Are sprinklers required for a wood working/ production shop

[RIS]

I Have a business looking to move into a un-sprinklered tenant space. The space will be used for the production and assembly of wood products, mostly furniture. IBC 2018 is the applicable code in the Jurisdiction.

The program of the business consists of multiple uses:

-Shop area with dust producing woodworking tools “F-1”
-Material storage area “S-1”
-Furniture assembly “B”
-Wood finishing area “B”
-Office “B”


If the uses are separated into different fire areas, and the F-1 and S-1 areas are under 2,500 SF, does the space require the installation of any new sprinkler systems?

 

[classicT]

2018 IBC [F] 903.2.4.1 Woodworking Operations​

An automatic sprinkler system shall be provided throughout all Group F-1 occupancy fire areas that contain woodworking operations in excess of 2,500 square feet (232 m2) in area that generate finely divided combustible waste or use finely divided combustible materials.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

Wood finishing is use group B?

Please explain.

IBC:

SECTION 306
FACTORY GROUP F
306.1 Factory Industrial Group F. Factory Industrial
Group F occupancy includes, among others, the use of a
building or structure, or a portion thereof, for assembling,
disassembling, fabricating, finishing, manufacturing, packaging,
repair or processing operations that are not classified
as a Group H hazardous or Group S storage occupancy.

I also consider furniture assembly to be an F use, not B.

 

[RIS]

Wood finishing is use group B?

Please explain.

IBC:



I also consider furniture assembly to be an F use, not B.

Thanks Yankee,
The shop will be open work stations typically for fabrication of custom, one off pieces. I thought this may fit better into an open ended business classification as "professional or service-type transactions".


This is a good note though. So the Assembly/ finish space will need to be restricted to its own separate fire area not more than 2,500 sf as well?

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

Thanks Yankee,
The shop will be open work stations typically for fabrication of custom, one off pieces. I thought this may fit better into an open ended business classification as "professional or service-type transactions".


This is a good note though. So the Assembly/ finish space will need to be restricted to its own separate fire area not more than 2,500 sf as well?

It's up to your AHJ. In my world, assembling and finishing furniture (or any wood products) is manufacturing, not business. That doesn't mean the finishing and assembling areas need to be restricted to 2,500 s.f. in area -- but they're still F-1 uses, not B. The part about 2,500 s.f. is from IBC 903.2.4.1. The concern is sawdust, which is explosive. Applying finishes, even varnish, will involve fumes, but typically not in concentrations that may be explosive. BUT -- does "finishing" include sanding? If so, then you may be back to an operation that needs to be restricted to a 2,500 s.f area.

Assembly typically doesn't produce sawdust, so I'd say that falls under IBC 903.2.4, #1 -- 12,500 s.f. is the threshold for sprinklers.