APARTMENT ADVOCATE
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION / NATIONAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING COUNCIL
News Coverage Threatens Use of Wood Construction in Apartments
The use of wood framing continues to be a common practice amongst multi-family developers . In fact , of 8,650 apartment buildings constructed since 2012 , 49 % of those are wood , according to Costar ’ s data . Unfortunately , recent media coverage about apartment fires has cast doubt on whether it is safe to use wood materials in multi-level construction .
NAA remains concerned that the increased media coverage could result in legislated prohibitions on wood construction for all apartment developers and owners . While in actuality , the fires involved isolated incidents on the construction site during the small window of time prior to the sprinkler systems coming online .
Opponents of wood construction , some of which would benefit from the use of other materials , are using the increased media attention to persuade policymakers into curtailing the use of wood in new construction . For example , bills were considered in Maryland and New Jersey legislatures in 2017 . In addition to proposed changes at the state level , the International Codes Council ( ICC ) will consider changes relating to wood construction in the upcoming codes revision cycle . Proposed language may include limitations on wood construction for multifamily properties or the addition of more operational requirements , such as a mandatory fire watch or 24-hour fire department access during construction . It is also possible that the ICC may consider onerous sprinkler requirements beyond the 13R sprinkler system which is the current industry standard . These possible changes are significant as they may eventually be adopted by localities as part of the ICC ’ s model building code . If adopted , these changes will add unnecessary time and costs to multifamily buildings that ulti-
38 | TRENDS • SEPTEMBER 2017 www . aamdhq . org