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Change of Occupancy, but no Work Area... does a lot of Chapters 9+8 not apply?

BillS

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
44
Location
Pittsburgh
I have a 2015 IEBC project that is undergoing a Change of Occupancy (changing from a church to a light manufacturing facility), but there is no planned reconfiguration of space so therefore there is no Work Area.

There's a number of sections in Chapter 10 Change of Occupancy that state that Chapters 9, 8, 7 will need to referenced... for example, 1012.1.1.1 says that because my new spaces are not separated from each other, "the entire building shall comply with all the requirements of Chapter 9..." Then, Chapter 9 references Chapter 8 often, where there's lots of reference to Work Area and supplemental req'ts where the Work Area exceeds 50%.

However, because there's no Work Area, do these portions of these chapters really not apply in this case? Or is the intent that wherever there's a Change of Occupancy then those areas should be reviewed for Chapter 9+8 compliance regardless of a lack of a Work Area?

Thanks!
 
As another example, Section 805.1 only applies where Work Areas include exits or corridors shared by more than one tenant... however, that section seems like it would be relevant to review for a building that has a Change of Occupancy even if there's no Work Area. I keep going back and forth as to how much of Chapters 9 and 8 to apply...
 
There are 3 ways to comply with the IEBC. It is up to the designer to choose which method and follow that method
Chapters 5 and 13 are right out of Chapter 34 in the previous editions of the IBC

2018 IEBC
301.3 Alteration, addition or change of occupancy.
The alteration, addition or change of occupancy of all existing buildings shall comply with one of the methods listed in Section 301.3.1, 301.3.2 or 301.3.3 as selected by the applicant. Sections 301.3.1 through 301.3.3 shall not be applied in combination with each other.
Exception: Subject to the approval of the code official, alterations complying with the laws in existence at the time the building or the affected portion of the building was built shall be considered in compliance with the provisions of this code. New structural members added as part of the alteration shall comply with the International Building Code. This exception shall not apply to alterations that constitute substantial improvement in flood hazard areas, which shall comply with Section 503.2, 701.3 or 1301.3.3. This exception shall not apply to the structural provisions of Chapter 5 or to the structural provisions of Sections 706, 806 and 906.
301.3.1 Prescriptive compliance method.
Alterations, additions and changes of occupancy complying with Chapter 5 of this code in buildings complying with the International Fire Code shall be considered in compliance with the provisions of this code.
301.3.2 Work area compliance method.
Alterations, additions and changes of occupancy complying with the applicable requirements of Chapters 6 through 12 of this code shall be considered in compliance with the provisions of this code.
301.3.3 Performance compliance method.
Alterations, additions and changes of occupancy complying with Chapter 13 of this code shall be considered in compliance with the provisions of this code.
 
Mtlogcabin, you are correct that there are other methods to achieve compliance; however, I am trying to understand how to use this one. If the code didn’t want use to consider this option for Changes of Occupancy, then they wouldn’t have offered this as an option, so I am trying to make sure I understand the pros/cons of using this approach.

ADAguy, work areas are defined as those where reconfigured spaces or systems are intentionally occurring... the commentary specifically says that ancillary work done in other areas required by the code is to be excluded from the work area. In my case, the owner is not intending to reconfigure any spaces or systems, therefore there’s no work area. That’s why I am confused as to how much of Chapters 8 and 9 to apply.
 
I have hard time believing you can simply convert a church to a light manufacturing facility without any modification to the building or building systems. At a minimum I would think you would need to add power all over the place.
 
Steveray, that was exactly where I was getting confused, Chapter 9 IBC not Chapter 9 IEBC! Thanks for pointing that out (don’t know how I could’ve made THAT mistake ;) ).

Tim, I agree, and sections 1008 and 1009 address that. My confusion was in trying to correctly apply 1012 in terms of separations and fire-ratings.

Thanks!
 
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