rate @ 1 toilet per 75.
2021 IBC, 2902.2, exception #5 states: "Separate facilities shall not be required to be designated by sex where single-user toilets...
I was wondering if anyone here has either utilized, or plan-checked a project that utilized performance-based crowd simulation / egress modeling software such as Pathfinder by Thunderhead? I saw an egress simulation on a recent video that analyzed the Station nightclub fire, and it extensively utilized crowd and fire modeling to show the failure.
At around the 10:20 mark, it discussed upcoming proposals to require assembly spaces to use performance-based crowd response modeling software as...
Hello All.
Working on a townhouse project. I am not finding the code trail in 2010 ADA as to why townhouses are exempt from ADA (Scoping 233) - anyone know? I do see where the FHA's Fair Housing Act Design Manual has an exception that says multi-story townhouses are exempt from accessibility requirements. But my understanding is we have to read all these accessibility-related documents together with one another. A117.1 leaves the scoping to the building code, so good on that front.
It's...
Would a forklift repair shop be considered a motor vehicle repair shop and thus S-1? Or a low hazard industrial group (Fabrication or manufacturing of non-combustible materials) and thus F-2? I am thinking S-1...
https://www.apparatusindustrial.com/is-forklift-a-motor-vehicle-or-plant-and-machinery/
I am working on an industrial building where the bulk of it 612,000 sf is a warehouse. But there is a small 5,000 forklift repair tenant space. The existing building isn't suited to...