HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Codes, standards, and federal regulations are an essential part of designing buildings. This book is intended to help whether you are an interior designer, architect, engineer, builder, building owner, or facility manager. Although most of the code publications address the entire building-exterior and interior-this book concentrates on the codes that pertain to the interior of a building. The Codes Guidebook for Interiors is designed help you understand the system of code requirements and to help determine which codes and regulations apply whether you are space planning the interior of a new building, designing a new tenant space in part of a building, or making some minor changes in an existing building. This will help you to minimize your research time. Incorporating these requirements into the design should become a natural part of every interior project. I hope that it will also make the many interior codes, standards, and federal regulations more user-friendly.

In this ninth edition of the Codes Guidebook, each section has been updated to inform you of the most current interior-related codes, standards, and federal regulations. Referencing the 2024 edition of the codes, this book concentrates on the requirements of the International Building Code and the Life Safety Code, two of the most widely used codes. However the parallel and prominent NFPA codes are also discussed. Most chapters also discuss interior-related information from the fire codes, the electrical and energy-related codes, and the plumbing and mechanical codes. The most current accessibility and sustainability requirements are discussed including the 2010 ADA Standards.

Note

This book deals with interior codes only. Unless otherwise noted, it is assumed that the exterior walls-including doors and windows-and the existing shell of the building are either existing or already determined.

It is suggested that you read through the book systematically at least once. In this way, you can get an overall understanding of how the various codes, standards, and regulations work during the progression of a design. Then you may refer to each individual chapter as needed to clarify or be reminded about the codes that address that part of the project. To help you understand the application of specific requirements, multiple examples, explanatory diagrams, and checklists are provided in each chapter.

TERMS TO KNOW

Certain terms when used by the codes have specific meanings. Sometimes these meanings are different than how we may use them in our typical conversation. For example, although the terms corridor, passageway, and hallway may be somewhat interchangeable in our daily language, they are very different in code language. It is important to understand the specific definition of terms when using the codes. Each code typically has a chapter of terms used in the code to clarify how each term in defined. You may want to check the code specific definition of the terms used in this book. Many are defined in the glossary in the back of the book. Here are some common terms used throughout this book.

ACCESSIBLE: Unless otherwise noted, this term refers to areas, products, or devices usable by persons with disabilities, as required by the codes, federal legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other accessibility standards.

AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION (AHJ): Used by the code organizations to indicate organizations, offices, or individuals that administer and enforce the codes. In this book, we designate these as code jurisdictions, code departments, and code officials, respectively.

CODE OFFICIAL: Also known as a building official; an employee of a codes department who has the authority to interpret, administer, and enforce the codes, standards, and regulations within that jurisdiction. A code official can have several different titles, including plans examiner, building inspector, and, sometimes, fire marshal. Also generally referred to as the AHJ by the codes.

CODES DEPARTMENT: A local government agency that administers and enforces the codes within a jurisdiction. Some small jurisdictions may have a codes department that consists of only one person or code official, and some large jurisdictions may include many different agencies and departments. Also generally referred to as the AHJ by the codes.

GREEN DESIGN: Design of products, environments, and buildings that treats environmental attributes as an important design objective. It aims to minimize the potential harmful effects on human health and the environment by choosing eco-friendly building materials and construction practices. It may also include systems that increase the efficiency of a building so that it uses less materials, energy, and water. (See also Sustainable Design.)

JURISDICTION: A determined geographical area that uses the same codes, standards, and regulations. Each jurisdiction passes a law specifying which codes and standards are required and how they will be regulated. A jurisdiction can be as small as a township or as large as an entire state. The code jurisdiction of a project is determined by the location of the building. Also generally referred to as the AHJ by the codes.

PERFORMANCE CODE: A code that is more generally described and gives an objective but not specific instructions on how to achieve it. The focus is on the desired outcome, not a single solution, and compliance is based on meeting the criteria established by the performance code. (Engineering tools and methodologies are often used to substantiate the use of the code criteria.)

PRESCRIPTIVE CODE: A code providing a specific requirement that must be met for the design, construction, and maintenance of a building. The focus is on a specific solution to achieve an objective or outcome based on historical experience and established engineering. Historically, codes in the United States have been prescriptive in nature.

Note

Sustainable design and green design are not the same; sustainable design is more comprehensive.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: More encompassing than green design, sustainability typically includes three main tenets: environmental responsibility, economic strength, and social responsibility. Buildings and spaces that incorporate sustainable design are designed to lessen their impact on the environment, stimulate the economy, and provide improvements to those involved in the development and the community.

USING CODES IN THE DESIGN PROCESS

The best time to research codes and use this book is in the early stages of a design project, preferably in the programming phase or schematic phase while the designs are still preliminary. It is especially advisable to review these requirements before construction documents are started and construction costs are estimated. Figure I.1 summarizes how the various phases of the typical design process relate to the steps taken during the suggested code review process. Refer to this chart as you work on a project to make sure you are covering the necessary code steps. (A more detailed flowchart of the code process is included in Chapter 11.) The Codes Guidebook is organized so that you can follow it while working on a design project from beginning to end, in the order in which you would typically research the codes.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

Chapter 1 in The Codes Guidebook for Interiors gives a brief history of codes and provides some background on each of the main code publications, federal regulations, and standards organizations. This edition concentrates on the International Codes® (I-Codes®) by the International Code Council (ICC) and a few NFPA codes including the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (LSC) and the National Electrical Code (NEC). Chapter 1 explains these individual codes. Chapter 1 is helpful in determining which codes and standards publications and which federal regulations apply to an interior project. Chapter 11, the last chapter in this book, discusses code officials and the code process. It describes how they work and how to work with them. If you are new to codes research, you may want to review Chapters 1 and 11 together to gain a basic understanding before reading the rest of the book.

Design process Code process Description Programming/Predesign Preliminary research

• Determine applicable codes, standards, and federal regulations.
• Preliminary code research to determine important code issues such as occupancy type, occupancy load, etc.
• Determine level of sustainability required: code, standard, rating system, and/or a green building program.

Schematic/Conceptual design

• Incorporate code and sustainability compliance into design, keeping in mind means of egress, rated walls, etc.

Design development Preliminary review

• Meet with code official to review conflicting code requirements (optional unless using performance codes, but could be helpful).
• May also be done during Schematic Design Phase.

Construction documents

• Check specific technical requirements such as aisle...