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Occupancy/Separations

rshuey

rshuey

Registered User
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
516
Location
Central PA
I got a phone call from a building owner who wishes to lease the ground floor of his building to a man who blows glass and sells it and will want a kiln. The space is currently a mercantile use. there are 2 floors of apartments above, building is, Type 5B, no sprinklers.

What use would you classify the area where he is blowing glass/using the kiln? F-2?

Thanks!
 
I would consider it as part of the retail store. All clearances and combustion controls are regulated by the mechanical code. I do not see it as any more hazardous than some of the huge open flame grills that installed in restaurants and those are not classified as separate occupancies.
 
rshuey said:
I got a phone call from a building owner who wishes to lease the ground floor of his building to a man who blows glass and sells it and will want a kiln. The space is currently a mercantile use. there are 2 floors of apartments above, building is, Type 5B, no sprinklers.What use would you classify the area where he is blowing glass/using the kiln? F-2?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Factory Industrial F-2 Low-hazard Occupancy. Factory industrial uses that involve the fabrication of manufacturing of noncombustible materials which during finishing, packing or processing do not involve a significant fire hazard shall be classified as F-2 occupancies and shall include, but not be limited to, the following; Glass products.

Sure sounds like an F-2
 
Main use making the stuff

SECTION 304 BUSINESS GROUP B

304.1 Business Group B. Business Group B occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts. Business occupancies shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Airport traffic control towers

Ambulatory health care facilities

Animal hospitals, kennels and pounds

Banks

Barber and beauty shops

Car wash

Civic administration

Clinic-outpatient

Dry cleaning and laundries: pick-up and delivery stations and self-service

Educational occupancies for students above the 12th grade

Electronic data processing

Laboratories: testing and research

Motor vehicle showrooms

Post offices

Print shops

Professional services (architects, attorneys, dentists, physicians, engineers, etc.)

Radio and television stations

Telephone exchanges

Training and skill development not within a school or academic program

304.1.1 Definitions. The following words and terms shall, for the purposes of this section and as used elsewhere in this code, have the meanings shown herein.

CLINIC, OUTPATIENT. Buildings or portions thereof used to provide medical care on less than a 24-hour basis to individuals who are not rendered incapable of self-preservation by the services provided.

Equate it to professional
 
cda said:
Main use making the stuffSECTION 304 BUSINESS GROUP B

304.1 Business Group B. Business Group B occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts. Business occupancies shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Airport traffic control towers

Ambulatory health care facilities

Animal hospitals, kennels and pounds

Banks

Barber and beauty shops

Car wash

Civic administration

Clinic-outpatient

Dry cleaning and laundries: pick-up and delivery stations and self-service

Educational occupancies for students above the 12th grade

Electronic data processing

Laboratories: testing and research

Motor vehicle showrooms

Post offices

Print shops

Professional services (architects, attorneys, dentists, physicians, engineers, etc.)

Radio and television stations

Telephone exchanges

Training and skill development not within a school or academic program

304.1.1 Definitions. The following words and terms shall, for the purposes of this section and as used elsewhere in this code, have the meanings shown herein.

CLINIC, OUTPATIENT. Buildings or portions thereof used to provide medical care on less than a 24-hour basis to individuals who are not rendered incapable of self-preservation by the services provided.

Equate it to professional
Click to expand...
Or if 10% or less of floor area call it M with the F-2 as an accessory occupancy. which would be the correct occupancy classification for the use of the space.
 
Art studio, portrait studio, ceramic class business, dress making shop, etc
 
Business Group B occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts. Sec.304.1

Not seeing this operation within this description.

Factory Industrial Group F occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or 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. Sec. 306.1

Seems, like they’re using a portion of the building for assembling, fabricating, finishing, manufacturing, packaging and processing operations:

Mercantile Group M occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure or a portion thereof, for the display and sale of merchandise and involves stocks of goods, wares or merchandise incidental to such purposes and accessible to the public. Sec. 309.1

Sounds like the M portion.
 
Somewhere down the road, the Code Making Panels (CMP's) should address the differences

between a full blown, large sized factory and a smaller (factory type) operation. Maybe

create an F-3 or even an F-4 designation, or the BO in that jurisdiction could make a

determination on the Occ. Groups and the associated requirements.

I believe that "kilitact" has the letter of the code correct, while Coug Dad may have the

overall intent expressed correctly. Hard to say without knowing the size of the kiln &

the associated operations involved.

If the size of the furnace (kiln) is relatively small, and the area associated with the other

operations, is also small (relative I know), I might be inclined to go with having it placed

on the exterior wall for exhaust requirements, ..provide ample clearances, ..require a

suffiently sized & type portable fire extinguisher ( Type "K") to be located nearby and go

with an accessory use in the existing M occ. group.

.
 
I don't think it is altogether much different, other than the base business sounds like it is selling the finished product, so I would lean on M with the F-2 accessory use.
 
Glass blowing kilns are kept running 24/7 unlike pizza ovens which get shut off when everbody goes home.

F-2, mixed use occupancy in Massachusetts would require a sprinkler system per table 903.2 footnote (a)
 
kilitact said:
Or if 10% or less of floor area call it M with the F-2 as an accessory occupancy. which would be the correct occupancy classification for the use of the space.
Click to expand...
I agree - It's a mercantile occupancy with accessory F-2.
 
rleibowitz said:
Glass blowing kilns are kept running 24/7 unlike pizza ovens which get shut off when everbody goes home. F-2, mixed use occupancy in Massachusetts would require a sprinkler system per table 903.2 footnote (a)
Click to expand...
wood burning pizza oven??? have not seen a shut off switch on those

Plus a full blown restaurant with occupant load of 49 can be a "B"!!!!
 
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