Code Official License & Exam

This code applies to all buildings except detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses up to three stories. The 2018 IBC contains many important changes such as:

• Accessory storage spaces of any size are now permitted to be classified as part of the occupancy to which they are accessory.
• New code sections have been introduced addressing medical gas systems and higher education laboratories.
• Use of fire walls to create separate buildings is now limited to only the determination of permissible types of construction based on allowable building area and height.
• Where an elevator hoistway door opens into a fire-resistance-rated corridor, the opening must be protected in a manner to address smoke intrusion into the hoistway.
• The occupant load factor for business uses has been revised to one occupant per 150 square feet.
• Live loads on decks and balconies increase the deck live load to one and one-half times the live load of the area served.
• The minimum lateral load that fire walls are required to resist is five pounds per square foot.
• Wind speed maps updated, including maps for the state of Hawaii.
• Terminology describing wind speeds has changed again with ultimate design wind speeds now called basic design wind speeds.
• Site soil coefficients now correspond to the newest generation of ground motion attenuation equations (seismic values).
• Five-foot tall wood trusses requiring permanent bracing must have a periodic special inspection to verify that the required bracing has been installed.
• New alternative fastener schedule for construction of mechanically laminated decking is added giving equivalent power-driven fasteners for the 20-penny nail.
• Solid sawn lumber header and girder spans for the exterior bearing walls reduce span lengths to allow #2 Southern Pine design values.

The IRC contains many important changes such as:

• An updated seismic map reflects the most conservative Seismic Design Category (SDC) based on any soil type and a new map reflects less conservative SDCs when Site Class A, B or D is applicable.
• The townhouse separation provisions now include options for using two separate fire-resistant-rated walls or a common wall.
• An emergency escape and rescue opening is no longer required in basement sleeping rooms where the dwelling has an automatic fire sprinkler system and the basement has a second means of egress or an emergency escape opening.
• The exemption for interconnection of smoke alarms in existing areas has been deleted.
• New girder/header tables have been revised to incorporate the use of #2 Southern Pine in lieu of #1 Southern Pine.
• New tables address alternative wood stud heights and the required number of full height studs in high wind areas.

Key changes include:

• Log homes designed in accordance with the standard ICC 400, Standards on the Design and Construction of Log Structures, are exempt from the building thermal envelope requirements of the IECC.
• The maximum allowable fenestration U-factors in Table R402.1.2 (for the prescriptive compliance path) for climates zones 3 through 8 have been reduced from the values in the 2015 edition.
• The ICC/RESNET 380 standard has been included as one of standards that can be used for determining the air leakage rate of a building or dwelling unit.
• The Energy Rating Index compliance alternative index values have been increased slightly however, the method for determining an index is now required to be in accordance with standard ICC/RESNET 301.
• Revisions to interior and exterior lighting power budgets and better clarity for lighting controls.
• Clarity that regardless of design methodology, system commissioning is required.
• New limits on heated or cooled vestibules.
• Mechanical provisions reorganized based on equipment type rather than design methodology.

The IPC provides minimum regulations for plumbing facilities in terms of both performance and prescriptive objectives, and provides for the acceptance of new and innovative products, materials, and systems.

The specifications in this standard make sites, facilities, buildings and elements accessible to and usable by people with such physical disabilities as the inability to walk, difficulty walking, reliance on walking aids, blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hearing impairment, in coordination, reaching and manipulation disabilities, lack of stamina, difficulty interpreting and reacting to sensory information, and extremes of physical size. The intent of this standard is to allow a person with physical disability to independently get to, enter, and use a site, facility, building, or element.

Includes:

• Coordination of requirements for the various types of dwelling units
• Technical requirements for Type C (Visitable) Units added
• Variable Message Signs (i.e., gate information in train stations and airports)
• Better consistency of sign requirements regarding when raised characters and Braille are required
• Location of toilet paper dispenser (more design options, recessed fixtures addressed, single point of measurement, etc.)
• New chapter for a variety of types of recreational facilities

These new recreational criteria are intended to provide a level of coordination between the accessible provisions of this standard and the revised Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA/ABA AG).

This is a must have reference for facility professionals, building owners, architects, designers, and code officials that want to stay up to date with the requirements of this Accessibility Standard.

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