2013 California Building Standards Code

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2013 California Building Standards Code Adopted

Published: January 29, 2013

SACRAMENTO, Calif.: 2013 California Building Standards Code Adopted | Business Wire | Rock Hill Herald Online

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — The California Building Standards Commission announced today the adoption of the 2013 California Building Standards Code. The adoption of the 2013 code comes after a comprehensive multi-state agency and stakeholder update of the 2010 building codes. The Department of Housing and Community Development, Division of the State Architect, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Office of the State Fire Marshal, Department of Public Health, the California Energy Commission, industry stakeholders and members of the public participated in the development of the new code.

“Our objective is to produce a practical building code that ensures public safety first and foremost while implementing the most efficient technology available to conserve the state’s natural resources and energy use,” said California Building Standards Commission Executive Director Jim McGowan. “California’s building code is applied to virtually every commercial and residential structure in the state.”

The California Building Standards Commission is responsible for administering the state’s building standards. The thirteen volume code is published on a triennial basis. Updates are issued during an eighteen month intervening cycle. The new code will be published online and available for purchase on July 1, 2013. By law, the public is given 180-days (six months) to review this new code before it goes into effect on January 1, 2014. For more information visit the Commission website, California Building Standards Commission.

Californians will find a number of important updates in the 2013 code, such as:

An extensive update of California’s Energy Code;

Division of the State Architect’s adoption of the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act standards with California amendments;

Updated California Green Building Code—CALGreen—requirements for nonresidential building alterations and additions;

New plumbing code provisions pertaining to greywater and rainwater catchments

 

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From: BUILDER 2013 Posted on: February 1, 2013 4:19:25 PM

California Adopts New Building Standards

The new code includes stricter energy efficiency requirements and more-straightforward rules for accessibility.

By Alison Rice

California Adopts New Building Standards - Building Codes, Legislation, Codes And Standards, Universal Design, Energy Efficiency - Builder Magazine

Given California’s reputation for regulation, the state’s 2013 Building Standards Code could have been a headache and a half for builders.

But the newest version of the code, adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in January and slated to go into effect in 2014, promises to make life easier for builders, especially in the area of accessibility. “Last week represented a huge long-term victory for us,” says Bob Raymer, senior engineer and technical director at the California Building Industry Association in Sacramento.

That’s because the new code streamlines the rules for accessible buildings, building on last fall’s emergency legislation against frivolous Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits.

For years, California builders have been responsible for somehow following the overlapping and often conflicting rules regarding accessibility from both the feds and the state. In recent years, that led to “drive-by lawsuits,” where attorneys and others threatened to sue California businesses whose offices, residential properties, or common areas weren’t in compliance with the confusing rules.

“They would send letters saying, ‘if you give me $4,000, I won’t proceed with litigation,’” says Raymer. “And a whole lot of people were just paying that, especially small- or medium-sized businesses. We estimated it would cost $22,000 to $25,000 to fight this in court, and that was if you won.”

Last fall, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill (SB 1186) into law that reduced California businesses’ exposure to such lawsuits. Since then, such complaints have required, among other things, detail on what part of the state or federal code was being violated.

In addition, California addressed the confusion between whether the state or federal codes applied in various situations by adopting the federal guidelines where accessibility was concerned, with an overlay of state codes as necessary.

“For the first time in 20 years, we’re going to have building officials in localities checking to see if buildings are in compliance with state and federal codes,” says Raymer, who believes the more coordinated approach should help builders ensure their projects’ accessibility is up to code. “The last thing we want is to get into court over a civil rights violation,” he says.

Public and multifamily buildings such as apartments and condos will need to be wheelchair-accessible; new single-family homes, despite lobbying by disability rights groups, will not. “There has been a strong desire to mandate access in single-family dwellings,” says Raymer, who has technical and design concerns about adding such features to all new homes.

One feature that will be added to all new homes under the new code is greater energy efficiency.

Thanks to regulations adopted in 2012 by the California Energy Commission and now included in the state code, builders will need to use highly efficient windows with a solar-heat-gain coefficient of .25 and U-value of .32; insulation with values of R-19 to R-21 in much of the state, and HVAC systems with a SEER rating of 14. Ductwork must be tested and allow no more than 6% air leakage. California wants all new homes to be zero-net energy by 2020.

“They’ve taken all this to an extremely stringent level,” says Raymer, who estimates the new requirements will ***** construction costs by $2,500 per home.

 

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California resolves ADA inconsistencies with 2013 building code

BD+C Staff

February 12, 2013

California resolves ADA inconsistencies with 2013 building code

The recently adopted 2013 California Building Code (CBC) revisions bring the state code in line with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act 2010. Inconsistencies between federal and state rules for spaces such as fitting rooms, accessible hotel rooms, and bathroom elements created many compliance challenges. The new state standards build upon the emergency regulations the State Architect adopted last summer to resolve conflicts between the two standards including toilet placement, toilet paper roll placement, tactile sign placement, and accessible drinking fountains

 

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Mark,

Thank you for posting these articles.

Sue :cowboy