Florida Building Commission

Mechanical Technical Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes

July 23, 2012

 

Meeting Location: Via Teleconference and Webinar

Codes and Standards Office

2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard

Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400

 

TAC/POC Members and Objectives

Voting members present via Teleconference:   Rafael Palacios, Chair; Bob Cochell for Bob Andrews; Larry Banks; Joe Crum; Jim Cummings; Elizabeth Goll; Dan Griffin; Gary Griffin; Scott Mollan; Don Pitmann; Pete Quintela.

Staff members present: Mo Madani, April Hammonds, Ann Stanton, Ken Cureton, Joe Bigelow, others.

 

Objectives:

Ø To Approve the Agenda and Minutes of the 5/31/12 meeting

Ø To review and make recommendations on DEC statement request DS2012-044.

Ø To review and make recommendations on DEC statement request DS2012-052.

 

Meeting Minutes

Objective

Discussion of objectives included the following:

1)

 

9 A.M. Welcome and opening, roll call. Review and approve meeting agenda and minutes of the 5/31/12 meeting minutes.

A quorum was achieved with 10 of eleven TAC members present; another joined shortly thereafter, making it eleven voting members present.

The agenda was moved by Crum, seconded by Pitmann, and unanimously approved.

Minutes of the 5/31/12 Mechanical TAC meeting were approved unanimously on a motion made by Pitmann, seconded by Crum.

2a)

Review and provide recommendations on DEC statement request DS 2012-044 (amended) by Alfonso Fernandez-Fraga, P.E., Initial Engineers.

 

The proponent, Al Fraga, described a frequently found situation where minor changes were being made to a building, such as making two offices out of a conference room, which is classed as a Level 2 Alteration. The Florida Building Code, Existing Building, requires Level 2 Alterations to comply with the provisions of the FBC-Mechanical, including its ventilation requirements. Ventilation requirements seldom impact only the area of the building being changed, often impacting the system for the entire building. He cited widely differential enforcement of the code as to whether such alterations had to meet criteria of the FBC-Mechanical for new buildings and asked for a clear answer in an attempt to achieve uniform enforcement of this code provision.

 

Madani provided the staff analysis, which found that the code requires compliance with the provisions of the FBC-Mechanical for Level 2 Alterations.

 

No public comment was received.

 

TAC discussion covered where the language “Subject to the approval of the code official…”  had come from, opinions of numerous TAC members that the implications of requiring compliance with the current Mechanical code for ventilation in existing buildings were huge, and that there is an exception for non-structural work . 

 

On a motion from Crum, seconded by Banks, the TAC voted 10-1 to recommend the following answer to proponent’s question to the Florida Building Commission:

 

Question:  To the question” Is it the intent of the 2010 Florida Building Code – Existing Building, Section 709.1 to require all Level 2 Alterations to conform with the current Code requirements with respect to ventilation? ”, the answer is yes. According to Section 709.1 of the FBC, Existing Building, all reconfigured spaces of the project in question that are intended for occupancy must be provided with natural or mechanical ventilation or exhaust in accordance with the 2010 Florida Building Code, Mechanical, unless otherwise approved by the code official pursuant to Section 101.5.1 of the Florida Building Code, Existing Building, that it is a limited structural alteration as defined in Section 807.4.3. 

 

2b)

Review and provide recommendations on DEC statement request DS2012-052 by Kavita A. Vallabhaneni  of the Baltimore Aircoil Company.

 

The proponent, Kavita Valabhaneni, briefly described the function of a cooling tower and asked whether a cooling tower assembled at the factory has to comply with the wind load requirements of the Florida Building Code.

 

Madani provided the staff analysis on the DEC request, considering the enclosure of the equipment as exempt from the code.

 

No public comment was received.

 

TAC discussion centered on whether the Statute covers large as well as small HVAC equipment and whether the cooling tower itself had to comply. Although many TAC members stated that they don’t like the legislation that has postponed enforcement of wind load requirements on HVAC equipment, all agreed that the cooling tower itself was exempt from the wind load requirements of the code.

 

On a motion from Gary Griffin, seconded by Palacios, the TAC unanimously recommended the following answer to Proponent’s Question 1 to the Florida Building Commission:

Question 1: To the question, Does the Florida Statute 553.844(4) exempt exposed mechanical equipment, including the cooling tower structural system, from design for wind loads in accordance with the Florida Building Code?, the answer is yes, if mechanical equipment is fastened to a roof or installed on the ground in compliance with the code using rated stands, platforms, curbs, slabs, or other means it is deemed to comply with the wind resistance requirements of the 2007 Florida Building Code, as amended.

 

On a motion from Cochell, seconded by Crum, the TAC unanimously recommended the following answer to Proponent’s Question 2 to the Florida Building Commission:

Question 2: To the question, Does Senate Bill 704 (Building Construction and Inspection), which was signed by Governor Rick Scott, extend the expiration of FS 553.844 until 2013?, the answer is yes, HB 704 provides for extending the expiration of an exemption from the wind resistance requirements of the Florida Building Code that are specific to enclosure of exposed mechanical equipment or appliances until the effective date of the 2013 Florida Building Code.

 

3)

The meeting was adjourned unanimously on a motion by Pitmann at 10:30 am.

 

Staff Contacts: Ann Stanton, ann.stanton@dbpr.state.fl.us, (850) 488-0964; Ken Cureton, ken.cureton@dbpr.state.fl.us, (850) 921-2282; Madani, Manager (850) 921-2247.

Teleconference Process/Etiquette URL: http://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/meetings/1_meetings.htm

 

Note: This document is available to any person requiring materials in alternate format upon request. Contact the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, 1940 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399 or call 850-487-1824.