We are happy to announce that the new
International Building Code, 2009 Edition (IBC 2009) is available for immediate online access at MADCAD.com.
IBC 2009 has hundreds of technical changes from the requirements of the previous 2006 edition. While some of these changes are editorial in nature and provide a more simplified language or provide clarification for the code’s intent, others are much more significant.
In this article, we will walk you through some of these significant changes in Chapter 10: Means of Egress.
Clicking on the section hyperlinks within the article will provide you temporary access to the new IBC 2009 at MADCAD.com. This temporary access will expire on 5/1/2009. In order to make it easier for you to locate the changes, related keywords will be automatically highlighted using the search feature.
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Photo: Roberto Adrian
According to IBC 2009, sprinklered and non-sprinklered buildings will be treated the same when calculating the minimum egress width. |
1005.1 MINIMUM REQUIRED EGRESS WIDTH
In IBC 2006, sprinklered buildings (other than Group H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4 and I-2 occupancies) were required to have a minimum egress width of 0.2 inches per occupant in stairways and 0.15 inches per occupant in other egress components, while non-sprinklered buildings (other than Group H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4 and I-2 occupancies) were required to have a higher minimum egress width of 0.3 inches per occupant in stairways and 0.2 inches per occupant in other egress components.
IBC 2009 revised section
1005.1 and eliminated the reduction for the minimum egress width in sprinklered buildings. Now, sprinklered and non-sprinklered buildings are required to have a minimum egress width of 0.3 inches per occupant in stairways and 0.2 inches per occupant in other egress components. However, these widths should not be less than specified elsewhere in the code.
1005.3 DOOR HARDWARE ENCROACHMENT
IBC 2009 added the new section
1005.3 to clarify the door hardware encroachment to the means of egress width.
According to the new section, surface-mounted latch release hardware is exempt from the 7 inches maximum projection of a fully opened door. This exemption applies only when the hardware is mounted to the side of the door facing the corridor width when the door is in the open position, and is mounted 34 to 48 inches above the finished floor.
1007.3 EXIT STAIRWAYS
In order for exit stairways to be considered part of an accessible means of egress, IBC requires exit stairways to either incorporate an area of refuge or be accessed from an area of refuge or horizontal exit.
While IBC 2000 and 2003 provided an exception for the area of refuge requirement in sprinklered buildings, IBC 2006 took out this exception and required areas of refuge in sprinklered buildings.
IBC 2009 brought back the exception provided to sprinklered buildings by revising section
1007.3. IBC 2009 also added two additional exceptions to the area of refuge requirement. According to the revised section, Group R-2 occupancy and smoke protected seating areas complying with section
1028.6.2 are exempt from the area of refuge requirement.
1007.8 TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION
IBC 2009 added in section
1007.8 the requirement to provide two-way communication systems at the elevator landing on each accessible floor above and below the story of exit discharge in buildings where areas of refuge are not provided. Floors with exit ramps are exempt from this requirement.
1008.1.2 DOOR SWING
IBC 2009 revised section
1008.1.2 to permit the use of manually operated horizontal sliding doors in the means of egress from spaces with an occupant load of 10 or less in occupancies other than Group H.
1008.1.4.1 REVOLVING DOORS
IBC 2009 revised section
1008.1.4.1 to restrict the use of revolving doors as part of an accessible route.
1008.1.4.4 ACCESS-CONTROLLED EGRESS DOORS
In IBC 2006, the entrance doors in a means of egress in Group A, B, E, M, R-1 and R-2 occupancies were permitted to be equipped with an approved entrance and egress access control system.
IBC 2009 section
1008.1.4.4 added Group I-2 occupancy to the list of occupancies above where entrance doors are permitted to be equipped with an approved entrance and egress access control system.
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Photo: Andrei Malov
IBC 2009 added new conditions where the use of bolt locks is permitted in the means of egress. |
1008.1.9.4 BOLT LOCKS.
IBC 2009 added new exceptions to the restriction of the use of bolt locks in the means of egress.
According to IBC 2009 section
1008.1.9.4, manually operated edge or surface mounted bolts are permitted to be used on the inactive leaf where the pair of doors serves an occupant load of less than 50 persons in Group B, F or S occupancies. The inactive leaf shall not have doorknobs, panic bars or similar operating hardware.
If the pair of doors serves an occupant load more than 50 persons in Group B, F or S occupancies, the building must be sprinklered and the inactive leaf must not be needed to meet egress width requirements in order for the inactive door to receive manually operated edge or surface mounted bolts.
Another exception provided for the use of bolt locks is in Group I-2 occupancy. According to IBC 2009 section
1008.1.9.4, self latching edge or surface mounted bolts are permitted to be used on the inactive leaf where the pair of doors serves patient care rooms in a Group I-2 occupancy and where the inactive leaf is not needed to meet egress width requirements. The inactive leaf shall not have doorknobs, panic bars or similar operating hardware.
