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PLANNING, BUILDING & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT 580 - 1 Street S.E. Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 8E6 Telephone: 529-8374 FAX 502-8038
NEWS LETTER JANUARY 17, 2008
BUILDING THE NEW VERSION OF THE ALBERTA BUILDING CODES WAS INTRODUCED IN OCTOBER OF 2007. COMMENCING MARCH 1, 2008 WE WILL BE ENFORCING THE FOLLOWING CODE CHANGES. PLEASE ENSURE ALL SUB-TRADES ARE MADE AWARE OF THESE CODE REVISIONS. 1) Both two and three stair winders are now acceptable. A two stair assembly, with each stair turning through 45 degrees, or a three stair assembly, with each stair turning through 30 degrees are both acceptable. Winder stairs can turn through no more than 90 degrees and must rotate from a common radius point. 2) If a stair(s) is required in a garage, there must also be a landing provided at the top of these stairs. 3) Handrail requirements have changed. Both interior and exterior stairs require handrails when three stair riser heights are exceeded. A three riser stair does not require a handrail. There must be a wall bracket within 12” of the end of handrails. A guard rail is still required along the open side(s) of interior stairs when a two stair riser height is exceeded. 4) The minimum ceiling height (within a residential dwelling) has been reduced. Ceiling heights need only be 2.1 m (approx 82 ½”) in all living areas. Ceiling heights in unfinished basements need only be 2.0 m (approx 78 ¾”). 5) Minimum glass area (windows), for specified rooms, has been removed from the code. The minimum window size for a bedroom has not changed. 6) The bottom sills of windows, located in stairways, must be a minimum of 36” above the stair or landing or the glass must be tempered, laminated or safety. 7) Riser heights must be continuous through the full flight of a set of stairs. A tolerance of not more than ¼” is allowed. 8) Exterior wood stairs shall not be in direct contact with the ground unless they are suitably treated. 9) Not less than 4” of course clean granular material containing not more than 10% of material that will pass through a 4 mm sieve shall be installed under all floor slabs. This includes basements, garages, carports and accessory buildings. 10) A carbon monoxide detector is required within every building that contains a residential occupancy and also a fuel-burning appliance and/or attached garage. The CO detector must meet CAN/CSA-6.19 requirements. It must be installed at the
height recommended by the manufacturer. It must be within 5 m of bedroom doors. If there are bedrooms on more than one floor level, additional detectors will be needed. If the detectors are electrically operated they cannot have disconnect switches. 11) Public corridors and public stairs must have at least one duplex receptacle for each 10 m length or fraction there of. 12) Except for residential units, each unsprinklered basement shall be provided with direct access to the outdoors. Access can be through a window opening with a sill height of not more than 36” and an opening of not less than 44” x 22” or an interior stair that leads directly to the outside. 13) A crawl space shall not be used as a warm air plenum. 14) If more than one furnace serves a dwelling unit, the return air system for each furnace must be independent. 15) Code requirements for secondary suites within single family dwellings have been revised. These requirements can be found in part 9.37 of the Alberta Building Code, on the city web site or brochures available at City Hall (2nd floor- Planning, Building & Development). 16) Spatial separation requirements are critical. There must be a minimum of 1.2 m (4’0”) between a residential building wall and the property line. There is a maximum limit for window or door openings within these walls (based on a percentage of the wall area). Any walls less than 1. 2 m from the property line must be protected on the inside surfaces (3/4 hour fire resistance rating-minimum). The walls must also have non-combustible exterior finishes (stucco, steel siding etc). If a combustible finishes are used, the outside surfaces of the walls must also be protected (3/4 fire rating- minimum) prior to the exterior wall finish material being installed. Soffits must also be protected in walls that are less than 1. 2 m from the property line. 17) It should be noted the Planning Department requires not less than a 1.5 metre side yard (5’0”). Side yards must meet development permit requirements. 18) The landing for a set of stairs that turns through an angle of 30 degrees but less than 90 degrees must measure not less than 230 mm (9 ¼”) at the inside edge and 370 mm (14 ½”) at the walking path (230 mm (9 ¼”) from the inside edge of the landing). A landing in a straight run interior set of stair that turns through less than 30 degrees must have a minimum length of not less than 860 mm (34½”). A landing in a straight run exterior set of stairs that turns through less than 30 degrees must have a minimum length of not less than 900 mm (36”). A landing in a set of stairs turning though 90 degrees or more must have a depth of not less than the width of the stairs. Stair landings for other than single family dwellings. A straight run landing in a set of stairs turning through less than 30 degrees must have a depth of 1100 mm (44”). A landing in a set of stairs turning through more than 30 degrees must have a depth of not less than the width of the stairs in which it is located.
