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Canadian Builder, 18, 2, pp. 23-25, 1968-03-01
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1968 Revisions to the residential standards
Hansen, A. T.
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NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF CANADA
DIVISION OF' BUILDING RESEARCH
1968
REVISIONS
TO THE
RESIDENTIAT
STANDARDS
by
A. T. HANSEN
REPRINTED FROM
CANADIAN BUILDER, VOL. XVIII, NO. 2
FEBRUARY 1968. P, 23
TECHNICAL PAPER NO. 271
OF THE
DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH
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NRC 10035
Price l0 cents
OTTAWA, MARCH 1968
Here are the latest annual revisions
to the Residential
Standards
By A. T. HANSEN Research Officer. Division of
Building Research, NRC. Following the usual practice of the NRC Associate Committee on the National Building Code, all comments that have been received during the past year relating to the Residential Standards have been reviewed. This has resulted in the issuing of a num-ber of revisions to the standards-the fifth series of such revisions since the Residential Standards were first issued in January 1965. As in previous years this year's amendments have been is-sued separately as revisions. In addi-tion, it has been decided to reprint the whole document, incorporating all revisions. Over one hundred items are included in the revision series. A1-most two thirds of these are essentially editorial changes or are up-datings of reference standards and specifications. Of the remainder, there are a num-ber of changes that should be brought to the attention of those usins the Standards.
This paper has been prepared to acquaint the users of the Standards with the more significant changes. In the following list the clause and page number in the 1965 issue of the Standards, affected by the change, is
The 1968 revisi,ons of the Residential Standards, which be-come effective for all Central Mortgage and Housing Corp. loans on or after April 1, 196E, include more than 100 items. In this special article for Ca-nadian Builder, Mr. A. T. Han-sen, Research Officer, Division of Building Research, reviews the more significant changes.
shown in brackets. The page num-bers may or may not correspond to those in the newly printed ver.sion. (These revisions will become effective for all CMHC loans approved on or after 1 April 1968 but NHA borrow-ers may apply the revisions immecii-ately at their discretion.)
1. Laundry Areas (2 L(a), p. 15) All laundry areas must now have at least 50 sq. ft. of space with a minimum dimension of 5 ft. The former requirement permitted 35 sq. ft. in front of the tub and required a minimum 5 ft. 0 in. clearance in front of the tub.
2. Access Hatches for Apartment Buildings (2 O(4) and (5), p. t 6) Where access hatches to roof areas
are provided they must be at least I ft. 10 in. by 3 ft. Access hatches into apartment building attics have been reduced in size to I ft. 10 in. by 3 ft. so that they can be fitted between framing members spaced 24 in. o.c.
3. Fire Separations in Houses (4H, p . 2 2 )
Three new clauses have been added to this section to bring it into closer agreement with requirements for apartment buildings. Where a fire separation is required to be noncom-bustible, it must also be supported by noncombustible construction. Conr-bustible construction supported by a noncombustible fire separation must be so constructed that if it collapses it will not cause the fire separation to collapse. In addition, wooden mem-bers are not permitted to penetrate through a noncombustible fire separa-tion but must have at least 4 in. thickness of masonry protection.
4. Fire Separation between Apart-ment Buildings (4 J, p. 23) This subsection has been rewritten to bring it into closer agreement with Part 3 of the National Building Code. Essentially, the changes to existing re-quirements will be that non-loadbear-ing exterior walls more than 30 ft. from the lot line or center line of a street or lane are no longer required to have a 3/4 hr. fire resistance. In addition, loadbearing walls in two-storey apartment buildings up to 4 ft. from the lot line must have a one-hour fire resistance even if they are non-combustible. Loadbearing walls in such buildings, 4 to 8 ft. from the lot line, must also have a one-hour fire resistance even though they may be of heavy timber construction or noncom bustible construction.
5. Sprinkler Systems and Standpipe and Hose Systems (4 N, p. 24) Additional requirements have been added to bring the Standards into closer agreement with the National Building Code. Standpipe and hose systems must be provided in every building exceeding 10,000 sq. ft. in ground floor area, or exceeding 3 storeys or 40 ft. in height unless the building is sprinklered. AII such sys-tems must be designed and installed in accordance with Part 6 of the M R . H A N S E N
National Building Code.
6. Firc Alarm Systems (4 O, p. 24) This subsection has also been com-pletely revised to bring it into agree-ment with Part 3 of the National Building Code. Fire alarm systems are now required in all apartment buildings providing sleeping accom-modation for 10 or more people un-lcss the building is two storeys in height, and each dwelling unit has an exit door, at or near grade, or a balcony having an access to the ground. Smoke detectors and fire alarm systems must be designed and installed in accordance with the re-quirements in Parts 3 and 6 of the National Building Code. Previous re-quirements specified a manually op-crated alarm system only in buildings over three storeys where there were more than eight bedrooms (sleeping accommodation for 16).
