Building Codes Illustrated Notes

Building Codes ILLUSTRATED Notes

This document contains study notes derived from "Building Codes Illustrated: A Guide to Understanding the 2015 International Building Code, Fifth Edition" by Francis D.K. Ching and Steven R. Winkel, FAIA.

Key Information

  • Authors: Francis D. K. Ching, Steven R. Winkel, FAIA
  • Edition: Fifth Edition
  • Year: 2016
  • Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  • Subject: A guide to understanding the 2015 International Building Code (IBC).
  • Purpose: To familiarize code users with the 2015 IBC, acting as an instructional text and a companion to the code itself; not a substitute.

General Concepts

Building Codes
  • Defined as rules and standards to secure uniformity and protect public interest (construction, public health), usually by a public agency and with the force of law.
  • Codes are "living documents", constantly under review and modification, written by ordinary people with specific issues or specific agendas in mind.
Evolution of Building Codes
  • Rooted in great fires of the 1800s (e.g., Chicago 1871)
  • Chicago (1875): Code developed to appease National Board of Fire Underwriters after the fire of 1871.
  • City codes were refined over time, and brought together by regional non-governmental organizations to reduce fire risks.
Model Codes
  • Developed by private code groups (Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA); International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO); Southern Building Code Congress (SBCCI)) for adoption by local/state agencies.
International Building Code (IBC)
  • A comprehensive, coordinated national model building code, developed through a consensus of code writers.
  • The International Code Council (ICC) was formed in 1994 from representatives of the three previous model code groups to develop a single model code.

Key Organizations

Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA)
  • Founded in 1915 (Country Club Hills, Illinois).
International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO)
  • Formed in 1922 (Whittier, California).
  • Published Uniform Building Code in 1927.
Southern Building Code Congress (SBCCI)
  • Founded in 1940 (Birmingham, Alabama).
  • Published Southern Building Code in 1946.
International Code Council (ICC)
  • Formed in 1994 (Washington, D.C.).
  • Developed International Building Code (IBC), first published in 2000.
  • Composed of representatives from the three prior model-code agencies (BOCA, ICBO, SBCCI).
  • Maintains the International Building Code, updating and revising.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
  • Federal civil-rights legislation requiring buildings to be accessible to persons with disabilities.
  • Administered by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB). Regulations are administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal Fair Housing Act (FFHA) of 1988
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations requiring all residential complexes of four or more dwelling units constructed after March 13, 1991, to be adaptable for use by persons with disabilities.
NFPA
  • NFPA-101 is Life Safety Code often used for federal and hospital work
  • NFPA-13: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems
  • NFPA-70: National Electrical Code
  • NFPA 5000: New model building code to rival IBC

How the Book Is Organized

Chapters 1 and 2
  • Give background and context regarding the development, organization, and use of the IBC.
Chapters 3 through 18
  • Organized and numbered the same as the corresponding subject-matter chapters in the IBC.
Chapter 19
  • Summarizes the requirements in the remaining IBC chapters.
Chapter 20
  • Touches on the code provisions for existing buildings, which are no longer included in the IBC but occur in the International Existing Building Code (IEBC).

Additional key points.

  • Electronic copies of codes lend themselves to keyword searches.
  • Building codes are legally and ethically considered to be minimum criteria.
  • Building codes consider both life safety and property protection
  • Remember that the the code user must be able to track changes by use of the index for new code editions.
  • Be aware of local modifications and varying interpretations of identical code sections..
  • Codes and standards are related, but serve different functions. A code is what you MUST do; a standard is a guide on HOW you do it.
  • The model codes have no force of law unto themselves.
  • Life Safety vs. Property Protection should always keep issue of safety over property protection.
  • American with Disabilites Acts (ADA) isn't a code (it's a law).
  • There are two basic categories of fire protection: passive or active.
  • For the designer, many elements required to determine how the code should apply to a project are a given from the program and the site or zoning constraints.