Industrialized Housing and Buildings
Summary of Building Code Council Meeting August 23, 2001
The Texas Industrialized Building Code Council held its thirty-sixth meeting in the conference room on the 4th floor of the E.O. Thompson Building on Thursday, August 23, 2001. Chairman Gary Purser began the meeting presiding over a quorum of eleven members. At the request of Chairman Purser the election of the chairman and vice chairman was moved to the beginning of the meeting. Michael Seibold was elected chairman and Ruben Salinas was elected vice chairman. Chairman Seibold presided over the remainder of the meeting.
Department Update:
Jimmy Martin, Director of Enforcement, gave a brief update on the status of the IHB program, gave the Council a broad overview of the legislative changes from the last legislative session that affect the Department, and introduced Michael Chisum, the Department's newest general counsel, and Kyle Smith, one of the Department's prosecutors. Mark Egleston, IHB Inspector/Investigator, gave a brief update on the status of complaint cases in the IHB program.
Old Business:
Adoption of 2000 International Codes - The Council voted to adopt the 2000 International Codes as proposed in the April 13, 2001 edition of the Texas Register with one amendment. The adoption of the 2000 International Residential Code (IRC) is to be adopted with the 2001 Supplement (2001 amendments). The change is necessary due to the passage of SB 365 by the 77th Texas Legislature. SB 365 adopts the 2000 IRC, as it existed on May 1, 2001, as the residential building code for all residential construction (construction of one and two family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings not more than 3 stories high) in the State of Texas. Michael Chisum, the Department's general counsel, interprets this to include the 2001 Supplement to the IRC, published in March 2001. The effective date of adoption of the 2000 International Codes under the Texas IHB program is February 20, 2001. The effective date for adoption of the 2000 IRC for residential construction in the State of Texas by SB 365 is January 1, 2002. The Council instructed the Department to inform all manufacturers that residential modules must conform to the requirements of the 2000 IRC with 2001 Supplement by January 1, 2002, to ensure acceptance by local municipalities.
Addition of accessibility reviewer to criteria for approval of design review agencies (update) - Donna Lipke, Manager of the Texas IHB program, informed the Council that the rule change adopting the requirement for design review agencies (DRA's) to have an accessibility reviewer on staff became effective June 13, 2001. The revision requires the accessibility reviewer to have a degree in engineering or architecture or service equivalent, to have 1 year of experience in the performance of accessibility reviews, and to pass the Texas Accessibility academy with a passing grade of 80% or higher. In accordance with Council instructions at their meeting of September 21, 2000, all DRA's came into compliance with this requirement as of July 1, 2001.
FoamNail Adhesive approval (update) - At their meeting of September 21, 2000, the Council refused to approve the use of FoamNail adhesive as an alternate to mechanical fastening of gypsum board to wood members and suggested that the company pursue a code evaluation report on their product. A code evaluation report on FoamNail adhesive was issued by ICBO on May 1, 2001. The evaluation report limits the use of the adhesive to nonbearing interior or partition walls and ceilings.
Update on pursuit of evaluation report by Sunrise Housing for one-hour floor/ceiling assembly - Joey Dawson with Sunrise Housing updated the Council on the status of the code evaluation report on the one-hour floor/ceiling assembly used in the construction of their modular apartment complexes. At their meeting of February 3, 2000, the Council approved the use of the floor/ceiling assembly as tested by Southwest Research Laboratories. At that time Sunrise indicated that they were also pursuing a code evaluation report on the assembly. Mr. Dawson informed the Council that he expected the report to be issued by ICBO within the next couple of months. The report was held up approximately 6 months because Sunrise had the assembly retested with plywood decking so that they would have the option of using either plywood or OSB.
Gypsum used as a compression strip (update) - At their meeting of September 21, 2000, the Council approved the use of gypsum board as a compression strip in accordance with section 802.5 of the 1998 International One and Two Family Dwelling Code provided that substantiating calculations are provided and that the calculations take into account the temperature and humidity conditions where the building will be located. Donna Lipke informed the Council that the Department requested a clarification of this section from both ICBO and SBCCI. Both ICBO and SBCCI indicated that any material that could be shown by calculations to have the required compressive strength for the normal environmental conditions for the installation site of the building would be an acceptable material for a compression strip.
Attachment of Gold Bond gypsum ceiling board parallel to roof framing members fastened mechanically (update) - At their meeting of September 21, 2000, the Council approved the application of Gold Bond gypsum board parallel to the roof framing members attached with mechanical fasteners provided written authorization was obtained from the manufacturer of Gold Bond. Until such authorization is received, Gold Bond can only be attached parallel to the roof framing members with FoamSeal adhesive in accordance with evaluation report #NER-496. Donna Lipke informed the Council that the Department had written to National Gypsum, the manufacturer of Gold Bond, requesting this authorization and that no response had been received.
