FLORIDA BUILDING COMMISSION
July 11, 2006
Hard Rock Hotel
1 Seminole Way
Hollywood , FL 33314
Legal Report:
First Hearing-
DCA06-DEC-094 by James V. Miller, QMI Security Solutions
The Petitioner is requesting clarification regarding Rule 9B- 72 regarding product test reports. Question: Can a Testing Lab test a product and make a test report available to other manufacturers of the same product to use as their own?
Revised Question – Can an entity that is not an approved test lab make a test report available to other manufacturers of the same product to use as their own?
Answer – Yes. A manufacturer can use a test report issued by an approved testing lab for the purpose of obtaining product approval as per Rule 9B-72 as long as the product is manufactured in accordance with the test report and an approved QA agency. ( Note : a notice of Authorization must be uploaded by the manufacturer authorizing the use of the report).
DCA06-DEC-120 by Bob Algood, Ice House America, LLC – Deferred to the local appeal board.
DCA06-DEC-130 by Tina M. Neace, Florida Air Designs, Inc.
To the question, Is the orientation of the structure a part of the statement “on the building”?, the answer is YES, to accurately size the cooling and heating loads on a building, the orientation of the specific building must be considered.
To the question, Is it the code's intent to allow a worse case scenario orientation for an equipment sizing load calculation to be performed on this building?, the answer is NO, the equipment sizing calculation needs to be specific to the building.
However, in the case of the single family home referenced above, should a master plan be filed, sizing calculations for this building facing each of the 8 cardinal directions may be submitted until the mechanical permit is pulled for the house.
In the case of the townhomes described above, if one home is identical to the next a single sizing calculation may serve for homes facing the same orientation.
DCA06-DEC-131 by Walter M. Hotchkiss, SEA Limited
Question 1: Section 407.1.2 states that the wind design shall be based on the code in effect at the time the building was permitted. However, in section 407.3.2.1.1, the wording Florida Building Code, Building implies that the current code should be the basis of the evaluation. Please clarify which code is to be used.
Answer: According to Section 407.3.2.1, building sustained substantial structural damage is required to be evaluated by a registered design professional necessary to substantiate whether the entire structure of the building in question is adequate in accordance with the building codes that were in effect when the building was permitted.
Question 2: If the evaluation finds the repaired building meets the original building code but not the current building code and the response to question 1 is the current code, does this mean that all walls on all levels must be modified to meet the current code?
Answer: where the original construction is determined to be adequate as per the evaluation indicated in the answer to Question #1 above, then only the repairs are required to comply with the current Florida Building Code.
Question 3: If the answer to Question 2 is to upgrade all walls on all levels, does this mean that the windows and doors must also be made to conform to the current code as this building is in a wind-borne debris region?
Answer: Based on the answer to Question #2 above, no answer is needed to this question.
Question 4: If the answer to all the above is to upgrade the building, are there any intended limits to the cost of upgrading versus the value of the building. An example: a twenty story building has 40% damage to one floor, is it intended that this will trigger and upgrade of the entire structure?
Answer: Based on the answer to Question #2 above, no answer is needed to this question.