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  1. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    JBI, thanks for chiming in - the more viewpoints, the better. we absolutely insist the work area be specifically identified on the construction drawings. rooster - i follow you logic about work area and levels not intersecting. but. with a limited interpretation and measurement of work area...
  2. Mr Softy

    1 or 2 Permits For A New Commercial Building

    most of our C/S projects are Planning Board approved, so the use is already determined. Without exception, they have been B-use buildings.
  3. Mr Softy

    Is it going up or coming down

    the staging is awesome.
  4. Mr Softy

    1 or 2 Permits For A New Commercial Building

    1. i don't believe you can require a single permit for the entire project. when the core/shell is proposed, frequently there is no tenant on board at all, so how can one permit TI work. we will issue simultaneous permits (C/S and TI) only to a common contractor. that we we aren't on site daily...
  5. Mr Softy

    How to proceed on massive rehab project.

    yes. IRC requires egress from habitable basements.
  6. Mr Softy

    How to proceed on massive rehab project.

    this. the fire repair sounds straight forward, but anytime digging out a basement is mentioned, i worry about foundation. we have had a number of foundation failures due to excessive excavation.
  7. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    OK i'm following where you're going.
  8. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    we're new to the IFC, so here's an observation - 4603 requires existing buildings to comply with not less than the minumum provisions specified in Table 4603.1... Table 4603.1 requires sprinklers in A, F, H-2, H-3, I-2, and M use groups. which is significantly more than the sprinkler...
  9. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    OK here's a further example - permit issued for kit and bath renovation, with ext. siding removal and replacement. upon inspection find - wall between kitchen and dining room removed wall between dining room and living room removed wall between 2 bedroom removed and reframed with closets...
  10. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    35% counting gross square footage of rooms where work is being performed. one method of calculation put forth is net square footage of reconfigured space only. so if a wall is being removed, does reconfigured space = 5.5" X length of wall? and that's it.
  11. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    As I read it, you cannot use Chap 3 if the building does not comply with IFC. one either makes the building comply, or one goes to the work area method.
  12. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    alright alright that was the question :-) but it is still the thing we are wrestling with - where is the line between reconfigured space and the work area? is there a line? can there be a lilne? should there be line? after 6 pages Tim still doesn't see an answer, and neither do i. there...
  13. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    Tim, this is exactly the question.
  14. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    801.2 Compliance - In addition to the provisions of this chapter, work shall comply with all the requirements of Chaps 6 and 7. my read is that if you hit Level 3, compliance with 2 and 1 are required as well. but to be in Level 2 requires reconfiguration. no reconfiguration, no Level 2 and...
  15. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    i'm not surprised your projects take forever. :banghd wow. how do you klnow my M.O.? what projects have we worked on together? please tell me i'm anxious to know. you dealt with the local Fire Department lately? I work under the aegis of the Dept of Public Safety, not the Dept of Making it...
  16. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    rooster, i follow you argument to a point. i might argue that to get to Level 3, Level 2 work must be part of the equation. Level 1 cannot go direct to Level 3 otherwise. the ceiling tile example, while building wide, would still be only Level 1. last phrase - proposed to be reconfigured -...
  17. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    absolutely. no disagreement. and i couldn't and wouldn't call it anything else. (as an aside, when we were talking about adoption of IEBC, this scenario came up. but none of us had ever seen such a project. in our experiences, there is always reconfiguration of space. ) for me, it's a...
  18. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    i wish i could be as perfect as you. i have no remorse. and believe it or not, i try and work with the design side as best as i can to achieve something we both can live with. but don't ask me to be liberal with the egress regs or the FP regs. you don't like my conservative approach - appeal...
  19. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    well, as correct as can be. :-) and reasonable only to a degree. I prefer to err on the side of too conservative or too literal, and let a discussion with the appeals board sort everything out. 'reasonable' often has the potential to get me in BIG trouble. we try not to be 'wrong', but on...
  20. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    not really. the work is what it is. and the design team can certainly choose Chap 3. now, if they don't know Chap 3...
  21. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    Here's the commentary language - "This requirement effectively compounds the requirements for someone planning to alter an existing structure. For example, if during the process of replacing the aluminum siding on a building with vinyl siding, the building owner decides to eliminate one of four...
  22. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    i didn't refer to any code reference for 'major renovation'. real world scope of work, independent of any concept of 'work area'. but anyway, let me get this straight - when you walk onto a jobsite, you have no clue whether you're looking at major work or minor work?
  23. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    they're not my requirements. they're the requirements of major renovations. i'm talking about expanded scope that sure looks like major renovations (and i think we can all say that we know that when we see it). IEBC leaves a big grey area in the middle between where you obviously don't need...
  24. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    i would ask you the same question.
  25. Mr Softy

    defining the 'work area'

    for the record. what we are requiring of contractors is a drawing in the plan set that clearly defines the work area. and square foot calculations indicationg the ratio of work area to total area. (as i stated earlier, i have only had one application where the contractor opted for Chap 3.)...
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