Building Codes: Start Here

I-Codes and ADA and local amendments, oh my!

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Everyone's favorite killjoy - building code! Codes are in place to protect occupants of buildings, and like contracts, are all about how to get into one, be safe once you're inside, and get out in case of emergency.

It is said that every line of code is in place because of an actual tragedy that officials are trying to prevent from happening again.

While it may not exactly be true of "every" line of code, horrific incidents like the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City's Greenwich Village did have a large impact on the development of modern building codes. When the factory caught fire, 146 workers died, unable to escape because the exits and doors to the stairs were locked from the outside [to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks].

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, on fire in 1911. [Wikipedia]

Following the fire, NYC passed many new laws and ordinances regarding exits, stairs, doors, locking mechanisms, presence of fire extinguishers, and the like, to prevent such an event from ever happening again - and many of our modern codes have their origins in these measures.

"Building Code" isn't a singular monolith - it's actually a collection of books and codes that stretch into the many thousands of pages. It is administered by each state, so each state has different codes - the logic here is that what's appropriate for California [like seismic stuff] is not really much of an issue for Maine, and stuff that concerns Maine [snow, cold] really isn't an issue for Florida.

That's also why architects - who are responsible for following code with their designs - are licensed by state, not federally. They need to understand the local conditions where they're working.

So let’s dig further in…