Tishik International University

Faculty Of Engineering
Architectural Engineering department
5th Stage

Lecture of Building codes and professional practice

Lecture 01 : International Building Code

Mr.Younus Ali Mohammed

2020 -2021
Building Codes
The existence of building regulations goes back almost 4,000 years. The
Babylonian Code of Hammurabi decreed the death penalty for a builder if a
house he constructed collapsed and killed the owner. If the collapse killed
the owner’s son, then the son of the builder would be put to death; if goods
were damaged then the contractor would have to repay the owner, and so
on. This precedent is worth keeping in mind as you contemplate the potential
legal ramifications of your actions in designing and constructing a building in
accordance with the code. The protection of the health, safety, and welfare
of the public is the basis for licensure of design professionals and the reason
that building regulations exist.
The various city codes and often conflicting codes were refined over the years and began
to be brought together by regional non-governmental organizations to develop so-called model
codes. The first model codes were written from the point of view of insurance companies to
reduce fire risks. Model codes are developed by private code groups for subsequent adoption
by local and state government agencies as legally enforceable regulations. The first major
model-code group was the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), founded in 1915
and located in Country Club Hills, Illinois. Next was the International Conference of Building
Officials (ICBO), formed in 1922, located in Whittier, California. The first edition of their
Uniform Building Code was published in 1927. The Southern Building Code Congress, founded
in 1940 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, first published the Southern Building
Code in 1946. The first BOCA National Building
Code was published in 1950
Using the Code
The following procedure is recommended as
being helpful in using the International Building
Code. Note that most of the major issues are
interactive and that iteration of relationships will
be required to optimize design solutions. The
procedure can be paraphrased as follows.
3. Review the building for
conformity with the type-ofconstruction
requirements
in relation to desired and
allowable building heights
and plan areas. Iteration may
be required between heights,
areas and construction types.

4. Review the effects on the

building based on its location
on the building site. Iteration
may be required in reviewing
location together with
construction types and
amount of openings in
relation to property lines

5. Review the building for

conformity with egress
requirements.

6. Review the building for other

detailed code requirements.

