Are You Ready for the New Building Code?
California Makes Way for the International Building Code
By Perry A. Tabor, P.E.
As Builder/Architect's structural engineering expert columnist, we continue to feature our monthly "Structural Design Corner," bringing you interesting and useful information, including viable design innovations and alternatives.
This month we are discussing impending significant building code change. While there is a great deal of information on this topic to cover, our objective is to provide you with a general overview and encourage you to start now, if you haven't already, to familiarize yourself with the changes that will take effect on January 1, 2008.
The International Building Code (IBC)/California Building Code (CBC) will soon be upon us in all its glory. We escaped the 2003 de- cision by the California Building Standards Commission to adopt the National Fire Protection Association's model code NFPA 5000 when Gov. Schwarzenegger's administration rendered a decree that the adoption of the NFPA 5000 by Gov. Davis' administration was nonbinding. We are now being asked to come to the table on January 1, 2008, with the 2006 IBC and 2007 CBC under our arms.
Since we've had an eight-year hiatus from the three-year cycle of code updates, we as a building design community are having difficulty getting out of the big chair. We were quite comfortable in the big chair; the 1997 UBC fits like an old pair of slippers, and frankly, our bones are stiff from not moving around. Well, it is time to get up, down a cup of coffee, get outside (of your comfort zone) and exercise (work the mind).
Design professionals (yeah, you!), on January 1, the governing agency has an obligation to enforce the 2007 CBC, and if they don't, they face the potential of being liable for malice. So they will be coming to the table in a big way. Of course you can still submit your project under the 1997 UBC (if you didn't bother updating your design and specifications to the earlier enacted 2000 CBC), and in turn, get a laundry list of plan check comments, delay project approval, face losing a client and damaging your professional reputation. But I'd suggest avoiding that option.
Instead, if you haven't already, now is the time to begin implementing the code changes into your schematic designs (e.g., side yard setback) or start producing construction documents under the 2007 CBC.
Ensure that your library has the 2007 CBC and then invest the time to read the CBC at least a couple times. You will be amazed at code changes. This column is not big enough to list all of the changes in the code (both structural and nonstructural) from the 1997 UBC. Just within the "Structural World," we are seeing changes in load combinations (the need to consider temperature and rain), seismic vertical effects, revamped wind design methodology, amplified collector loads, etc.
Because the 2007 CBC seismic criteria have moved from "Life Safety" to "Collapse Prevention" design criteria, we have, under the 2007 CBC, yielded a 10% to 40% reduction in seismic lat- eral loads depending upon the project location. However, one upside of the recent new design criteria is that the code updates and building rehabilitations are yielding substantial economies for "seismic prone" projects with the design-level criteria reduction.
Unfortunately, there is no simple way to become current with the 2007 CBC (there are differences between the IBC and CBC). Simply put your nose to the grindstone, study and put your knowledge to work. Also, you may benefit from taking an overview course, such as those provided by CALBO, SEAOC, AIA and ICC.
We hope that this article moves you into taking immediate action. We want to make sure that no one is asleep at the wheel and that our design industry is prepared for the unavoidable code transition.
January 2008 Commercial Edition Issue