​CT Governor orders stronger building codes

[mark handler]

CT Governor orders stronger building codes

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/SECTION/&template=staff

Citing global warming as the cause of more frequent and severe weather events, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has ordered the strengthening of state building codes for commercial and residential structures.

Malloy said Friday that he has directing state agencies to develop new standards that will better protect structures from damage caused by flooding and high winds.

"The science could not be more clear – global warming is real. Knowing what the science says, we should plan and be prepared as we take steps to mitigate our carbon footprint," Malloy said. "Experts say that every dollar invested in more resilient construction can save $4 in insurance claims, which is a significant return on investment. This is a commonsense step to help plan and prepare for the future."

Through his executive order, the governor is instructing the Department of Administrative Services, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the Insurance Department to work with the State Building Inspector to include those standards for new and renovated structures in the next revision to the building code.

Many of these measures are relatively inexpensive when compared to the significant damage to homes and businesses they can prevent or mitigate, according to the governor.

Some examples of possible code revisions include:

Requirement to seal seams in the roof deck to eliminate or reduce the volume of water that can seep in if shingles are blown off in a storm;

Stronger tie-down of roofs to the building structure and gable end vents; and,

Require impact resistant glass in areas of state subject to high winds.

 

[Mark K]

Suggest that for a starter the best thing they can do is to adopt the latest model code and concentrate on enforcement. Plan checks should be effective. They need to make sure that building department inspections and special inspections are taking place..

 

[steveray]

Thanks Mark(s)....We have a bill in now for approval to back our code out of the legislature which will greatly speed the adoption process (by about 18 months) Most of the examples are based on IRC structure so there would be no SI's. The insurance companies (and probably Zip) have been pushing the the "tape your plywood" agenda for a few years now. They think this will actually accomplish something, and that it will actually get done. The vast majority of municipalities in the State don't even have time to inspect roofs other than a final. I still have people that can't get the amount of Ice& water right and shingling less than 2 pitch...The hurricane glass is already required south of 95 (shore) I think they use 140MPH down there and we raised the rest of the state to 100 MPH wind 3 years ago. Proper staffing would be the place to start, people need to understand that the better we can do our jobs, the better the process becomes and the better the built environment gets....IMO