New Business:
Request for exemption of Combex/Westhem sandwich panels from regulation under the IHB program - The Council denied a request from Michael Alexander, representing PDG Consulting Engineers, and Ira Gillam, representing Combex/Westhem, for exemption of the sandwich panels manufactured by Combex/Westhem from regulation under the Texas IHB program. The panels consist of a mineral wool core with fiberglass skin and 2 X 4 top plate. Some panels contain embedded electrical boxes and conduit. The Department had informed them that this panel would fall under the IHB program based on Article 5221f-1, Industrialized Housing and Buildings Act, and past decisions of the Council. At their meeting of August 7, 1986 the Council advised that sandwich panels with a code evaluation report and without hidden systems are not required to fall under the Texas IHB program. At their meeting of January 23, 1996, the Council determined that sandwich panels containing electrical conduit fall under the Texas IHB program.
Changes to Council stamp of approval - The Council voted to approve changes to the Council stamp of approval as recommended by the Department. The changes were proposed due to adoption of the 2000 International Codes and the codification rewrite of the IHB Act. The code designations on the stamps are to be changed from UBC, SBC, and OTF to IBC (International Building Code) and IRC (International Residential Code). The codification rewrite of the IHB Act changes the designation of the Act, i.e., the IHB law will no longer be referred to as Article 5221f-1. However, the codification rewrite does not go into effect until June 1, 2003. To avoid future changes to the design of the stamp the text on the original Council stamp of approval is to be changed to eliminate reference to the chapter or article designation number of the Texas Industrialized Housing and Buildings Act. The stamp will now read "This document is approved pursuant to the Texas Industrialized Housing and Buildings Act."
Clarification of submittal and code requirements for membrane roof coverings - The Council set guidelines for plan reviews and inspections of buildings utilizing membrane roofing systems. Those guidelines are as follows. Design review agencies (DRA's) shall review calculations, construction documentation, and specifications for conformance to the listing on the roofing system and applicable code sections in chapter 15 of the 2000 International Building Code (IBC). Acceptable listings include code evaluation reports, UL listings, FM listings, or listings from other recognized agencies approved to evaluate and list such systems. The listing report or information shall become a part of the approved documents. Third party inspectors (TPI's) shall inspect to the approved documents in accordance with Texas in plant inspection procedures. TPI's shall assure that component parts of the roofing system are identified in accordance with requirements of the listing and shall assure that the installer of the roof system is licensed or approved in accordance with the listing on the system or the manufacturer's installation instructions for the roofing system.
Change in "seismic zone" data on data plates and on the floor plan, cover, or title page of each model or project - The Council approved a change to the seismic load criteria required on the building data plate and floor plan, cover page, or title sheet for each model or project. The requirement for a "seismic zone" as part of the load criteria is to be changed to "seismic design category." The 2000 IBC and 2000 IRC require buildings to be assigned a seismic design category, not a seismic zone.
Request to approve use of DC dielectric tester - The Council approved the use of a DC dielectric tester as an alternate to the use of an AC dielectric tester. The applied voltage for testing with a DC tester shall be 1.414 times the value of the equivalent AC test voltage.
Reciprocity, State of Colorado - Donna Lipke informed the Council that the Department has entered into a reciprocity agreement with the State of Colorado for the in plant inspections of modular units.
Reciprocity, State of Nebraska - The Council was not inclined to enter into a reciprocity agreement with the State of Nebraska. Nebraska in plant inspectors work directly for the state and are not required to meet any code certification requirements to be qualified as an inspector. Texas inspectors have code certification requirements that must be met before they may be approved to perform in plant inspections.
Changes in criteria of approval for third party inspectors due to passage of SB 5 - The Council approved a change to the criteria for approval of third party inspectors to require additional code certifications. A third party inspector will now need to be certified through SBCCI, ICBO, or BOCA as a "Residential Energy Plan Examiner/Inspector" AND a "Commercial Energy Inspector." These certifications are in addition to those already required by the criteria for approval of third party inspectors. The Council did not specify a date for compliance at this time other than to indicate that inspectors would need to comply as soon as practicable. The Council will decide if other directions are needed, or other actions need to be taken, to bring third party inspectors into compliance at the time of their next meeting. The Council typically meets a minimum of once a year. This change was made necessary by passage of SB 5 by the 77th Texas Legislature. SB 5 adopts the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the energy conservation chapter of the 2000 IRC as the energy codes for the state of Texas. This bill further requires code-certified inspectors to perform inspections. A code certified inspector is defined by the Act as an inspector who is certified by one of the major code groups to have met the minimum standards for interpretation and enforcement of requirements of the IECC and the energy conservation chapter of the IRC.
Approval of third party inspectors, third party inspection agencies, and design review agencies - The Council granted approval to the following individuals as third party inspectors: for Hillborn, Werner, Carter and Associates, Jerry Thomas Brooks (IHI-126), Gilbert Britt Minor (IHI-128), and Robert Stults (IHI-132); for NTA, Inc., Elizabeth Rousar (IHI-131) and Kevin Willett (IHI-122); for PFS Corporation, Adam Holman (IHI-127), Richard Holman (IHI-124), Frank Schultz (IHI-125), and Don A. Tibbets (IHI-123); for Progressive Engineering, Evor F. Johns (IHI-130); and for TR Arnold & Associates, Randall Hicks (IHI-121) and Lloyd Montgomery (IHI-129). Pyramid1, Inc was also approved as a third party inspection agency (IHIA-14) and as a design review agency (IHDRA-19).
