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  1. Gene Boecker

    Fire extinguisher travel distance

    Just to stir the pot a bit more, you should all know that the exception for QR, fully sprinklered buildings is being eliminated in the 2012 edition of the codes. I can't wait to see where they are going to mount the fire extinguisher in those large clear-span showrooms and exhibition halls...
  2. Gene Boecker

    Drinking Fountain protruding?

    No so. Construction tolerances are accepted in both the ADA and the A117.1. According to the explanatory text for the new standards: Dimensions. Section 104.1 of the 2010 Standards notes that dimensions not stated as a "maximum" or "minimum" are absolute. Section 104.1.1 of the 2010 Standards...
  3. Gene Boecker

    ADA Lawsuit

    The problem is that too often people only think about the local government because they're there. They tend to forget that there are state and federal governments as well and that we live in a federal republic where each state is a separate little county and a loose knit collection of common...
  4. Gene Boecker

    Curb Ramp workmanship

    Its not the ADA that's the problem. Its "stupid." Unfortunately, some things just can't be fixed.
  5. Gene Boecker

    When is a Penthouse a Story?

    Working on mechanical equipment is never a reason for defining "engaged in labor." Otherwise every attic or interstitial space above the lay-in ceiling would be an occupiable space if there's an air handler there. What KIND of magazine???? lol!
  6. Gene Boecker

    Christmas grinch

    I plan on retiring someday too (if I don't keel over at my desk first). But it'll probably be in about 15-20 years since congress will keep raising the date. :D
  7. Gene Boecker

    Knee clearance measurment under lav?

    I'll beg to differ - only to the extent that the question of an overflow is not addressed. To that extent, it is ambiguous. Yes, the language regarding the positioning says that the clearance under the lavatory must be "28 inches [to] a point located 8 inches back from the front edge."...
  8. Gene Boecker

    When is a Penthouse a Story?

    IF there is storage its still unoccupied. There's a definition to support this. OCCUPIABLE SPACE. A room or enclosed space designed for human occupancy in which individuals congregate for amusement, educational or similar purposes or in which occupants are engaged at labor, and which is...
  9. Gene Boecker

    Christmas grinch

    Oh, you Grinch! (and justifiably so!) FYI: 806.1 in the 2009 IFC for anyone who wants to look it up.
  10. Gene Boecker

    Guards Required???

    Concurrence! An aircraft runway is not an open sided walking surface. Most people don't run along next to the planes as they're taking off and landing. . . . ;)
  11. Gene Boecker

    $1M Project Will Bring School Into ADA Compliance

    Its a tough thing when capital expenses must be approved by the voters. What happens when the school board agrees to upgrade to compliance but the voters say no to the levy on the ballot? Who stands liable?
  12. Gene Boecker

    Cinemark Movie Theaters Accused of Discrimination

    FYI: 1. The original ADA language specifically stated that captioning was not a part of accessibility design since it was not under the control of the theater circuits. 2. The courts have ruled in differing positions on this subject with the latest in favor of mandating closed (not open)...
  13. Gene Boecker

    Should ADA be Repealed?

    ((RoboCop is on a Unicorn???))
  14. Gene Boecker

    Knee clearance measurment under lav?

    Hold on thar, Babalouie! The illustration shows the knee clearance extending into the sink overflow - not the basin itself. This is acceptable design. Read the last sentence in Section 606.2 of the A117.1. This is also stated in exception #6 to Section 606.2 of the 2010 ADAAG. The old ADAAG...
  15. Gene Boecker

    ADAAG Detectable warnings

    Exactly! It is now an option - no longer a mandate.
  16. Gene Boecker

    Should ADA be Repealed?

    Back to the topic. . . . . The federal government has broadened the "public welfare" clause to the point that it is no longer anything that the founding fathers would recognize. To that extent, we have gone too far from the exacts on the constitution. The question, now that we have traveled...
  17. Gene Boecker

    ADAAG Detectable warnings

    Sorry, Examiner, the ICC/ANSI A117.1 does NOT require them at curb ramps. Look harder. The 2003 only requires them at boarding platforms. The federal DOT will mandate truncated domes at federal highway crossings and many local jurisdictions have them in their local (or state) standards. The...
  18. Gene Boecker

    Drinking Fountain protruding?

    The drinking fountain is not in a circulation path. Although the idea of installing a skirt on the bottom of the high fountain is a good idea. It brings the lower edge to 27 inches AFF. A cup dispenser is OK for retrofit in facilities built prior to 1992. After that, there should be two...
  19. Gene Boecker

    Some Thoughts/Questions About Covered Mall Buildings

    So, either one set of provisions is too lenient or the other is too restrictive. Who's gonna make that call?
  20. Gene Boecker

    Gift ideas for the little lady.

    A couple of books on her biographies. She loves books and we have most of the stuff we need or want - simple life now. The jewelry thing? Not an easy task. My dear wife is allergic to nickel, the compound used in making gold more sturdy, less malleable. She needs 18k or higher or else she...
  21. Gene Boecker

    Some Thoughts/Questions About Covered Mall Buildings

    Some history first. After the Plymouth Meeting Mall fire in 1970, the various code communities took action to change the codes to address what was at the time a fairly new type of design. The fire started in one tenant space and then progressed out, into the mall and toward the large anchor...
  22. Gene Boecker

    Define: Monumental Stair

    One comment on Mark's quite helpful note: The only issue with the handrail spacing is that if it IS a monumental stair and not a means of egress, the only handrails that are "required" are the ones on the sides. The intermediate handrails are required to be within 30 inches of the "most direct...
  23. Gene Boecker

    Is it really a mall?

    What's the link to that thread?
  24. Gene Boecker

    Define: Monumental Stair

    What section of the code are you having trouble with? The only thing that I can offer in a blanket sort of way is that it has been interpreted that the means of egress chapter applies to those elements from a safety perspective, even if the element isn't a means of egress. Which means that if...
  25. Gene Boecker

    Is it really a mall?

    The answer to "why" is simple: So the individual buildings don't have to meet the individual building requirements. In an outdoor setting the design is like a mall with the desire for maximum window exposure. And, the "buildings" are close together so that exterior wall ratings and opening...
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