1. Guidelines and Required Codes That Affect Building Design
Chapter 9
Guidelines and Required Codes That Affect Building Design

2. Introduction Guidelines and codes that affect home design
Traditionally from home-owner associations
Many attempt to follow green building guidelines
Building codes
Required laws intended to protect the public
Minimum guidelines for construction and inspection of a structure

3. Green Building Guidelines
Incorporation of environmental considerations and resources into the construction process
Green or environmentally friendly building
Designed, built, operated, renovated, recycled ecologically, and in a resource-efficient manner
Meet certain objectives (e.g., protecting health, using resources efficiently, etc.)

4. Green Building Guidelines (cont’d.)
LEED Green Building Rating System
Designed to help improve building quality and minimize environmental impact
Developed by U.S. Green Building Council
Requires a minimum number of points
Certified: 26–32 points
Silver: 33–38 points
Gold: 39–51 points
Platinum: 52 points or more

5. Green Building Guidelines (cont’d.)
LEED Green Building Rating System key areas:
Sustainable sites
Water efficiency
Indoor environmental quality
Energy an atmosphere
Material and resources
Innovation and design process

6. Green Building Guidelines (cont’d.)
National Green Building Standard ICC 700
Developed by NAHB and ICC
Whole-house systems approach
Intended to increase home’s performance and efficiency

7. Green Building Guidelines (cont’d.)
National Green Building Standard ICC 700 key areas:
Site design and development
Lot Design, preparation, and development
Resource efficiency
Energy efficiency
Water efficiency
Indoor environmental quality

8. Green Building Guidelines (cont’d.)
National Green Building Standard ICC 700 key areas (cont’d.):
Operation, maintenance, and owner education
Levels of certification:
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Emerald

9. National Building Codes
Regulation of buildings
Can be traced back more than 4000 years
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
Building codes
Now used throughout most of U.S.
Regulates issues (e.g., fire, structural ability, health, security, energy, new materials and technology)

10. National Building Codes (cont’d.)
Model code organizations
Oversee accredited laboratories and testing facilities
Material suppliers may have their own testing facilities
Many jurisdictions adopt building codes with local amendments
Vary according to location

11. National Building Codes (cont’d.)
National code options
Most states adopted building codes published by International Code Council (ICC)
Some might still be using one of the legacy codes of the ICC
Each municipality and state has the right to adopt all, or a portion, of the indicated code

12. National Building Codes (cont’d.)
International code family
International Code Council (ICC)
International Building Code (IBC)
International Residential Code (IRC)
Choosing the right code
Responsibility of the architect and engineer

13. Basic Design Criteria for Building Planning
Building codes influence design and construction methods
Understand ICC markings
Space is subdivided into:
Habitable space
Nonhabitable space

14. Basic Design Criteria for Building Planning (cont’d.)
Location on the property
Exterior walls of residential building cannot be located within 5′ of property lines
Unless special provisions are met
Zoning regulations may further restrict location
Made from materials with one-hour fire rating

15. Basic Design Criteria for Building Planning (cont’d.)
Egress and accessibility requirements for a residence
Means of egress
Egress doors
Emergency egress openings
Halls
Stairs
Handrails and guardrails

18. Basic Design Criteria for Building Planning (cont’d.)
Room dimensions
Affect the size and ceiling height of rooms
At least one room with 120 sq ft of total floor area
Other habitable rooms except kitchens are required to have a minimum of 70 sq ft and not less than 7′
Minimum ceiling height of 7′0″ (some exceptions)

19. Basic Design Criteria for Building Planning (cont’d.)
Light and ventilation requirements
Major effect on window size and placement
Natural light
Alternative light and ventilation methods
Heating and sanitation requirements
Minimal
Rarely affect design process

20. Basic Design Criteria for Building Planning (cont’d.)
Safety equipment
Automatic fire sprinkler system
Smoke detectors
Carbon monoxide alarms

21. Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria
Key elements to design a safe structure:
Air freezing index
Flood hazard
Ground snow load
Mean annual temperature
Ice barrier underlayment
Seismic design category

22. Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria (cont’d.)
Key elements to design a safe structure (cont’d.):
Susceptibility to damage by:
Frost line depth
Termites
Weathering
Wind design: speed and topographic effects
Winter design: temperature

23. International Energy Conservation Code
Published by ICC and is updated every three years
Regulates:
Design and construction of exterior envelope
Selection of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, water heating, electrical distribution and illuminating systems, and equipment

24. International Energy Conservation Code (cont’d.)
Determining required envelope
Exterior envelope comprises exterior walls, ceiling, openings in walls and ceiling, and floor
Construction depends on climate zones based on wet-bulb temperature

25. International Energy Conservation Code (cont’d.)
General requirements for building the envelope:
Insulation
Material used to restrict flow of heat, cold, or sound
Fenestration
Openings in envelope
Solar heat gain coefficient and solar heat gain

26. International Energy Conservation Code (cont’d.)
Specific requirements:
Ceilings with or without attic storage
Mass walls
Floor/crawl space walls
Basement walls
Slab-on-grade floors