Do outside air intakes for HVAC equipment in a Wildland Urban Interface zone require flame and ember resistant vents, or are these special vents only required at passive ventilation locations such as for an attic or crawlspace? The project is a commercial building, but the same question would apply to a residential building.
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Portland, OR
I’m attempting to figure out egress for a new café/donut shop going into an existing cafe's space. The occupancy works out to 48 people with A-2 occupancy in the dining area and Business in service areas and in the kitchen.
Non-sprinklered, VB construction. There is currently only one exit with signage at FOH (front of house) and we want to see if we can keep it that way.
I talked with a plans examiner for the City today in an attempt to figure out how to overcome our not...
Michigan building Code 2021,
I have a small after school care building that they are wanting to have a mezzanine in the space. The space is open to below and used for tv and lounge type activities. Total building square footage is only 7000 sf with the mezzanine only being 1500 sf.
I am not seeing how I can consider this anything other than and Educational use group as a Daycare since its minors being supervised. Section 903.2.3 Group E states
An automatic sprinkler system shall be...
In the IBC 2021 code 1014.6 on Handrails, it states that the handrail is required to return to the wall, and be continuous, among other things, but not important to this question. When I was in the field I always had inspectors tell me the continuous part meant you could not use a miter and had to use the premade cured 90 to return to the wall. Now that I'm in a different role and different area, contractors argue that part (the curve not the return to the wall) and miter the wood rail. Why...
[BG] COMPUTER ROOM.
A room or portions of a building used primarily to house information technology equipment (ITE) and serving an ITE load less than or equal to10 kW or 20 W/ft2 (215 W/m2) of conditioned floor area.
I got flagged in permit review for not addressing this section of 2018 IBC. I have a type VA building with 1-hour exterior bearing walls and 2-hour shafts (4 story R2 on 1 story S-2 garage).
Does 1023.7 apply if my walls are already 1-HR per table 601 and 705.5? What about the openings? Could the 10' distance rule be omitted if the stair enclosure had 3/4 hr protected openings?
Situation similar to below:
Thanks y'all.
I have someone looking at a project that involves an addition to an existing historic building. The existing construction is generally non-combustible (concrete and masonry) and the proposed project could meet height and area requirements including the new addition with a construction type of IIA. At issue is a tall library space that has full height shelving, and a walkway at an intermediate level to access higher shelving. The walkway is of unprotected steel construction. Applicable...
I'm doing a dentist office build-out The entire space is >3000 sf which requires a vestibule.
I'm trying not to do a vestibule. There is a place in the plan where if I put a door in a hallway if would divide the entire space in 1/2.
See attached plan
Would this be within the intent of the code?
2021 IBC in Massachusetts
1604.2 Strength
Buildings and other structures, and parts thereof, shall be designed and constructed to support safely the factored loads in load combinations defined in this code without exceeding the appropriate strength limit states for the materials of construction. Alternatively, buildings and other structures, and parts thereof, shall be designed and constructed to support safely the nominal loads in load combinations defined in this code without exceeding...
Existing building, just a few years old, under the same code administered when it was originally constructed. 2 story, VB, NFPA 13, non-sep. mixed use B,M,S1,A2 (A2 most restrictive). 2 suites were left unfinished core shell spaces, main suite consistes of a small warehouse, offices, conference room. Proposal now to make one of the 2 unfinished units an apartment (they call it a "caretaker suite"). Does not work as a live-work due to the restrictions. A few questions for a meeting...
I'm hoping to confirm my understanding that a vertical opening in a non-rated floor assembly that is only connecting two stories does not need to be a rated shaft assembly. The building is IIIB, Two stories, and sprinklered. Although per NCBC 717.6.3, I don't think it being sprinklered makes a difference. As long as we comply with #2 the walls around the mechanical shaft do not need to be rated. We comply with 712.1.9 but i don't know that this section applies because it says it pertains to...
2018 IBC w/ NC amendments
Are windows permitted on an interior wall of an exit passageway? The way I read section 1024.5, the answer is no. When I read the commentary, it appears that window assemblies tested as wall assemblies are be permitted.
