CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION, September 2008

[ Table of contents | Subscribe ]

The national construction codes need your input

The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) invites all Canadians to take part in its annual fall public review of proposed changes to the national construction codes. The public review is one of the main steps in the process for developing national code documents, providing a nation-wide forum where anyone can review and comment on the changes proposed.

The Fall 2008 public review will include the majority of the changes proposed for the 2010 edition of the Codes and will run from September 29, 2008 until November 28, 2008, using the National Codes Web site as in previous public reviews.

The national construction codes developed by the CCBFC — National Building Code (NBC), National Fire Code (NFC) and the National Plumbing Code (NPC) — are model codes, which the provinces and territories can adopt as is or with modifications as part of their building, fire and plumbing regulations. The national code development system is a partnership between provinces and territories and the National Research Council.

There will be approximately 600 proposed technical changes for the 2010 edition of the national construction codes. These technical changes have been proposed by the various standing committees of the CCBFC responsible for the three codes to update or remove outdated material and to add new provisions in several subject areas.

The changes listed below are just some of the topics covered by the proposed changes to the codes:

NBC

Residential Care Occupancy (Part 3 and Part 9)

Residential Care premises generally require more fire and structural safety features than those of a typical residential occupancy (i.e., Group C occupancy), but do not generally require these features to be as extensive as those of institutional occupancies, such as hospitals or nursing homes (i.e., Group B occupancy). There is a growing concern that the current code requirements applying to residential care occupancies are too rigorous in some areas and not rigorous enough in others. The joint Task Group of the Standing Committees on Use and Egress (lead), Fire Protection and Housing and Small Buildings presented several recommendations to their respective committees, many of which have been accepted for public review.

The proposals can be summarized as follows: a relaxation of the requirements for smaller care occupancies that have a limited number of occupants requiring care or treatment. In addition, depending on the nature of these clearly identified occupancies, the proposals introduce new construction, sprinklering, emergency power and fire alarm requirements.

Spatial Separation between Buildings (Part 3 and Part 9)

A task group was mandated to evaluate the current requirements for spatial separation between buildings of combustible construction and to recommend revisions if needed.

Four sets of proposed changes have been developed to address the following: the relationship between fire service response time and limiting distance between buildings; cladding and sheathing materials used in wall construction; distribution of openings; and protection of soffits.

Secondary Suites (Part 9)

The Standing Committee on Housing and Small Buildings, the Standing Committee on Use and Egress and the Standing Committee on Fire Protection formed a joint task group to evaluate the requirements that currently apply to buildings with not more than two dwelling units and recommended revisions to address secondary suites.

Secondary suites are smaller suites and often retrofitted into existing single-family dwellings. These are sometimes referred to as accessory apartments or "in-law suites."

Lateral Loads (Part 9)

The Standing Committee on Housing and Small Buildings created a task group to examine requirements in Part 9 of the NBC regarding lateral loads.

The joint task group investigated various factors related to this issue including high seismic and wind load regions and anchorage and bracing.

NFC

Leak Detection and Monitoring

The Standing Committee on Hazardous Materials and Activities accepted for public review several proposed changes related to the detection and monitoring of storage tanks, sumps, and piping systems containing flammable and combustible liquids. In light of rapidly changing technologies in this area, the standing committee has proposed several changes dealing with the method of leak detection, monitoring and handling of certain dangerous goods.

Storage of Flammable and Combustible Liquids in Buildings

The standing committee also proposed many changes to better protect the storage of flammable and combustible liquids within buildings by limiting the quantity of product and introducing new passive and active fire protection measures.

NPC

Water Pipe Sizing

The pipe sizing information in the NPC was in need of a review and an update. A task group was formed to review new materials and tech­nologies and to determine if changes were needed. The information in the NPC needed to be updated since the use of water conserving appliances and fixtures is being implemented in buildings and facilities. This results in a lower water usage, which has an impact on the water pipes delivering water to the building and/or facility.

Based on the recommendations of the task group, the Standing Committee on Building and Plumbing Services accepted for public review a number of proposed changes to Sections 2.6. and 2.7. as well as to the Appendix of the NPC 2005.

You are invited to participate in the annual fall public review and to submit your comments by visiting the National Codes Web site at www.nationalcodes.ca. All comments submitted are reviewed and addressed by the relevant standing committees.

For more information on the CCBFC and on the national code development process, please visit http://www.nationalcodes.ca/ccbfc/index_e.shtml, or contact the Secretary to the CCBFC at (613) 993-5569, fax (613) 952-4040, or e-mail codes@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.