What’s up with Roman Numerals in the International Building Code? Types of Construction (one through five) have been in Roman Numerals since the inception of the International Codes in 2000.  I have to ask…..Why? Is this their attempt to make the Code truly international?  Well if you have ever been to Rome, their building methods differ greatly from ours.  And although they use the metric system of weights and measure, they use regular numbers for those weights and measures.

Try composing a letter on your computer and talk about IB or IIIB construction. See what I mean, there is no top or bottom horizontal line on the I’s.  Is that 3 small “L” construction?

I know the Uniform Building Code used Roman numerals.  Did the International Conference of Building Officials negotiate away 4 hr exterior bearing walls just so they could keep the Roman Numerals?

Typical of the computer age, I Googled Roman Numerals to see what I could find on the subject. On the Math Forum site I found The Dr. Math Archives which stated three reasons why we use Roman Numerals:

• to make writing look fancy (on clocks and official documents),
• to make writing look old, and
• to avoid confusion with ordinary numbers (in outlines and the introductions of books.)

Maybe they want you to think Types of Construction dates back to Hammurabi.  It could be they want it to look fancy. (I know I always get excited when talking about Types of Construction.)

My personal opinion is they should have followed through and made the code sections in Roman.  1008.1.8.6 Delayed Egress locks would be MVIII.I.VII.VI (I think).  This could be a new stimulus plan for the printing industry.

We do see Roman Numerals in some common things in America.  The Super Bowl for instance uses Roman Numerals.  I must say though I’m not a sports follower.  I can’t seem to make sense of paying a bunch of guys 100 times what a schoolteacher makes to run around a field with a ball.  Movies always use Roman Numerals at the beginning to show what year the movie was made, but I’m sure most of us need to check a movie guide to actually figure out what year they were made.

Finally, like the disclaimer I use for my code seminars, I use Arabic numbers when describing types of construction.  And I’m not even an Arab.

Editors Note:  When this article was transfered from Microsoft Word to the Web Page, the horizontal tops and bottoms were added to the I’s automatically.

Frank Uncategorized Building Codes

I recently made a visit to a new, 3 story retail development. The purpose was to inspect two 2-hr fire-resistance rated duct shafts.  The shafts were continuous from the rooftop HVAC unit to the first floor, with openings onto all floors. Two previous inspections had failed for improper support of the shaft wall and improper framing for the fire/smoke dampers.

The building was reviewed as 2B construction and therefore the floors and columns required no rating. As the shaft walls (typical core board/metal stud construction) were built on the concrete floor, it didn’t meet the requirements for support.

Shaft walls must meet the requirements of a fire barrier and Section 706.5 of The 2006 International Building Code states “The supporting construction for fire barrier walls shall be protected to afford the required fire-resistance rating of the fire barrier supported…”  This means the horizontal and vertical steel which supports the concrete floor adjacent to the shaft must maintain the 2-hr rating. In this case, the columns and beams responsible for supporting the shaft wall were protected with spray on fireproofing.

Framing requirements for the fire/smoke dampers are specified by the damper manufacturer.  These may include doubling vertical framing members for larger dampers, specific methods for corner returns on the horizontal members and minimum and maximum clearances between the framing and the damper.

The installation of these shafts exceeded the minimum code requirements in two ways.  First, the shafts connected less than four stories.  IBC 2006 section 707.4 only requires a 1-hr rating.  Second, the shafts were not required at all.  Section 716.6.3 Nonfire-resistance-rated floor assemblies (remember Type 2B construction=no floor rating) only requires a fire damper installed at the floor line when connecting not more than three stories.

Now the design professional, building owner or building insurer might have required this higher level of protection (remember the Code is only a minimum requirement). The cost of shaft wall construction, additional protection of structural steel and fire/smoke dampers (including the electronics for the activation of the smoke dampers) should have been considered.

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Frank It Pays To Know $$$ Building Codes