Building Code

OCCUPANCIES DEFINED BY NFPA 101 LIFE SAFETY CODE AND NFPA 5000 BUILDING CODE 

Healthcare is an occupancy used for purposes of medical or other treatment or care of four or more persons where most occupants could not help their self-preservation due to age and physical or mental disability or because of security measures not under occupants control. Healthcare occupancies would include hospitals, limited care facilities, and nursing homes. 

New and Existing Assembly Occupancies 14./15. New and Existing Educational Occupancies 16./17. New and Existing Day-Care Occupancies 18./19. New and Existing Healthcare Occupancies 

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Umfiorm Building Code, International Conference of Building Inspectors, Whittier, Calif., 1994. 

Stmctural insulation boards are used primarily for wall sheathing in constmctions where wall diaphragm racking resistance is provided by other means, such as stmctural panel corner bracing or metal strip bracing. Where allowed by building codes, these methods of constmction do provide more economical constmction. 

Economic Aspects. In 1994 there were 8 operational insulation board producers in the United States. These mills produced about 1.15 X 10 m (2). The number of mills and total production volume have also decreased in this industry, primarily as a result of changes in building codes and avadabihty of other competitive sheathing products. Both wood composite panels and plastic foam sheathings have captured a segment of these markets. 

Elame-spread and smoke-density values, and the less often reported fuel-contributed semiquantitive results of the ASTM E84 test and the limited oxygen index (LOI) laboratory test, are more often used to compare fire performance of ceUular plastics. AH building codes requite that ceUular plastics be protected by inner or outer sheathings or be housed in systems aH with a specified minimum total fire resistance. Absolute incombustibHity cannot be attained in practice and often is not requited. The system approach to protecting the more combustible materials affords adequate safety in the buildings by aHowing the occupant sufficient time to evacuate before combustion of the protected ceUular plastic. 

Tank Roof. The roof of a vertical cylindrical tank is treated like a building stmcture and uses the same basic rules as the building codes. For example, the API codes require a roof to be designed for the dead load plus a 122-kg/m (25-lb /ft ) Hve load. The minimum fabrication thickness of roof plates is 3/16 in. (4.8 mm). 

The fire death rate in the United States is decreasing, dropping from a rate of 76 per million in the 1940s, when most constmction and decorative products were made of natural materials, to 29 per million in the 1980s, by which time, PVC had replaced natural materials in numerous appHcations (189). This downward trend can be attributed in large part to improved building codes and the broader use of sprinkler systems and smoke detectors. However, the increased use of more fire-resistant materials, such as PVC, deserves part of the credit for this improvement. 

Building code requirements for fire performance are mainly concerned with noncombustibiUty (41), fire endurance (42,43), and surface burning characteristics (44). Wood, even in its treated form, does not meet the building code requirements for a noncombustible material. However, for some specific apphcations where noncombustible materials are required, the codes permit the substitution of fire retardant treated wood. 

ACI Committee 318, Building Code Requirementsfor Reinforced Concrete and Commentary, ACI 318-89/318R-89, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich., 1989, 353 pp. 

Open Tanks These may be used to store materials that will not be harmed by water, weather, or atmospheric pollution. Otherwise, a roof, either fixed or floating, is required. Fixed roofs are usually either domed or coned. Large tanks have coned roofs with intermediate supports. Since negligible pressure is involved, snow and wind are the principal design loads. Local building codes often give required values. 

The bearing pressure of the tank and contents must not exceed the bearing strength of the soil. Focal building codes usually specify aUowable soil loading. Some approximate bearing values are ... 

Ventilation quantities Compare outdoor air quantities to the building design goal and local and State building codes and make adjustments as necessary. It is also informative to see how your ventilation rate compares to ASHRAE 62-1989, because that guideline was developed with the goal of preventing lAQ problems. 

Gas storage cabinet use may be required by local, state, or national codes. These codes vary by location and the designer or user of the cabinet is referred to these codes for further information. One source of building code information in the U.S. is the Uniform Building Code and the Uniform Fire Code. ... 

Uniform Building Code. Whittiet, CA International Conference of Building Officials, 1994. 

Fire City of Chicago, Illinois October 9, 1871 250 Building codes proliibiting building structures water reserv e... 

Building codes play a role in supporting the welfare of the cotnniunity. They protect life, health and safety. They also protect the investment that has been made by bankers, insurance companies, businesses, and individuals. Finally, building codes promote economic development by protecting the value of the built enviroiinient. 

Many of the building codes used initially in North America were imported from Europe by the early settlers. In 1630, the City of Boston building code stated No man shall build his chimney with wood nor cover his roof with thatch. In 1865, the City of New Orleans adopted an ordinance requiring the inspection of buildings for public use. In 1905 the National Board of Fire Undeiwriters published the first national building code in the United States, the Recommended National Building Code. 

Uniform Building Code. Then, in 1945, the Southern Building Code Congress International published the Standard Building Code. 

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