Accessable Means of Egress 1009.1

[beachmonkey]

I am thinking of leasing a space on the 4th floor of a 4 story building in Myrtle beach, SC that hasnt been used in a long time. the building was built in 1982.

the Space will be for low occupancy office/studio (less than 49 people, but usually only 1-2 people) and not open to the public.

I was looking at the section 1009.1 ibc 2015 accessible means of egress that states that "accessible spaces shall be provided with not less than one accessible means of egress. Where more than one means of egress are required by section 1006.2 or 1006.3 from an accessible space, each accessible portion of the space shall be served by not less than two accessible means of egress."

exceptions:
1. accessible means of egress are not required to be provided in existing buildings.

does this mean you do not have to retrofit an existing building to bring it up to code for a new commercial business?

My space will be served by two stairwells that both exit completely without going through another floor to the outside. One is 49.5 inches between rails however the other is 37.5 inches between the rails.

I'm assuming that only the first stairwell would meet the minimum requirements of 48 inches to be an acceptable means of Egress, is this correct?

would i be required to have 2 accessible means of egress for the current 2015 code or is this just for new building construction?


more info
non-sprinkled space
less than 50 people occupancy.

 

[cda]

I think the best advice is

Hire a building code consultant or fire protection engineer who is versed in building code.

The money you spend will more than likely save you money

And Headaches

 

[beachmonkey]

I think the best advice is

Hire a building code consultant or fire protection engineer who is versed in building code.

The money you spend will more than likely save you money

And Headaches

i really dont want to spend any money until i have a reasonable chance of the building passing codes. If its impossible, i'd rather not spend money. this is why i am trying to get a base understanding of this.

My concern is this part of this part of the code and how it is interpreted

 

[ADAguy]

Ask your building official, they are there to help.

 

[steveray]

AMOE is not typically required if you are not required to install new MOE.....From what you describe, acessible MOE would not be required in my neck of the woods...

 

[beachmonkey]

i had two different code consultants agree on the exceptions:
1. accessible means of egress are not required to be provided in existing buildings.

So the existing accessible means of egress are within code

 

[mark handler]

Ask your building official, they are there to help.

But they are not there to design the project.
I have to tell people all the time, I am not your Architect.

 

[steveray]

i had two different code consultants agree on the exceptions:
1. accessible means of egress are not required to be provided in existing buildings.

So the existing accessible means of egress are within code

The existing AMOE are not "within code" (and are not accessible), but they are allowed to remain unaltered by code.....Mark, does ADA address AMOE?

 

[mark handler]

The existing AMOE are not "within code" (and are not accessible), but they are allowed to remain unaltered by code.....Mark, does ADA address AMOE?

Yes
2010 ADASAD
207 Accessible Means of Egress
207.1 General. Means of egress shall comply with section 1003.2.13 of the International Building Code (2000 edition and 2001 Supplement) or section 1007 of the International Building Code (2003 edition) (incorporated by reference, see "Referenced Standards" in Chapter 1).

EXCEPTIONS:
1. Where means of egress are permitted by local building or life safety codes to share a common path of egress travel, accessible means of egress shall be permitted to share a common path of egress travel.

2. Areas of refuge shall not be required in detention and correctional facilities.

 

[Mr. Inspector]

ADA is not enforced by the building department.

You are right the the IBC doen't require accessible egress in existing buildings at all. But it requires an accessible route into the building when a Change of Occupancy, or Alterations to the main area(s) with exceptions.

Don't get accessible "egress" mixed up with accessible "route"

 

[mark handler]

ADA is not enforced by the building department.
Don't get accessible "egress" mixed up with accessible "route"

I was asked a question, and answered it
Read the original Post

 

[ADAguy]

Not asking B. O. to design project only to clarify if "observed" conditions are compliant.

 

[Builder Bob]

state law should require at least an architect ( building is over 5,000 SF and over three stories in height. (Yes it still references the Standard Building Code occupacies but is enforced as occupancies are identified by the current 2015 South Carolina Building Code.

excerpt form SC STATE architecture law .

Exception # 2
2) a building less than three stories high and containing fewer than five thousand square feet of total floor area except buildings of assembly, institutional, educational, and hazardous occupancies as defined by the Standard Building Code, regardless of area;

 

[ADAguy]

Exception #2 N.A., he indicated it is a 4 story building.

Beach, are you proposing to move into the space "as-is", if not alterations must comply with current code.