Thanks
I need a scan or a photo of the section from BOCA 1970 (or some year as close to 1970 as possible) on Certificates of Occupancy. For 1970 it was section 120.1 -- the number might be different in other years. I have the language from my state's adopted version, but we revised that section and I need the BOCA model code language as a comparison.
If anyone has access to an unedited BOCA Basic Building Code from 1970 or thereabouts, please contact me -- or just post a scan of it here. I'm...
typically a Townhouse gypsum separation wall extends to the interior side of the exterior sheathing of the perpendicular exterior wall. Of course the exterior sheathing is fire rated and extends 4' to each side . My questions are...1. can the separation wall terminate into solid blocking within the wood framed exterior wall...solid 2 x 6's..rather than the back of the exterior sheathing. 2. If there is a gap between the separation and the exterior sheathing..1" or so..can that gap be filled...
Per Ch 29 of the IBC the prescribed distance to travel in a factory setting is 500 feet or approved distance by the AHJ. Is it the intent of the code to have the path completely indoors or can an exterior path comply as in a campus type setting?
Thanks!
New PEMB building, unconditioned, no utilities, used for storing grounds maintenance equipment storage. Curious about the different ways I see this classified?
So is there a reason why several of the entries (B, E, I, etc) do not have a dividing line between the male and female columns as do the A occupancies? I would think there would be a reason but the only thing that would make sense is that you do not divide the occupant load into 2 sexes which is not correct...any thoughts?
Thanks!
Massachusetts State Building Code 9 or 10th edition table 307.1 (1) MAQ hazardous material limits.
Need reference standard, code verse industry standard for calculating the quantity include the container full or empty.
Thank you
This may be a stupid question...
What do the dashes in table 508.4 means?
For example if you look at B to R is a dash, but R to B is a value (1 or 2)
Multifamily Project, 1-hour Wood I-Joist Floor Assemblies with a 1-hour rating:
I'm having trouble finding any ceiling radiation dampers for wood I-joist floors. It seems like they are only fire tested with wood truss floor assemblies. I'm not sure why this is. Anyone know why this might be and if there is a code acceptable path towards ceiling radiation damper in 1-hour I-joist assemblies? Or is this an AHJ question?
I recently observed a large apartment project in Florida, where the entire structural system was built out of cast-in-place reinforced concrete. What stood out was the method: large steel gang forms, resembling container boxes, were craned into position to create one apartment “box” at a time. Concrete was poured in place, allowed to cure, then the forms were stripped and moved to the next unit.
The end result looks like a stack of concrete boxes, side by side and then above, until the...
We are doing a partial alteration to a 4 story office building in Ohio in 2025. On the first floor there is a cafeteria and seating area. The cafeteria is set up like what you would find in a hospital. You enter the cafeteria from an atrium on the first floor, you have several options to grab food from food stations on a tray, and then check out at the cash register and proceed to sit down in the next room at a table and eat.
I am analyzing the occupant count for the entire building and...
CBC 420.4 Automatic Sprinkler System says:
Group R-2.1 occupancies shall be equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.2.6.
But 903.2.6 says:
An automatic sprinkler system shall be provided throughout buildings with a Group I fire area.
This makes no sense, that an R-2.1 occupancy would contain Group I fire area.
So my client asked the State Fire Marshal, and got the following response:
Based Table 504.3 an R-2.1 can be constructed with a...
South Dakota - where state rules allow quite a bit of commercial work before you are required by law to have an architect (SDCL 36-18A-9).
So we have an existing brick building with wood-frame interior from 1890 where the second floor is having a Level 3 alteration to reconfigure 3 apartments. It is not a change of use as there were 3 apartments before however this is a major gut and redo. The ground floor tenant space is a retail store, was originally a bank wayyy back when.
Ignore...
Working on a restaurant project in a Type-IA structure. We have a Pollution Control Unit (PCU) that's required to be within a 1-hour rated enclosure. There are some existing plumbing drain lines at the ceiling that run along one side of the room, but we are not allowed to have any pipes within our rated enclosure that do not serve the PCU. The building inspector said we can soffit around these pipes with a UL-listed/tested assembly.
I have been all over the USG, UL, and other sites (plus...