7. Review the building for

conformity with structural
engineering regulations and
requirements for materials of
construction.
Projects are almost invariably defined for the
designer based on occupancy type. A client Fire Extinguishing Systems
almost always comes to a designer with a Fire sprinklers, standpipes, fire detection, and
defined need for a facility. The use of that facility fire-alarm systems are an integral part of most
determines the occupancy classification to which new buildings. Use of such systems, especially
it belongs. Each occupancy classification or type automatic fire sprinklers, often results in tradeoffs
has specific requirements related to allowable for additional height or area. Trade-offs
area, height and exiting with potential construction are listed in the code sections related to height
types growing out of these requirements. and areas, but other requirements are listed in
The codes are fundamentally use (occupancy) separate sections of the code. Fire-protection
based. Other criteria are derived from the first systems are covered in Chapter 9. Note also that
basic classification by occupancy. Occupancy sprinkler system requirements are another area
classifications are defined in Chapter 3. where local amendments are often added to the
model codes. These requirements should be verified
for each project. It can be critical to a tradeoff
to know if a system is otherwise required
in the jurisdiction where you are working, as
it may remove the model-code option of using
some items like a sprinkler trade-off in lieu of
fire rating certain parts of the building structure.
Trade-offs only apply when the systems are not
otherwise required by the local code to be used
for a project. The idea of a trade-off recognizes
that this is a mitigation measure over and above
basic code requirements to achieve the desired
level of safety through other means than those
spelled out in the basic code
Building or Floor Area Building Height
Once the occupancy classification and construction The allowable number of floors is usually
type are known it is important to tied closely to allowable area by construction
establish the permissible area for each floor type. Total height in feet and number of
for each use and for the total building. Certain stories may also be limited by planning codes,
types of construction are limited in size based not for technical reasons but as matters of
on occupancy and concentration of people. As public policy.
noted above, selection of the allowable area Building heights are tabulated in Tables 504.3
and construction type may require iteration of and 504.4. Study the definition of height and
selections of construction type and allowable story as noted in the IBC. Also be aware that
area based on occupancy requirements. the definition of height and story is often
Allowable areas are tabulated in Table 506.2. subject to local amendment. Be certain to
See § 506 for allowable area increases based check these provisions with the local AHJ to
on location on the property and allowance for be certain of the exact requirements for your
installation of automatic fire-sprinkler systems. project. This is especially true in older, hilly cities
like San Francisco, where topography and
historical development patterns may generate
definitions of height or story different than
in other jurisdictions. Do not confuse zoning
height definitions and limits with those in the
building code. They are usually different in
almost all jurisdictions.
Construction Type
Construction types are typically categorized by
materials based on their resistance to fire in
structural applications. The construction type
gives some indication of the amount of time
available for evacuation of occupants, for fire
fighting, and for emergency response under
fire conditions. Buildings of fire-protected
steel or concrete will provide more fire resistance
than those of wood construction. More
fire-resistant construction types are allowed
to be of larger area and to have more stories
as the fire-resistance increases. As a rough
rule of thumb, allowable occupancy quantities
and construction costs will both decrease
with building type from Type I to Type V.
Types of construction are defined in Chapter
6. Table 601 gives a synopsis of the minimum
fire-resistive requirements of each main element
of building construction. As you go
through a code analysis you will be referring
to this table and to Table 506.2 to select
the optimum balance of construction type,
occupancy, and area requirements for a specific
project. It is typically a budget goal to
minimize construction costs by selecting the
least costly construction type appropriate for
the proposed use of the building.
Exits/Egress
One of the most important functions of building
codes is determining egress requirements and
provision of safe means of egress for all of the
anticipated occupants of a building. There are
specific requirements for size, spacing, and travel
distances for all components of the means of
egress, such as floor plans, doors, corridors, and
stairs. In simple terms a means of egress consists
of three components: an exit access, an exit, and
an exit discharge. Chapter 10 of the IBC relates to
means of egress.
Building Separations and Shafts
Where buildings have mixed occupancies, codes
often require fire-rated partitions separating the
occupancies. Separations may also be used to
allow more area for a particular occupancy on
a single floor in certain types of construction
where such sizes of use would not otherwise be
permitted.
Openings between floors such as for stairs,
elevators, and mechanical shafts can allow the
passage of smoke, heat and flames in a fire.
Therefore the codes have requirements based
on occupancy, building type, and building height
related to shaft protection. Basic shaft-protection
requirements are contained in Chapter 7.
Fire Protection 1. Structure Hour Rating: Requirements for
Fire protection can be divided into two broad
categories: passive or active protection. Passive
the time it takes for a fire to weaken a
protection is that built into the structure, either structural element to the point of failure.
inherent in the material or added as part of These requirements are minimums based
protective membranes. Thus a steel building has on providing enough time for fire-fighting
more inherent passive protection capability than and evacuation operations to take place
a wood one because steel is noncombustible
whereas wood is not. Active systems are ones for a specified time period without placing
where a fire causes a reaction in a system that emergency responders and occupants in
serves to combat the fire. Sprinklers are a prime danger.
example of active systems. A fire causes a 2. Area or Occupancy Separation Rating:
sprinkler system to activate and extinguish the Requirements of how long it will take for
fire before exposing the passive systems to a
fire. Code analysis and design often includes a fire to penetrate a wall partition, floor or
trade-offs between active and passive systems. roof assembly.
Fire-resistance standards include: 3. Flame Spread and Smoke Generation:
Requirements of how long it takes for fire
to move along the surface of a building
material and how much smoke is generated
under fire exposure. The density and
toxicity of the smoke is also a factor to be
considered in these criteria.
Fire-resistance requirements are found primarily
in Chapters 7 and 8.