If you extend a stair landing, ?

[Jay Smith]

In the attached illustration from the 2015 IBC commentary, four dwelling unit entry doors open to a corridor. The corridor leads to a 3-story stairway that would have a requirement for a 1-hour fire resistance rating. Is there anything in the code to prohibit deleting the stairway entrance door and that wall? It imposes the stairway enclosure fire ratings on the whole space, but it was already going to be 1-hour fire partitions with 20-minute doors. Now it would presumably be 1-hour fire barriers with 1-hour doors.

 

[Jay Smith]

Sorry for the weird title. I was editing the title and inadvertently posted it.

 

[steveray]

Not really....at some point it becomes an exit passageway which I never understood why it has to be separated from the stair....The fire barrier support details/ rating will be important, but we have pretty much given up on exit enclosure penetration importance since 2018 IBC...

 

[Paul Sweet]

An exit passageway is between an exterior exit stair and the exterior. 2018 IBC 1023.3.1 exception 2 says "Separation between an interior exit stairway or ramp and the exit passageway extension shall not be required where there are no openings into the exit passageway extension."

If the corridor is deleted then the enclosure becomes part of the stair. 2018 IBC 1023.4 allows the apartments to open directly into the stair since these doors are "required for exit access to the enclosure from normally occupied spaces", as long as there are no other openings into the stair.