Legal Report

December 12, 2007

 

 

DCA07-DEC-179 by Alan Fallik, City of Hollywood, Florida, tabled.

 

Committee Action:

Question - Does section 3109 of the Florida Building Code, Building, prohibit a space which is located below the lowest structural horizontal member (refer to section 3109.3) and above the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program established base flood elevation (see enclosed diagram), and fully enclosed in accordance with the provisions of sections 3109.4.1 and 3109.4.2 from being used for commercial purposes?

 

Answer -  yes, the lowest horizontal structural members must be set at or above the elevation established by FDEP report titled 100 Year Storm Elevation Requirements for Habitable Structures Located Seaward of a CCCL.  All Occupancy classifications except S and U shall be prohibited in this space.

 

Staff Recommendation:

Question - Does section 3109 of the Florida Building Code, Building, prohibit a space which is located below the lowest structural horizontal member (refer to section 3109.3) and above the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program established base flood elevation (see enclosed diagram), and fully enclosed in accordance with the provisions of sections 3109.4.1 and 3109.4.2 from being used for commercial purposes?

 

Answer - No, section 3109 does not address or prohibit the use of such space for commercial purposes with the exception that the space may not be used for living, sleeping, eating or cooking (i.e. residences, hotels and restaurants) subject to the permit requirements of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

 

 

ISSUE: DCA07-DEC-182. Petitioner seeks a Declaratory Statement concerning wind design for mechanical systems in existing buildings.         

 

Committee Action: 

 

1.         To the question, Are exterior mounted mechanical units (Cooling towers, fluid coolers, etc), which are subjected to wind forces, required to have the mechanical structure and anchorage designed to withstand the applied wind force?, the answer YES, mechanical equipment and supports being replaced during a Level 1 Alteration shall meet the wind design criteria in Section 1609.  of the current edition of the Florida Building Code. 

 

2.         To the question, Are exterior mounted mechanical units (cooling towers, fluid coolers, etc), which are subjected to wind forces, required to have the wind design data on all construction documents?, the answer is YES, information related to wind loads shall be shown on the construction documents.

 

 

ISSUE: DCA07-DEC-183. Petitioner seeks a Declaratory Statement on an interpretation of Section 407.1.2 of the Florida Building Code, Existing Building, concerning wind design for mechanical systems in existing buildings.           

 

Committee Action: 

 

 1a.   To the question, Are the wind forces the mechanical equipment applies to the building, to be determined from the wind design criteria that was in effect when the building was originally permitted, or is the current Florida Building wind criteria for mechanical equipment to be used?, the answer is that mechanical equipment and supports being replaced during a Level 1 Alteration shall meet the wind design criteria of the current code, not the code in effect when the building was originally constructed.  Section 407.1.2 of the Florida Building Code, Existing Building, is not applicable for Level 1 Alterations.

 

1b. To the question, On a Level 1 Alteration, which was permitted when the mechanical equipment was not required to be designed for wind forces, does the new mechanical equipment structure need to be designed for the wind forces?, the answer is YES, the new mechanical equipment structure needs to be designed for wind forces specified in the 2004 Florida Building Code for both the structure and anchorage of mechanical equipment. 

 

DCA07-DEC-194 by Gary Swartz, E-Z Taping System, Inc.

To the question, To the Question does their product, E-Z Fire Tape fall under the scope of Rule 9B-72

 

Answer:    No, Based on Rule 9B-72.010 Definitions, this product falls outside the scope of Rule 9B-72.

 

 

DCA07-DEC-252 by James DiPietro, Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals, proposed to authorize building officials within Broward County to reinstate inactive building permits or re-permit projects subject to permits that have been nullified by passage of time by modifying the language of Section 105.4.1.2, Florida Building Code, Building, through the local amendment process.

 

Committee Action:

Reinstatement of an existing permit is more analogous to a ministerial function, with little or no impact on the identified minimum standards, and for which flexibility should be recognized to allow for an appropriate response to local resources and conditions.  The element of the proposal that relates to reinstatement of expired permits is not an impermissible local amendment.

 

Issue: DCA07-DEC-255.  Withdrawn by petitioner. The petitioner seeks a declaratory statement for installation requirements for a Florida approved garage door relative to fastener and component information and the required applicable factor of safety, when the product is installed to wood vertical jambs used in conjunction with a concrete block building. The petitioner states that the situation they are citing involves fastener and component information in a planned future Florida product approval application, to be submitted by a garage door manufacturer, for a garage door attached to wood vertical jambs used in conjunction with a concrete block building. Additionally, they advise that fasteners associated with garage doors are typically in two categories: 1. Those involved in the garage door assembly, including attachment to the vertical wood jambs, and 2. Those required for building attachment but are not a part of the tested garage door assembly, i.e. those attaching the vertical wood jambs to the concrete block.

 

Staff Recommendations: Staff provides following for consideration:

 

Question One: Will Product testing per ANSI/DASMA 108 qualify all of the door assembly components, including fasteners attaching the garage door assembly to the vertical wood jambs?

 

Answer: No, the door assembly components, including fasteners attaching the garage door assembly must be provided with documentation that demonstrates that they meet the material requirements of the code sections 1714.5.4.1 which require anchoring systems to provide equal or greater anchoring performance to the manufacturers installation instructions, as demonstrated by accepted engineering practice.

 

Question Two: Will engineering analysis qualify the jamb-to-building frame fasteners if sufficient factor of safety is demonstrated ? (emphasis added)

 

Answer: Yes. Section 1714.5.4.1 of the FBC, requires anchoring systems to provide equal or greater anchoring performance to the manufacturers installation instructions, as demonstrated by accepted engineering practice. (emphasis added) 

 

 

DCA07-DEC-269 by Emil Veksenfeld, PE

Deferred for further information.

 

 

Issue: FL 9024 Referral to Structural TAC from Product Approval POC- FL9024 Referral to Structural TAC from Product Approval POC

Modulous of Elasticity (MOE) – Whether the test needs to be done on the OSB or the “Agriboard” Composite?  Recommend the product be approved.  There is no specific information in the Florida Building Code or the reference material (including reference standards), to show that the MOE has to be done on the component (OSB) or the composite “Agriboard”