International residential code,
September 19, 2000
Reviewer: A reader from Cotopaxi,
Colorado USA
The new International Residential Code, (IRC),
promises to be an extremly user friendly building code for houses. It has all of
the aspects of construction including construction, plumbing, electrical,
mechanical and even energy codes combined into one easy to use format. There are
sketches galore! For those used to dealing with the previous model codes, this
code will exceed your expectations for its user-friendly nature. There are some
changes to building code requirements to which inspectors and builders are
accostomed. The separation between the house and garage is limited to a single
layer of 1/2" drywall. The alternative building material such as ICF
(insulated concrete form) wall systems and ISP (insulated structural panels) are
now inside the conventional aspects of the code. Certain shear wall provisions
have changed. Footing design can now rely on an assumed 1500 psf minimum soil
bearing pressure. But there are other problems. The seismic map has been hinged
to the postal zip code and consequently, several different seismic zones are
within a single community. Other problems will certainly be resolved by the code
body in the years to come. As ever, changes are slow, but local jurisdictions
will surely allow for these changes locally This Item is available at$47 &
$55 and I don't know the difference.