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Romeo Balcony not allowed on R1??

R

righter101

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
604
Mixed use building with R1 on top floor. Owner wants to make a few changes including adding about an 8 or 10 inch balcony, accessed from an inswing door, with compliant guard rail on the exterior. This is accessed only from inside a single vacation rental unit.

Inspector cites "1008.1.5 Floor elevation. There shall be a floor or landing

on each side of a door."

and "1008.1.6 Landings at doors.......Landings shall have a

length measured in the direction of travel of not less than 44

inches"

I am of the opinion that an element such as this would not fall under the scope of Chapter 10, based on 1001.1 "The provisions of this chapter shall control the design, construction and arrangement of means of egress components" in so far as this isn't a component of the means of egress.

Curious on others take and opinion on this one and reasons for and against.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
righter101 said:
Mixed use building with R1 on top floor. Owner wants to make a few changes including adding about an 8 or 10 inch balcony, accessed from an inswing door, with compliant guard rail on the exterior. This is accessed only from inside a single vacation rental unit.Inspector cites "1008.1.5 Floor elevation. There shall be a floor or landing

on each side of a door."

and "1008.1.6 Landings at doors.......Landings shall have a

length measured in the direction of travel of not less than 44

inches"

I am of the opinion that an element such as this would not fall under the scope of Chapter 10, based on 1001.1 "The provisions of this chapter shall control the design, construction and arrangement of means of egress components" in so far as this isn't a component of the means of egress.

Curious on others take and opinion on this one and reasons for and against.

Thanks for the feedback.
Click to expand...
Not part of the MOE and so 1008.1.5 is not applicable.

SECTION 1008 DOORS, GATES AND TURNSTILES

1008.1 Doors. Means of egress doors shall meet the requirements of this section.
 
I agree with your opinion, but even more I believe this design would comply as an emergency escape,

as long as door size meets the balcony rail was no more than 44 inches above finish floor.

It is not really a door, but a window that one may stand within.

Does he also require a closet to be 44" deep so to have landing on both sides of the closet door?
 
righter101 said:
Inspector cites "1008.1.5 Floor elevation. There shall be a floor or landingon each side of a door."

and "1008.1.6 Landings at doors.......Landings shall have a

length measured in the direction of travel of not less than 44

inches"
Click to expand...
Go with floor.
 
I'm not a Shakespeare scholar, but it's a "Juliet Balcony"... unless of course, the discussion of closets big enough to stand was a reference that went over my head.
 
"Juliet Balcony"...Not designed for live load

Denton, TX balcony collapse at The Grove apartments, 3 men attending a birthday party received severe injuries when the apartment balcony rail they were leaning on collapsed underneath them. When the rail collapsed, they fell 3 stories to land on the concrete surface below. The metal balcony rail fell on top of at least one of the men and trapped him underneath. According to some reports, the men may actually still have been standing inside the apartment when the rail of the narrow balcony collapsed, taking them and the balcony with it when it fell to the ground.

Denton City Councilman Kevin Roden has come forward demanding more inspections of The Grove apartment complex to determine if the balcony collapse was an isolated incident or indicative of systemic problems at the site. The Grove apartments' website bills the complex as "the place for fully loaded college living." Apparently, that living does not extend to "fully loaded" balconies.

http://www.houston-personal-injury-law.com/library/what-happened-in-the-denton-tx-balcony-collapse-at-the-grove.cfm

Denton balcony collapse prompts new safety measures

by JIM DOUGLAS

WFAA

Wednesday, Sep 7 at 12:22 PM

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/balcony-collapse-prompts-new-safety-measures-129339763.html

DENTON — After three young men fell three stories early Saturday morning after a metal balcony railing gave way, Denton city officials said all other doors to small balconies at The Grove Apartments have been secured.

Officials said they're also working to identify other apartment complexes that have "Juliet balconies" that are accessible. They're basically narrow ledges with decorative railings.

Witnesses said the victims were leaning on the railing Saturday night when it came loose. They remain hospitalized in Fort Worth; one is in serious condition, the two others listed as fair.

The developer, Campus Crest of North Carolina, declined an interview, but issued a statement saying the balcony wasn't designed to bear weight and that doors opened only to let in fresh air.

Denton officials also declined an on-camera interview, pending the city's investigation.

A Denton city spokesman said he could not yet say whether city inspectors examined the railings, or if they were even required to.

He said that under the International Building Code, they are considered guardrails, not balconies.

E-mail jdouglas@wfaa.com
 
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