Publisher’s version / Version de l'éditeur:
Canadian Builder, 13, 1, pp. 57-58, 68, 1963-01
READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/copyright
Vous avez des questions? Nous pouvons vous aider. Pour communiquer directement avec un auteur, consultez la première page de la revue dans laquelle son article a été publié afin de trouver ses coordonnées. Si vous n’arrivez pas à les repérer, communiquez avec nous à [email protected].
Questions? Contact the NRC Publications Archive team at
[email protected]. If you wish to email the authors directly, please see the first page of the publication for their contact information.
NRC Publications Archive
Archives des publications du CNRC
This publication could be one of several versions: author’s original, accepted manuscript or the publisher’s version. / La version de cette publication peut être l’une des suivantes : la version prépublication de l’auteur, la version acceptée du manuscrit ou la version de l’éditeur.
Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at
Housing standards 1963
Hansen, A. T.
https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/droits
L’accès à ce site Web et l’utilisation de son contenu sont assujettis aux conditions présentées dans le site
LISEZ CES CONDITIONS ATTENTIVEMENT AVANT D’UTILISER CE SITE WEB.
NRC Publications Record / Notice d'Archives des publications de CNRC:
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=0c5dacd5-0095-4724-bc90-23894fabe611
https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=0c5dacd5-0095-4724-bc90-23894fabe611
Ser
Tru
N2l_t2
no. 147
c . 2
BI,DCI
NATIONAL RE,SE,ARCH
COUNCIL
CANADA
DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH
HOUSING
STANDARDS
1963
BY
A. T. HANSEN
A N A L Y Z E D
OTTAWA
JANUARY 1963
NRC 7218
lililuilxu
FROM
UILDER
Ft9lrso'p,
-t
P. s-7-s8-68
I
3l
T:J
ER NO. 147
E
NG RESEARCH
REPRINTED
CANADIAN B
TECHNICAL PAP
OF TII]
DIVISION OF BUILDI
V
ruuuurlurruuuu
, / \ / ) . , , ) ' '
-*,,'.C2//i /
ftr?;*
ililtl
PRICE 10 CENTS
Here are the new Housing Standards
as revised for 1963
Early in January, the 1963 edition of Housing Standards was issued under the auspices of the National Research Coun-cil Associate Committee on the National Building Code. All comments on the 1962 edition were reviewed by the Re-vision Committee established by the Associate Committee for this purpose, and changes Io the 1962 Standards were made where appropriate.
The published revisions to the 1962 Standards were incorporated in the 1963 edition as well as a number of interpre-tations which had been issued by the Associate Committee. In addition, a new alphabetical index with many more en-tries has been added which will be of considerable assistance to those using the Standards. References to standards and specifications in the 1963 edition have been up-dated to refer to the latest editions.
The section, "Amendments and Addi-tions", which forms part of the Special Administrative Section in the 1962 blue-covered edition used by CMHC has been dropped in the 1963 edition. Some of the requirements contained in this section have been deleted and others incorporated into the Housing Standards either in an amended form or as they appeared in the 1962 version. As a re-sult of this, there will no longer be any conflict in the technical requirements between those standards used by CMHC or those prepared for use by municipal-ities. Other parts of the Special Admin-istrative Section are reprinted as they were in the 1962 Standards except for a few ediiorial changes.
This article has been prepared as a service to those using the Housing Stand-ards in order to outline the significant changes made in the requirements in the 1963 Standards resulting from comments on the 1962 edition, or as the result of incorporating the additional requirements from the special administration section used by CMHC. The following summary of the changes does not include refer-ence to the many editorial changes that do not affect the intent of former Stand-ards. The page and reference numbers refer to those in the 1963 issue of Housing Standards.
Interior Finish
l.-p. 1,3, Ref. 9. 7. 2. 5. The clause requiring all edges of interior panel type finish to be supported by blocking, fur-ring, or framing has been deleted to permit the commonly accepted practices of installing gypsum board which may
Room Areas and Dirnensions
2.-p. 27, Ref. Table L When built-in cabinets are provided, the minimum area of bedrooms (other than the main bed-room) has been increased from 55 sq. ft. to 65 sq. ft., and the minimum dimen-sion of the room from 5 ft. 10 in. to 6 ft. 6 in.
3.-p. 28, Ref. Table 1. A new note has been added to Table I to the effect that when the required dining space is combined with a kitchen. the minimum dimension between two wall faces, or a wall face and cabinets or appliances, shall not be less than 5 ft. 6 in. for the required 35 sq. ft.
4.-p. 28, Ref. Table II. Table II has been amended to provide that laundry areas above grade have a minimum ceiling height of 7 ft. 0 in.
5.-p. 30, Ref. 3. 35. Requirements for the provision of storage space for cleaning equipment has been deleted. Parking Areas aind Driveways
6.-p. 32, Ref. 3. 50(a). Car parking areas and driveways are no longer man-datory, but provision of a space on the lot for future parking and access to the space must be provided.
