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section 1028 Exit discharge

Tim Mailloux

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Feb 12, 2018
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747
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Hartford CT
I routinely see high and mid rise construction with (2) interior exit stair towers, and both of these interior exit stairs discharge into a central core and then to the exterior of the building through a rated corridor or a lobby. These building do not have any of the interior exit stairs discharging directly to the exterior and I am trying to figure out how this is achieved with in the frame work of the code. Section 1028 exit discharge is very clear that exits shall discharge directly to the exterior of the building unless you meet one of the 3 listed exceptions, and that the combined use of exceptions #1 & #2 cannot be used for more than 50% of the exits. Exception #3 is with regards to horizontal exits which is not in play here.


Using either exception #1 or #2 I see how it would be possible for one stair to discharge directly to the exterior and the other stair discharge through the lobby or a rated corridor, but not both. Do these high and mid-rise building being type IA construction make this stair configuration possible?
 
Newer buildings or older buildings
I do see this a lot in older buildings but have also seen it in newer recent construction. I have a client that wants to do this in a new building we are designing and I am trying to figure out how.
 
Agree one can,,, as long as you meet all requirements

Especially 1.1

To me you come out of the stairs and the exterior door is right there or across the corridor.

No right or left turns and walk a way's.
 
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Can you call the stair enclosure wall a HE? Per Ex 3? I think its cheating, but I didn't write it....

I assume you can't meet this:

Horizontal exits constructed as fire barriers shall be continuous from exterior wall to exterior wall so as to divide completely the floor served by the horizontal exit.
 
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The "rated corridor" needs to be constructed as an Exit Passageway. At first glance it looks like a rated corridor, but it needs to be the same rating as the exit stair, have no other uses than egress & circulation, and has restrictions on what can be in it and open into it.
 
Can you call the stair enclosure wall a HE? Per Ex 3? I think its cheating, but I didn't write it....

I assume you can't meet this:

Horizontal exits constructed as fire barriers shall be continuous from exterior wall to exterior wall so as to divide completely the floor served by the horizontal exit.
I also think that is cheating, and I dont think we could even achieve that the begin with
 
The "rated corridor" needs to be constructed as an Exit Passageway. At first glance it looks like a rated corridor, but it needs to be the same rating as the exit stair, have no other uses than egress & circulation, and has restrictions on what can be in it and open into it.
but the exit passageay would only be allowed for 50% of the two interior exit stairs, not both. One has to discharge directly to the exterior of the building.
 
One could reenter and one could be an EP.....
the exit passage way is one of the options listed in the 1028 exceptions....then there is this......"the combined use of exceptions #1 and #2 can only be used for 50% of the number or capacity of exits....." or something like that.
 
Tim and Paul are correct. An Exit Passageway is an "extension" of the stair enclosure and must have the same degree of fire resistance (walls, floor and ceiling) as the stair enclosure. An Exit Passageway is considered an Exit and not an Exit Access (like a corridor) therefore providing a path within an Exit to an Exit Discharge.

Ken
 
If one of the two stairways discharges into the lobby, then the 50% maximum is met. The other stairway must be extended to the exterior using an exit passageway having a rating equal to or greater than that of the stairway enclosure. There is no limitation on how many stairways can be linked to an exit discharge using an exit passageway--an exit is an exit.
 
Ex 2 is vestibules and Ex 1 is "limited protected" re-entry... Neither address EP because the exit protection is maintained so it does not need to have an exception. Which still may not solve your customer issue as it seems they want 2 open exits....
 
The highlighted text below from 1028.1 exception 1.3 sounds like an exit passageway to me. So if I use an exit passageway for one of the two stairs the 2nd stair would have to discharge directly to the exterior of the building do to the 50% rule.

1028.1 Exception 1.3
The egress path from the interior exit stair-way and ramp on the level of exit discharge is protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system. Portions of the level of exit discharge with access to the egress path shall be either equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2, or separated from the egress path in accordance with the requirements for the enclosure of interior exit stairways or ramps.
 
I agree....but it does not say "exit passageway".....It also says:

" protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system."

and then sprinklered or separated by the enclosure....So it is a little confusing....
 
Are you sure there aren't doors directly to the exterior from one of the stair towers? It's fairly common for a stair tower to have a direct exit out the back of the building and also to have a door into the lobby for day to day use. In these cases I've sometimes seen the door to the lobby swing the "wrong" way (out from the stair) which can give the impression that it's an exit from the stairs.

Not saying you missed anything, but I really don't think you can have both stair exits pass through other spaces so I don't know how it would meet the code otherwise.
 
I see with with podium construction. As an example parking garage under apartments. Apartments have the 2 remote MOE's but when they get into the garage area (separate building) they discharge into a common lobby. This was discussed with ICC and is a hole in the building code.
 
The highlighted text below from 1028.1 exception 1.3 sounds like an exit passageway to me. So if I use an exit passageway for one of the two stairs the 2nd stair would have to discharge directly to the exterior of the building do to the 50% rule.

1028.1 Exception 1.3
The egress path from the interior exit stair-way and ramp on the level of exit discharge is protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system. Portions of the level of exit discharge with access to the egress path shall be either equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2, or separated from the egress path in accordance with the requirements for the enclosure of interior exit stairways or ramps.
The third condition for Exception 1 (1.3) just means that if you don’t sprinkler the entire level of exit discharge, then other nonsprinklered spaces with access to the egress path area used by the stairway must be separated from the egress path area with fire-resistive assemblies equal to that for the stairway enclosure. The egress path area must still be sprinklered. It’s kind of like an exit passageway, but falls short of being a fully-compliant exit passageway.
 
Exception 1.3 allows you to exit through a lobby that exceeds the 10 ft. allowed by exception 2, as long as the lobby is sprinklered and separated by walls of the same rating as the stair. The lobby can also be used for purposes other than egress and circulation, such as a reception area.

Exception 1.3 is less restrictive than an exit passageway, which is why it's limited to 50% of the exits.
 
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