Advancing Stronger Building Codes
IBHS CODE PROPOSALS ADOPTED
A major priority for IBHS is to drive better roof design, installation, repair and replacement practices – as well as improving roofing material standards – with the
goal of “getting the roof right” across the
country. The roof is the first line of defense against extreme weather events,
and it also is the most vulnerable component on any building. The best, fastest path to significantly reducing property losses is by focusing first on roofs. The
Institute made important progress on
this front in 2013, with adoption of three
roof-related model code proposals by the
International Code Council (ICC); all three
will be included in the 2015 International
Residential Code® (IRC).
All three IBHS proposals address roof
cover underlayments or recognize methods for sealing the roof deck – an effective way to reduce interior water damage
All three
IBHS
proposals
address
roofing
issues
14 Disaster Safety Review | 2013
when roof cover is damaged or lost. The
IBHS proposals:
• clarify the installation and use of
certain underlayments that can be
used as an effective method for sealing
roof decks;
• consolidate underlayment
requirements for all roof covering
types in one section of the code to
make them easier to find; and
• lower the wind speed threshold
triggering the enhanced
underlayment provisions from 120
mph to 110 mph, so that more areas
of the country prone to high winds
will be covered by the underlayment
requirements.
In other action at the ICC this year, IBHS
joined several organizations and individuals in opposing a proposal that would
have undermined a minimum fire safety
requirement in the IRC. The proposal
110
mph
120
mph
sought to exclude attic vents from the
fire separation requirements of the code,
which could have allowed vents to be installed too close to property lines and
facilitated the spread of fire between
houses.
This is the first three-year IRC amendment
cycle during which code proposals based
on IBHS Research Center laboratory testing were proposed. And we believe that
their acceptance signals even more success in the future as we advocate sciencebased best practices for residential and
commercial construction and retrofitting.
MIDTERM UPDATE TO
RATING THE STATES REPORT
IBHS released a midterm update to its
Rating the States report in August, which
reviewed the progress that the 18 most
hurricane-prone coastal states along the
Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast
have made in strengthening their residential building codes, since the original
report was released in January 2012. In
a positive development, the review concluded that half (nine) of the states have
acted to improve their codes, and most
of the states with strong code systems in
place at that time of the original report remain committed to building safety. These
states have updated their codes to the
most recent model building codes, and in
some instances, passed legislation to further strengthen code protections. Seven
states have taken no action, and two have
acted to weaken their code systems.
IBHS plans to issue a new report in 2015,
which will revise the rating for each
state based on actions taken since the
original report. To review the Rating
the States Midterm Update, visit www.
disastersafety.org/building_codes/
rating-the-states_ibhs.