7.-p. 33, Ref. 3. 53. Maximum grade restrictions for driveways have been re-moved.
Fire Protectiorn
8.-p. 37, Ref. 4. 1(b). Fire stopping between joists at the ends and over bearing partitions in concealed spaces in wood floors is no longer required.
9.-p. 38, Ref. 4. 243(b). Doors be-tween an attached or built-in garage and a house must be weather-stripped to prevent fumes from the garags entering the dwelling.
10.-p. 38, Ref. 4. 3. The fire separa-tion required between dwellings has been considerably changed for those condi-tions where the house is located 4 ft. or more from the property line. The new requirements state that a wall of a house should not be closer to the lot line than the total width of windows in any one room or combination room facing the lot line if the windows are more than 2 ft. high. If the windows are 2 ft. or less in height, they can presumably be of any length if the house is 4 ft. or more from the lot line. Requirements for buildings less than 4 ft. from the lot line remain about the same. If there are two or more buildings containing dwelling units on the same property line the distances must he measured from an imaginary
11.-p. 44, etc., Ref. Table VI. In the floor constructions listed for various fire endurance ratings, 7e in. phenolic bonded exterior type plywood may be used throughout in lieu of nominal 1 in. finish flooring or nominal I in. subflooring to provide equivalent fire endurance. Exterior Steps
12.-p. 49, Ref. 5. 1(c). Foundations for steps need not be provided unless the steps consist of more than 2 risers and 2 treads. The former requirements permitted only one floating step.
Drain Tile
13.-p. 50, Ref. 5. 3(b). Requirements for perforated bituminous drain tile are now provided.
Damp-Proofing Slabs on Grade 14.-p. 57, Ref. 6. 032(b)(i). when polyethylene film is used beneath slabs on grade for damp-proofing, the film must be at least 6 mil thick unless a building paper is provided to support the film. When building paper is provided the polyethylene film must be at least 4 mil thick. The former requirement was for 4 mil polyethylene without an addi-tional building paper.
Eave Protection
15.-p. 61, Ref. 6. 014. 27(c). Eave protection for roofs is no longer required if low slope shingles are used, or if the roof is over an unheated garage, carport or porch, or where the roof overhang ex-ceeds 3 ft., measured along the slope to the inner face of the exterior wall. In addition, a continuous sheet of 6-mil polyethylene, or two layers of 15-lb. asphalt-saturated felt lapped 19 in. with each lap laid in lap cement, may be used in lieu of 45-lb. roll roofing for eave protection.
Eavestroughs and Downslrouts
16.-p. 62, Ref. 6. 035. Requirements are now provided to regulate the materi-als used for eavestroughs and down-spouts when these items are provided. Interior Stairs
17.-p. 64, Ref. 6. 071(a). Minimtrm width of stairs has been increased from 2 ft. 10 in. to 3 ft. 0 in.
18.-p. 66, Ref. Fig. 8. A 1 in. nosing must now be provided for all closed riser stairs.
Cantilevered Exterior Steps
foundation wall, the foundation wall must be at least 8 in. solid concrete. Exterior Doors
20.-p. 68, Ref. 6. 082. 1. Exterior wood doors of l3/e in. tr'ickness are per-mitted only for other than the required entrance, and only if they are 2 ft. 8 in. or less in width and are of solid core, or of stile and rail construction. Wood combination or storm doors may also be l/g in. minimum thickness. All other ex-terior wood doors must be at least 13/q in. thick.
Garages and Carports
21.-p. 69, Ref. 6. 082. 3. Require-ments for garage doors have been in-cluded for the first time.
22.-p. 69-70, Ref. 6. 091, 6. 092. Re-quirements for garage and carport con-struction are now included. These in-clude requirements for foundations, floors and
superstructure-Rough Stone Veneer
23.-p.74, Ref. 6. 124. Thickness re-quirements for rough stone veneer are now included. Rough stone veneer must have a minimum thickness of 6 in. on the bed. The minimum thickness for sawn or cast s:one remains at 3s/s in. Lumber Grade Marking and Tolerances 2 4 . - p . 7 6 , R e f . 6 . 1 3 0 . 4 . G r a d e marking of lumber is confirmed as a mandatory requirement. Grade marking of 2 in. lumber is considered to be a Building Code requirement while for 1 in. lumber it is considered as "non-Code" requirement. Provision for scant size lumber is also included. These re-quirements state lumber more lhan 5Vo scant of Canadian Standard sizes will be rejected. Lumber scant 27o or less will be considered full size. Lumber scant more than 2% but not more than 5Vo may be used if the joist and rafter spans are decreased 57o from those listed. Wall Framing
25.-p. 79, Ref. Table XIV. Table XIV has been extended to include re-quirements for maximum unsupported height of load bearing stud walls. These heights vary from 10 to 14 feet depend-ing on stud spacdepend-ing, dimension, and loading condition.
