Exit requirements still being debated
New commercial building regulations that took effect at the first of the year represent a dramatic departure from the way building construction was regulated in Wisconsin in the past.
While Department of Commerce officials say the changes will have minimal impact on the cost and appearance of buildings, contractors and those footing the bills for commercial buildings need to be aware of some of the new requirements.
The codes were designed to bring Wisconsin’s rules closer into step with those of the rest of the nation. However, people who took part in the code development process refer to some of the provisions as "Wisconsinisms" – portions of the code that will remain more stringent in Wisconsin than in other states.
Fred Stier, president of Waukesha-based Stier Construction, said changes to the code are sweeping – a complete rewrite.
In some ways, according to Stier, the new Wisconsin code is more lenient, for instance, in the areas of restroom capacities and fixtures. But other requirements are new.
"For the first time, we have a seismic code that affects southeastern Wisconsin," Stier said. "Before, we weren’t designing to any particular seismic activity. You will have to prove it meets the seismic code, so in some situations there will have to be some changes in construction."
Like the vast majority of requirements in the new state code, the seismic provision was included in the International Building Code.
According to Stier, whose firm handles some multifamily construction, provisions in the code regarding the number of exits from some multifamily dwellings are still being debated.
"There are different exiting requirements," Stier said. "It used to be that on an eight-family dwelling, you used to have one set of stairs and then balconies as emergency exits. According to the new code, you need two sets of stairs. There are no more ‘jump platforms.’ It makes some existing designs unfeasible where you have a second floor of a townhouse."
A 16-unit townhouse, Stier explained, "would have to have 16 rear staircases to satisfy the code requirements."
According to Michael Corry, Safety & Buildings Division administrator with the Department of Commerce, the requirement for separate staircases is in the administrative rule-making process.
"This was the subject of an emergency meeting last week," Corry said. "They are considering applying this rule to a narrower class of buildings."
The meeting yielded a 60-day emergency rule that would make projects exempt from the new exiting requirement.
""We could go back to the original code or come up with something completely new," Stier said.
The exiting requirements will be discussed at the next meeting of the Multifamily Dwelling Code Council Aug. 21.
While the point of adopting the unified code was to bring Wisconsin more in line with the rest of the nation – streamlining provisions for companies that own or build facilities in multiple states – a few "Wisconsinisms" remain.
"We did have some Wisconsinisms we put in on that because the concern was making it too lenient," Stier said.
Portions of the Wisconsin code pertaining to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) were retained, according to Corry.
"The ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) standards had already been adopted in our previous code," Corry said. But these current standards had not been adopted in the universal code."
Aug. 16, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