ELECTRICAL Telus Requirements There appears to be some confusion regarding Telus grounding requirements for single
family dwellings. It is Telus policy that the recommended size of ground wire for single family installations continues to be # 6 insulated wire. It is also Telus policy that the minimum size of ground wire for single family installations, that they will accept, is # 10 insulated ground wire. These requirements are more stringent than what is stipulated by table 59. Reminders Rule 30-308 now calls for all 347 volt fluorescent luminaries, with voltages exceeding 150 volts to ground, to have an integral disconnecting device that simultaneously opens all circuit conductors between the branch circuit conductors and the conductors supplying the ballast(s). Rough-in electrical inspections (prior to drywall) must be called for in a timely fashion for all residential and commercial installations and permits must be taken out prior to commencement of work. Rule 76-016 requires ground fault circuit protection be provided for all 15 and 20 amp receptacles for buildings or projects under construction.
PLUMBING, GAS, WATER AND SEWER Plumbing News Item The new National Plumbing Code of Canada (2005) was adopted on September 1, 2007 and has been enforced since September 2, 2007. You are encouraged to purchase the new code book as there have been numerous changes. The new code is objective based. This code book can be purchased on line at http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca /virtualstore/. There has been a growing concern with people purchasing *non-approved* fixtures off the internet or from out of province. Some of the fixtures are high end and cost the consumer thousands of dollars only to find out they are not permissible for use, as they do not have the proper approvals. We will be monitoring this situation closely to ensure the fixtures are approved for use in Canada. This is a heads up to all contractors. Make sure you know what you are installing. If you suspect a fixture is not approved, please feel free to call us. It’s free! HVAC News There have been some major changes in part 9.32 of the building code in regards to residential ventilation. Specifically, if you install any spillage susceptible appliance (gas furnace, gas water heater, gas dryer, gas or wood burning fireplace) you will be required to install 100% make up air for all exhausting equipment. NOTE: A HRV IS NOT to be used for make up air. The Alberta New Home Warranty Program has developed an infolet for ventilation changes. To order a copy of this info-let phone 1-800-352-8240. Gas News Items We are noticing some gas installers are not installing gastite stainless steel tubing as per installation manual specifications. Please ensure the Design & Installation Manual
section 4.2 Fitting Assembly is followed. Another concern is some installers are not using striker plates where required (refer to 4.4.1 of the same manual). If this continues to occur we will be red tagging the appliance and charging re-inspection fees. Under the Safety Codes Act and the Can/CXSA – B149.1-05 natural gas and propane installation code, the person or company that has been issued a “gas permit” for the installation of an appliance is responsible for all aspects of the installation which includes venting and combustion air.
PLANNING SERVICES As a result of receiving incomplete Development Permit applications, applicants will be required to fill out an application checklist for all R1 and R2 residential applications as of January 2, 2008. This checklist is a reminder that you are aware of all the requirements necessary to thoroughly evaluate your application, and have therefore submitted all required information. A complete package guarantees your application will be processed accurately and in a timely manner. Administrative Staff have been asked to accept only complete applications. If an application is not complete, the applicant will be required to gather the missing information and re-apply once the application is complete. An application that is deemed to be complete will be accepted by Administrative Staff and entered into the system. From there, our Planning Technician will do an initial review and plan check. Once the Planning Technician has completed the initial review, your application will be assigned to a Planning Officer for approval. If any information is missing, or the quality of the submitted information does not meet the standards stated on the application checklist, you will be contacted, and your application will be placed on hold. Once the required changes are submitted, the application will proceed forward. The applicant should therefore ensure that the submitted information is accurate, as any errors or omissions will delay the application. When filling out the checklist please only check off the items that are relevant or applicable to your application. For example, if retaining walls aren't needed on the site, please do not check off the "Retaining walls (existing and proposed)" box. Leave the box blank or mark "N/A" beside it. By implementing the checklist, Planning Services hopes to eliminate the submission of incomplete applications. Please review the attached "R1 & R2 Checklist" and "R1 & R2 Drawing Requirements" files to ensure your applications meet these requirements. These files are attached. If you have any questions please contact Planning Services at 529-8374.
