This article continues from last month.
Codes are updated regularly and building inspectors are required to not only be certified, but also maintain their knowledge by attending continuing education courses and providing the same to the regulating agency, The International Code Council (ICC). Both our City and County here in Santa Clarita Valley have some of the best-trained inspectors in the nation.
There are some new codes that have come out in the last year or two that may be of interest to those who are thinking of adding on to their home.
1. Lateral Bracing requirements have increased to 48 percent of the length of the building. That means a room that is 25 feet long can only have just a little over 12 and a half feet of doors or windows.
2. New bedrooms must have the electrical devices protected with AFCI or Arc Fault Circuit interrupters. These fast tripping circuit breakers are designed to disconnect the power in the event of an arcing or sparking circuit.
3. The columns that hold up a tile roofed patio cover or balcony must be designed to carry the lateral load for the entire roof/deck in the event of an earthquake or else a beefed up shear wall must be added to the existing house walls. This means sometimes steel columns and very deep footings.
4. Foundation anchor bolts must be installed with quarter inch by three-inch square plate washers.
5. Guard Rails when more than 30 inches above grade or floor must now be 42 inches high as opposed to the old code which was 36 inches high.
One of the recent code changes that only relates to commercial building owners is found in the 2006 International Fire Code. It basically says that in a Group A-2 Occupancies now require automatic fire sprinklers when any one of the following conditions exist:
1. Fire area exceeds 5,000 square feet or more.
2. Fire area has an occupancy load of 100 or more (it used to be 300)
3. The area is located on a floor other than the level of exit discharge.
For further questions contact the City of Santa Clarita Building & Safety at 661-255-4935 or the Los Angeles County Building & Safety at 661-290-2040.
Information provided by Randal G. Winter, Randal G. Winter Construction, Inc, located at 28348 Constellation Road, Suite 810 in Santa Clarita. For more information, please call 661-799-8089 or visit www.RGWinter.com . License 395715