Often overlooked, the last defense against water entering interior spaces. Especially in backsloped basement areas or HC entrances.
Best solution is to grade properly so as not to have them at all.
Bigger, beefier ones for parking lots, garages, etc. Smaller ones end of HC ramps that slope toward buildings (like the Parkwood leasing office).
Considerations are size, depth (must be formed in concrete), type of grate openings, where outfall leads to.
Neenah Foundries line spec'd for Georgia Commons.
Used at Fairlawn Marshall Scattered Sites to divert sheet flow from the parking lot toward the buildings (bad pre-existing site condition).
Friday, May 21, 2010
Treads and risers
7-11.
Not the Slurpee store. Not the 1st American pro cycling team to compete in the Tour De France.
7" risers, 11 " treads. Code minimums. Some jurisdictions allow for up to 8 1/4" risers and 9" treads within dwelling units, but this is becoming passe.
Another good rule of thumb, for anthropomorphic reasons, is the number 18, as follows:
riser + tread = 18"
Lower risers require longer treads, to accommodate the natural gait of walking...
Not the Slurpee store. Not the 1st American pro cycling team to compete in the Tour De France.
7" risers, 11 " treads. Code minimums. Some jurisdictions allow for up to 8 1/4" risers and 9" treads within dwelling units, but this is becoming passe.
Another good rule of thumb, for anthropomorphic reasons, is the number 18, as follows:
riser + tread = 18"
Lower risers require longer treads, to accommodate the natural gait of walking...
Authorities Having Jurisdiction: DC
Some key things to remember:
DC requires 15% (!) of units to be Type A ANSI accessible. This is fraught with different interpretations. 15% of units on the accessible route? 15% of units for the entire building/project? It is only clear that new construction in an elevatored building has 15% HC units, due to the fact that every unit is on an accessible route. Woodson Heights demonstrated that the same agency can have 2 different interpretations of this during the permitting process, and no clear answer.
DCRA website.
DC Building Code Supplement of 2008.
DC Building Code Supplement of 2003 (now defunct, but still enforced for buildings with permit submissions prior to December 2008)
DC requires 15% (!) of units to be Type A ANSI accessible. This is fraught with different interpretations. 15% of units on the accessible route? 15% of units for the entire building/project? It is only clear that new construction in an elevatored building has 15% HC units, due to the fact that every unit is on an accessible route. Woodson Heights demonstrated that the same agency can have 2 different interpretations of this during the permitting process, and no clear answer.
DCRA website.
DC Building Code Supplement of 2008.
DC Building Code Supplement of 2003 (now defunct, but still enforced for buildings with permit submissions prior to December 2008)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Fire separation assemblies
Contrary to popular belief, the gypcrete in the UL L-528 floor ceiling assembly is not required to achieve the 1 hour rating. Flooring system No. 1 specifically shows underlayment without any sort of gypcrete.
UL ratings can be accessed online here.
Fire resistance assemblies can be selected by fire rating here. This is a cool little interactive exercise that avoids having to thumb through the Big Orange Book. It's still a good idea to consult the B.O.B. anyway as we can't depend entirely on the web...
Use ALL the tools at your disposal.
UL ratings can be accessed online here.
Fire resistance assemblies can be selected by fire rating here. This is a cool little interactive exercise that avoids having to thumb through the Big Orange Book. It's still a good idea to consult the B.O.B. anyway as we can't depend entirely on the web...
Use ALL the tools at your disposal.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Cabinet nomenclature
BLSH3636 = BRC36 = Base lazy susan with full height doors
This can get quite confusing.
Every cabinet manufacturer has a different label for type of cabinet...drawings should have a legend/note indicating exact cabinet type to convey intent.
This can get quite confusing.
Every cabinet manufacturer has a different label for type of cabinet...drawings should have a legend/note indicating exact cabinet type to convey intent.
Interior building dimensions
Check, double check, triple check.
Repeated units can morph over time, and even within a building plan, especially if the building has a subtle shape change (i.e. parallelogram) or there are outside corner and inside corner units.
Check for dimensional regularity of critical spaces (front entry, door clearances, kitchens, and bathrooms) to find anomolies in the layouts.
Georgia Commons units, especially types 1A & 1B, represent these unique conditions within "regularized" layouts.
Repeated units can morph over time, and even within a building plan, especially if the building has a subtle shape change (i.e. parallelogram) or there are outside corner and inside corner units.
Check for dimensional regularity of critical spaces (front entry, door clearances, kitchens, and bathrooms) to find anomolies in the layouts.
Georgia Commons units, especially types 1A & 1B, represent these unique conditions within "regularized" layouts.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Dryer vent ductwork issues
Distance from wall, number of bends, vent cap strategies, heat rating against insulation...
Roof ventilation - different types of roof vents
"Roof jacks" aka shed roof vents for situations where ridge or gable venting is not possible. This assumes that soffit venting is in place; this vent draws air through the higher portion of the roof.
Energy efficient roof designs are starting to look into not ventilating the roof at all and considering the roof membrane as a portion of the insulated building envelope.
Energy efficient roof designs are starting to look into not ventilating the roof at all and considering the roof membrane as a portion of the insulated building envelope.
Everything we need to know about drywall.
US Gypsum Association website.
Some shaftwall details from Georgia Pacific.
Gypsum board product details from Certainteed.
Some shaftwall details from Georgia Pacific.
Gypsum board product details from Certainteed.
Mailboxes, etc. (Get it?)
Postal service regs require "4B+" mailboxes in new construction/relocation of existing boxes. More space requirements!!!
Here's a link.
Here's a link.
Ganged mailbox info for apartment/condo lobbies, including heights, installation details, specs, etc.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Stairwell door fire safety/security
IBC requires positive latching at all doors, and passage between stairwell and floor served.
Buildings that require stairwell security require electric strikes or trim to achieve this.
Electric strikes will only comply with both if Hi-Tower strike is used. Otherwise utilize electrified cylinder trim (with electric hinge). Or other options, like these.
More research here.
Code citations:
IBC 2006 1008.1.8.7 & 403.12
NFPA 1014 7.2.1.5.7 sections 1-10
IIC ratings
Impact insulation class (IIC) ratings are required to be 50 (45 if field tested).
These are not enforced by local jurisdictions, at least not lately, but they may become popular among the litigious crowd.
Hard surfaces: Use underlayment under tile/hardwood.
Bare concrete (stained) while hip is a tough surface to clad to meet IIC.
Soft vinyl and carpeting approach 50 IIC plus.
Links:
How resilient channels absorb sound waves. Resilient channels lose their effectiveness when they are "shorted out".
IIC definition. Shows axon sketches of different material configurations.
Sound deadening materials. And techniques, too.
Steel Doors
Steel Door Institute has good info for specs, and downloadable .pdf docs for different conditions.
A Label = 3 hours
B Label = 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
C Label = .75 hour (45 minutes)
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