7. Sound Control (5 A and B, p. 26) The entire section on sound con-trol is now intended to be manda-tory for users of Part 9 of the Na-tional Building Code. Previously this section appeared in light type indi-cating that it was not intended as a Building Code requirement. This has now been changed to heavy type.
8. Foundation Walls (8 D(a), p. 30) Where foundation walls are reduced in thickness at the top to accommo-date a masonry facing, the reduced section no longer needs to be rein-forced if it is more than 24 in. in height.
9. Basement Wall Damp-proofing ( 1 2 E (3), p. 35)
When basement walls are finished to enclose habitable space, the damp-proofing required on the inside of the wall (either polyethylene, or bitumi-nous coating) must not extend above grade. This is to allow moisture that may find its way into the furred wall space to escape.
10. Mortar mix for Concrete or Sand Lime Brick (Table 14A, p. 37) The present table does not list a mortar mix incorporating masonry ce-ment for use with concrete or sand-lime brick. A note has been added to pcrnrit a mix of 1 part masonry cement to 3 parts of aggregate to be used with such units.
11. Rough Stone Yeneer (14 L(3), p . 4 1 )
An additional sentence has been added to permit rough stone veneer tf.project l/3 the bed width over the supporting base. Previously this
pro-jection was limited to I in.
12. Chimney Liners (15 D(4), p. 44) Chimneys with a wall thickness of lVz in. or more are no longer re-quired to have the space between the liner and surrounding masonry filled with mortar. Where the wall thick-ness is less than 7/z in. this space must not be filled with mortar.
13. Chimney Height (15 E@), p. aa) There has been some confusion in the past as to whether the chimney height above the roof should be meas-ured from the top of the flue liner or from the top of the chimney cap. The Standards have now been clarified to indicate that the chimney height may be measured from the top of the flue liner, provided that not more than 8 in. of the liner is assumed in con-tributing to the height. This could mean a saving of about 3 courses of brick in some cases.
14. Fireplacc Smoke Chamber (16 G, p. 46)
The smoke chamber above the firc-place damper must be protected with 3/a in. of fire clay mortar or with a tapered clay liner. The wall thickness of this charnber must conform to the requirements for ordinary chimneys. 15. Lumber Grades (Table 17A, p.
48)
A number of western luntber as-sociations have recently revised their grading rules to include a number of "stud" grades. Table l7A has been revised accordingly to include these grades.
16. Loadbearing Stud WaIIs (Table 1 7 8 , p . 5 1 )
Table 17B has been extended to include stud requirements for walls supporting full attic storage plus three floors, and for walls supporting a roof load plus 3 floors. These loading con-ditions can be encountered in 3-storey wood-frame apartment buildings. Such studs must be at least 2 by 6 in. ma-terial spaced not more than 12 in. on centres.
17. Wall Plates (17 L, p. 52)
Single top plates are now permitted in loadbearing walls provided that any concentrated loads on the plate are within 2 in. of the supporting studs. The joints in such plates, however, must have a sheet metal or wood splice plate.
18. Wood Lintels (17 M(2), p. 52) Lintel members must be fastened together with 2 rows of 3/a in. nails spaced 18 in. apart along each row. 19. lVall Sheathing (17 Q(l), p. 55)
In a number of cases sheathing is used even where it is not required in Residential Standards. either for con-venience in closing in the building or providing protection to the sheathing paper. If sheathing is used but is not required, it no longer has to meet the thickness and materials specifications now listed.
20. Garage lVall Insulation (20 C(4), p . 5 9 )
Where an attached garage is ad-jacent to the house foundation wall, thc portion exposed to the garage need not be insulated it it is less than 3 ft. in height. As a matter of in-terest it should be noted that the insulation requirements &ro now €X-pressed in terms of Units of Resist-ance ("R" values) rather than in "LJ" values. Although the terminology has changed, the thermal requirements are the same.
21. Friction Fit-Typc Insulation (20 E, p. 60)
Batt-type insulation without any paper facing or backing must be in-stalled so that at least one face is in contact with the cladding, sheathing, or other membrane. Unless the in-sulation is installed in this manner its effectiveness can be considerably de-creased because of air currents through it.
22. Chimney Saddles (21 C(Ll), p.62) Chimney saddles do not have to be installed on chimneys wider than 30 in. if the intersection between the roof and the chimney is protected with sheet metal flashing extending up the chimney to a height equal to | / 6 the width of the chimney (but at least 6 in.). This flashing must also extend up the roof slope to a point equal in height to the flashing on the chimney. Counter flashing over the top of the flashing at the chimney is also required.
23. Stafier Ships on Low-Slope Roofs (2r G(2), p. 63)
Starter strips on low-slope roofs must consist of 18 in. wide mineral surfaced roll rooflng and must be cemented to the roof by an 8 in. wide band of cement. Previously the start-er strip was required to be the same as for conventional shingle applica-tions.
24. Aluminum Siding (22 L(4), p.7l) Sheathing is n,o longer required un-der aluminum siding where the walls enclose unfinished non - habitable space, (such as attic gables).
and (4), p.72)
Stucco may be applied over con-crete masonry without ,a one-month waiting period provided the units have been autoclaved after manufac-ture. Stucco applied over masonry is no longer required to have an 8 in. clearance above gr,ade.