1008.1.9.6 SPECIAL LOCKING ARRANGEMENTS IN GROUP I-2.
IBC 2009 added a new section to address the specialized delayed egress locking requirements of Group I-2 occupancy.
According to the new section
1008.1.9.6, approved delayed egress locks are permitted in a Group I-2 occupancy where the clinical needs of persons receiving care require such locking. The requirement for the building to have sprinklers or smoke or heat detection systems are the same as the standard delayed egress requirements of section
1008.1.9.7. However, the unlocking requirements for the delayed egress locking listed in section
1008.1.9.6 are specific to Group I-2 occupancies.
1008.1.9.8 ELECTROMAGNETICALLY LOCKED EGRESS DOORS
In IBC 2009, electromagnetically locked egress doors have been addressed for the first time in the new section
1008.1.9.8.
In Group A, B, E, M, R-1 and R-2 occupancies, doors without panic hardware requirement and tenant doors are permitted to be electromagnetically locked. The lock shall be equipped with listed hardware with a built-in switch that is affixed to the door leaf, has an obvious method of operation, can be operated with one hand, and releases the lock and unlocks the door immediately when operated. The listed hardware shall also automatically unlock the door when there is a loss of power to the hardware.
1008.1.10 PANIC AND FIRE EXIT HARDWARE
IBC 2009 section
1008.1.10 added the requirement for panic hardware to be listed in accordance with UL 305 and fire exit hardware in accordance with UL 10C and UL 305 where installed.
1009.6.1 STAIRWAY WALKING SURFACE
A newly added exception to IBC 2009 section
1009.6.1 permits openings in stair walking surfaces that do not permit the passage of a 1/2 inch diameter sphere. Elongated openings shall be placed with the long dimension perpendicular to the direction of travel.
1009.12 HANDRAILS
IBC 2006 did not require handrails within dwelling units and sleeping units in Group R-2 and R-3 occupancies where a change in room elevation was only one riser.
IBC 2009 section
1009.12 increased the exception for the handrail requirement to three or fewer risers. Handrails are now only required within dwelling units and sleeping units in Group R-2 and R-3 occupancies where a change in room elevation is four risers or more.
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Photo: Anni Franni
Under certain conditions IBC 2009 permits the use of handrails with a perimeter greater than 6-1/4 inches. |
1012.3 HANDRAIL GRASPABILITY
IBC 2009 section
1012.3 introduced a new Type II handrail classification for handrails with a perimeter greater than the 6-1/4 inches limit that can be used in a Group R-3 occupancy, within dwelling units in a Group R-2 occupancy or in a Group U occupancy accessory to a Group R-3 or to individual dwelling units in a R-2 occupancy. Specific set of requirements are outlined in the section for Type II handrails.
1013.3 OPENING LIMITATIONS
IBC 2006 required that guards not have openings which allow the passage of a 4 inches sphere in diameter up to a height of 34 inches. From the height of 34 inches to 42 inches, an 8 inches sphere in diameter was not allowed to pass through an opening.
IBC 2009 section
1013.3 revised the previous 8 inches sphere in diameter limitation to 4-3/8 inches sphere in diameter, this time from a height of 36 inches to 42 inches.
1015.1 EXITS OR EXIT ACCESS DOORWAYS FROM SPACES
IBC 2006 permitted the use of one means of egress in a Group R occupancy if the occupant load of the space was 10 or less.
IBC 2009 section
1015.1 increased the maximum occupant load limit to 20 for one means of egress within and from individual dwelling units in Group R-2 and R-3 occupancies.
1018.4 DEAD ENDS
IBC 2006 permitted the maximum length of dead-end corridors to be 50 feet (the standard maximum is 20 feet) in sprinklered buildings in Group B and F occupancies.
IBC 2009 revised section
1018.4 to also increase the maximum length of dead-end corridors to 50 feet in sprinklered buildings in Group E, I-1, M, R-1, R-2, R-4, S and U occupancies.
1022.8 FLOOR IDENTIFICATION SIGNS
IBC 2009 section
1022.8 added the requirement to provide floor level identification signs in tactile characters complying with ICC/ANSI A117.1 (2003) at each floor landing next to the door leading from the exit enclosure into the corridor.
The revised section also lists the design requirements for the floor level identification signs.
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Photo: Courtesy of Jalite Group
IBC 2009 requires the use of luminous egress path markings in various occupancy groups with special provisions. |
1024 LUMINOUS EGRESS PATH MARKINGS
IBC 2009 added a new requirement to provide luminous egress path markings in the means of egress.
According to the new IBC 2009 section
1024, approved luminous egress path markings shall be provided in buildings in Group A, B, E, I, M and R-1 having occupied floors more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access. IBC 2009 also provides exceptions and detailed requirements for the luminous markings in this section.
1026.2 USE IN A MEANS OF EGRESS
IBC 2006 restricted the use of exterior exit ramps and stairways as an element of a required means of egress for Group I-2 occupancies.
IBC 2009 revised section
1026.2 to restrict only the use of exterior exit stairways for means of egress in Group I-2 occupancies.
