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Tighter construction codes cause builder angst

mark handler

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Tighter construction codes cause builder angst

DICK HOGAN, DHOGAN@NEWS-PRESS.COM 11:15 a.m. EDT May 10, 2015

http://www.news-press.com/story/money/industries/2015/05/10/tighter-construction-codes-cause-builder-angst/27082077/

Southwest Florida builders, already under pressure with razor-thin profit margins, are starting to stress about new, potentially expensive changes coming June 30 to the state building code.

The new codes will also likely spur a rush to pull permits before the new rules go into effect.

“It’s going to be a very big deal,” said Brenda Thomas, executive vice president of the Lee County Building Industry Association, who’s been hearing from her members about the changes. “The biggest thing that’s driving this is energy codes.”

The code will substantially increase the overall efficiency a home has to have when it comes to using electricity, she said.

Bob Knight, president of Cape Coral-based Paul Homes, said builders haven’t had a chance to sort through exactly what they’ll have to do but that early indications are that “several thousand dollars” could be added to the cost of a typical house.

It’s hard to quickly come up with an exact figure because the code doesn’t generally require specific components be purchased, he said — a house has to have an energy rating above a certain level, which is now higher.

Still, “It is adding money to the houses,” he said. “Just the windows alone to make these numbers work toward an energy rating.”

The Lee County Department of Community Development is gearing up now to make sure its plan reviewers understand the new rules, said Bob Stewart, the county’s chief building official.

One side effect of the increasing emphasis on energy efficiency is that buildings are so tightly put together there’s a need to make sure enough fresh air is getting in, he said.

“We’ve made them tighter and tighter and tighter” so now the air-conditioning system will have to be designed with enough air flow to the interior, Stewart said.

John Farinelli of JC Code and Construction Consultants in Wellington, Fla., teaches classes around the state on what the new codes will require.

In addition to the energy requirements, he said, the new code beefs up requirements intended to keep fire from leaping from home to home in communities where the houses are built close to the lot line.

Builders who want to build close to the line will have a choice of increasing the fire rating of the wall or installing fire sprinklers, he said.

Construction of high-rise buildings, which hasn’t been seen in Southwest Florida in seven years, will require increased numbers of fire access elevators with stronger construction and a backup power supply, Farinelli said.

Buildings with an occupied floor at least 120 feet higher than the lowest elevator access point will have to have two fire access elevators if the structure has two or more elevators. If a structure has only one elevator, it has to be a fire access one, he said.

Stewart said that in past cycles builders have met the new code (there’s one every three years) with consternation — only to find quickly how best to deal with the new requirements at a reasonable cost.

“The industry finds its own equilibrium after awhile,” he said, and this cycle will be the same. “You find it’s cheaper to put in another two inches of insulation instead of doing something else.”

He expects a surge of applications to beat the deadline but said builders will be more active around that time than usual anyway. “This is the beginning of our busy time.”

Connect with this reporter: @DickHogan (Twitter) or email dhogan@news-press.com

New code requirements

Here are the main requirements of the new Florida building code that goes into effect after June 30:

Energy: Requirements for homes to be more tightly built, better ventilated and more energy efficient

Fire safety: Homes built close together will have to have more fire-resistant walls or sprinklers inside

Elevators: High-rise buildings will be required to have greater numbers of fire access elevators better able to withstand the blaze in an emergency

More information: Go to the Florida Building Commission: floridabuilding.org/fbc/commission/1_commission_meetings.htm
 
Talking with probably the most knowledgeable contractor in our area when it comes to designing and sizing equipment in our area. Using a -10 degrees for our area requires an extra 10,000 btu's to make up the loss from the required exhaust ventilation requirements. He is working up the numbers for the breaking point of installing a heat recovery ventilator unit versus larger equipment and monthly heating cost.

The other factor is when using a B vent appliance and the possibility of back-drafting that appliance if it is not in its own room with duct-ed make up air
 
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