26. Fibreboard Plaster Lat|n (24 E, p . 7 4 )
The entire subsection on fibre-board lath has been deleted. Previous experience with this material indicated that it contributed to plaster cracking problems, and its use over past years has declined to the stage where it has practically disappeared from the mar. ket.
27. Gypsum Wallboard Nailing (24 H(4), formerly 24 \9, p.76) Where the ceiling sheets are sup-ported by the wall sheets around the perimeter of the ceiling, which is the usual case, this support may be con-sidered equivalent to nailing at this location. In a number of cases, there have been reports of nail popping around ceiling perimeters caused by the weight of the ceiling structure pushing down on the nails after the wood has shrunk. The newly per-mitted change should overcome this problem.
28. Linoleum Flooring (Iables 25C and 25D(2), p. 80)
The minimum thickness for lino-leum flooring has been reduced to 0.O80 in. from 0.098 in. This now corresponds to the thicknesses requir-ed for vinyl, vinyl asbestos, and rub-ber. Vinyl flooring with inorganic-type backing is now permitted on concrete floors on ground.
29. Doors for Parking Garages (27 H(2), p. 86)
A new requirement has been added for doors into parking garages. Such doors must be at least 10 ft. wide for one-way traffic and 16 ft. wide for 2-way traffic.
3b'."Balcony Doors (27 I(6), p. 86) Sliding glass balcony doors are now required to be designed so that they will not lock automatically if they lead to balconies above grade. This is to prevent accidental locking which could leave the occupant stranded without any access to the ground or to the dwelling unit.
Comments on the Residential Standards are welcomed by the Associate Committee on the Na-tional Building Code for con-sideration in future revisions. These comments should be sub-mitted not later than I June. 1968. They should be submitted in writing to: The Secretary, Associate Committee on the Na-tional Building Code, NaNa-tional Research Council, Ottawa 7, Ontario.
. ; . !
31. Interior Stair Dimensions (28 C(2), p. 87)
The maximum rise for interior stairs in dwelling units has been reduced from 8 in. to 73/+ in., and the mini-mum run from 8/z in. to 8V+ in. The minimum tread width is now 9/a in. 32. Exterior Stairs (28 G(1), p. 88) All exterior stairs (including porches and landings) must have handrail on all open sides when there are six or more risers to grade level. Previously only one open side had to hale a handrail.
33. Laundry Waste Connection (30 D ( 1 ) , p . 9 1 )
All laundry rooms or spaces must have a waste connection even though a laundry tub is not installed. 34. Warm Air Heating (32 B(5), p.
97\
Wooden brackets may now be used to support heating ducts where 'ilb clearance from combustible construc-tion is required. This would apply to most branch ducts.
35. Garage Foundations (37 C(1), p. 1 0 8 )
Requirements have been clarified to indicate that foundation walls and footings must be installed beneath garage doors even though they sup-port no superstructure load.
36. Fire and Sound Separations (Ap-pendix A, p. 109)
The entire appendix on fire and sound resisting constructions has been revised and should be carefully read to determine the extent of the changes. Except for a few cases, the fire and sound ratings remain essentially
un-changed. In a few cases, however, it was necessary to change the fire re-sistance rating to bring the appendix into closer agreement with Supple-ment No. 2 of the National Building Code. In addition, Appendix A has been extended to include a number of additional constructions previously not listed. Some of the changes in-clude increasing the fire resistance rating of 4 in. clay or shale brick from t hr. to 2 hr.; increasing the sound resistance rating of 4 in. hollow block from III to II (STC 45+) if the wall plus finish has a weight of 40 psf or more; and additional con-structions with 6 in. hollow concrete block. Insulated staggered stud parti-tions with /z in. gypsum board both sides are listed as providing a 3/t hr. fire resistance and a class II sound rating which would permit their use as separating walls in apartment build-ings up to three storeys in height. A number of steel stud wall construc-tions have also been provided.
These, however, are just a few of the many changes in Appendix A. It is urged that those using the Res-idential Standards become familiar with the revised Appendix in relation to their particular construction prac-tices.
37. New Speclfications
A few new standards and specifica-tions have also been added. These include:
ASTM Standard C-I06-61. Refrac-tories for Incinerators.
CSA Specification A172-64, High Pressure, Paper base, Decorative Laminates.
CGSB Specification 12-cP-8, Standard for factory-sealed double glazing units.
CGSB Specification 63-GP-2a, Extruded Aluminum windows, Ver-tical and Horizontal Sliding, medium duty.
CGSB Specification 19-GP-3, Elas-tomeric Chemical Curing Caulking and Glazing compound (gun gr,ade).
CGSB Specification 19-GP-5, Sol-vent release type Elastomeric Caulk-ing and GlazCaulk-ing compound.
CGSB Specification 19-cP-9, Chemical Curing Elastomeric Caulk-ing and GlazCaulk-ing compound (one com-ponen't).
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