What Does the IBC Require on Your Construction Documents?

The International Building Code not only regulates buildings, it also regulates the documents used to construct the buildings.

Here is a complete list of all the information required to be on the construction documents to comply with IBC 2006 and IECC 2006. A QA checklist must include these items at a minimum.

1. Means of Egress: number of occupants on each floor, room and space [106.1.2]
2. Exterior wall envelope: Flashings, Dissimilar material intersections, Corners, End details, Control joints, Intersections at roof, eaves, or parapets, Means of drainage, Water-resistive membrane, and Opening details [106.1.3]
3. Site plan: Lot lines, Street grades, Finish grades, Flood hazard areas, Demolitions, etc. [106.2]
4. Hazardous Materials [414.1.3]
5. Fire alarm and detection systems: 1. A floor plan which indicates the use of all rooms. 2. Locations of alarm-initiating and notification appliances. 3. Alarm control and trouble signaling equipment. 4. Annunciation. 5. Power connection. 6. Battery calculations. 7. Conductor type and sizes. 8. Voltage drop calculations. 9. Manufacturers, model numbers and listing information for equipment, devices and materials. 10. Details of ceiling height and construction. 11. The interface of fire safety control functions. [907.1.1]
6. Smoke control systems [909.2 – 909.4]
7. Floor live load [1603.1.1]
8. Roof live load [1603.1.2]
9. Roof snow load: Flat-roof snow load, Pf; Snow exposure factor, Ce; Snow load importance factor, I; Thermal factor, Cf. [1603.1.3]
10. Wind: Basic wind speed (3-second gust); Wind importance factor, I, and occupancy category; Wind exposure; Internal pressure coefficient; Design wind pressures to exterior component and cladding materials [1603.1.4]
11. Earthquake: Seismic importance factor, I, and occupancy category; Mapped spectral response accelerations, SS and S1; Site class; Spectral response coefficients, SDS and SD1; Seismic design category; Basic seismic-force-resisting system(s); Design base shear; Seismic response coefficients(s), CS; Response modification factor(s), R; Analysis procedure used [1603.1.5]
12. Flood: Special loads; Systems and components requiring special inspections for seismic resistance; (Penetrations, fire-resistant joints, roof assemblies); [1603.1.6] special documentation [1612.5]
13. Systems requiring special inspections for seismic resistance [1603.1.8]
14. Concrete: compressive strength, reinforcement strength, size and location, control joints, prestressing forces, lap splices, splices, isolation joints, posttensioning, diaphragm designations [1901.4]
15. Masonry: reinforcement size, grade, type and location, welding procedures, structural sizes and locations, control joints [2101.3]
16. Steel Joists: special loads, special considerations, deflection criteria for non-SJI standard joists [2206.2]
17. Wood Truss (16 requirements) [2303.4.1]
18. Glass with less than four-sided support [2403.2]
19. Temporary structures [3103.2]
20. Demolition [3303.1]
21. Energy: insulation materials and their R-values; fenestration U-factors and SHGCs; system and equipment efficiencies, types, sizes and controls; duct sealing, insulation and location; and air sealing details.
22. Alternative Energy Compliance: Annual energy use and associated costs, Energy-related features, Input and output report(s), Written explanation(s).

Code Analysis Summary

A quality code summary on the code cover sheet will exhibit four characteristics:

1. Clarity: It will present the information in a logical and legible way so that information can be easily located.
2. Conciseness: It will not contain irrelevant information or information that does not vary from one project to another.
3. Correctness: It will reflect an accurate analysis of the building and will display requirements next to actual design attributes for easy confirmation.
   
4. Completeness: It will encompass a summary of all categories necessary to demonstrate code compliance.

The National CAD Standard provides several categories for code information: Governing Regulations Summary, General Building Summary, Room-by-Room Egress, Foor-by-Floor Egress, Fire Resistance Ratings, Accessiblity, and Plumbing Fixture Tabulation.

This is a good start, but not quite complete. Many jurisdictions will want, for example, a listing of the responsible design professionals, a summary of the Life Safety features, key Structural Design assumptions, and an Energy Summary. All these are important and varying considerations in the International Building Code.

Here is a more complete outline for a clear and concise code summary:

• Project Information
• Jurisdiction Information
  
• Applicable Governing Regulations
  
• List of Design Professionals
• Site-Related Design Criteria
• General Building Summary
  
• List of Special Uses and Occupancies
• List of Fire Areas (showing mixed occupancies)
• Occupancy Separation
• Fire Resistance Ratings
• Fire Protection Features
  
• Means of Egress Summary
  
• Accessibility Counts
• Energy Efficiency Summary
  
• Structural Design Criteria
• Plumbing Fixture Counts

The IBC 2006 Code Analysis is a tool for analyzing and calculating key building code requirements as they relate to a particular project. This Excel spreadsheet is designed to help you achieve the four principles enumerated above. After the analysis is complete, you can copy the compiled information it into a word processor or drafting program for further formatting and editing.