26.-p. 80, Ref. 6. l3l. 419(d) and (e). Wall plates over lintels in load-bear-ing walls need not be doubled if the plate forms a tie with the wall sections at either end of the lintel; or may be omitted entirely if the lintel wall section is tied to adjacent wall sections with 3 in. x 6 in. x 20 ga. galvanized steel strapping, or 1 in. x 4 in. x 12 in. wood splice nailed at each end with three ZVz in. nalls.
27.-p. 80, Rcf. 6. 131. 419 (f). The bottom member of a doubled top plate
may be spliced in a space between studs if a load does not occur in that space. 28.-p. 80, Ref. 6. lfl. 419(h). As an alternative to lapping the corners of the top plates at intersections in load-bearing walls and partitions, a tie con-sisiing of 3 in. x 6 in. x 20 ga. gal-vanized sheet steel may be used with at least three 2r/z in. nails to fasten the tie at each end.
Roof Framing
29.-p. 83, Ref. Table XVIII. Table XVIII, which describes nailing require-ments for roof and ceiling framing, has been amended to include alternative pro-visions for end nailing rafters to the ridge with two 3r/z in. nails in lieu of toe nailing. In addition provisions have been made to permit the offsetting of rafters by a nominal 2 in. provided the ridge board is not less than 3/q in. thick.
30.-p. 83, Ref. 6. l3l. 53. When rafters on roofs with slopes of 3/12 or less transmit a portion of the roof load to the ceiling joists by means of dwarf walls, the ceiling joist spans must not exceed the spans listed for roof joists. This is essentially the same requirement that appeared in the 1958 Housing Standards.
31.-p. 83, Ref. 6. l3l. 54. When the roof ridge is required to be supported, the supports must be vertical.
32.-p. 84, Ref. Table XIX. Table XIX listing nailing requirements for rafters and joists when the ridge is un-supported, has been extended to permit a reduction in nailing for roof loads of less than 50 psf. Nailing for roofs with loads of 50 psf or greater is the same as shown in Ihe 1962 Standards. Nailing for 40 psf roof loads is reduced 20Vo and for 30 psf 40Vo in relation to the 1962 requirements. In no case, however, is the number of nails less than three. Subfloors
33.-p. 86, Ref. 6. 131. 611(b). Two-inch annular grooved nails are now re-quired to fasten 3/q in. plywood sub-floors if resilient flooring is to be in-stalled without a separate underlay. The former requirement was 13l+ in. annular grooved nails.
WalI Sheathims
34.-p. 88, Ref. 6. 131. 630(b). Re-quirements for the use of 5/16 in. tr'ick particle board wall sheathing are included for the first time. Particle board is con-sidered in the same category as fiber' board and gypsum board as far as nail holding power is concerned.
Roofing
35.-p. 94, Ref. 6. 143. Underlayment is no longer required beneath wood shingles.
36.-p. 95, Ref. 6. 143. 231.
Under-layment is no longer required beneath roof shakes on Vancouver Island and the coastal areas of British Columbia, west of the coastal range and south of the 54' N, but including Prince Rupert.
37.-p.96, Ref. 6. 144. 122(c\ Starter strips may be omitted when 851b. roll roofing is applied as eave protection.
38.-p. 100, Ref. table XXVII. Ap-plication of built-up roofing to plywood roof decks is to be the same as is now required over board decking.
Exterior Cladding and Trim
39.-p. 101, Ref. 6. 150. 3. Provisions are now included for the quality and species of wood to be used as exterior wood trim. Trim must be one of the species mentioned in clause 3. 1 of C.S.A. Specification 0132.3-1960 with defects limited to those listed in clause 3. 2 of the same specification.
40.-p. 101, Ref. 6. 150. 4. Require-ments for cladding for ceilings for car-ports, galleries and porches, and eave soffits are provided. When installed such cladding is to consist of at least 7e in. lumber, /+ in. plywood, 7+ in. hardboard, or Ve in. asbestos cement board pro-vided supports are not more than 24 in. on centres. These are the same require-ments as were specified in the 1958 Hous-ing Standards.
Stucco Reinforcing
41.-p. 107, Ref. 6. 157. 3(a). Nailing requirements for stucco reinforcing has been changed to permit the nailing of l6-, 17- and 18-ga. reinforcing with nails spaced 6 in. vertically and 16 in. horizontally, or 4 in. vertically and 24 in. horizontally, or 16 nails per sq. yd. of wall surface.
Interior VYaII Cladiding and Trim
42.-p. 113, Ref. 6. 168. Require-ments for interior wood and metal trim when used.are now specified. These in-clude requirements for priming steel trim and treating aluminum trim in contact with masonry, plaster, mortar or con-crete to prevent corrosion, and require-ments for limiting the moisture content of wood trim to 127o.
43.-p. 114, Ref. 6. 169. Walls sur-rounding a bathtub or shower must now be protected with ceramic, plastic, or metal tile, sheet vinyl, linoleum, or treated hardboard for a height of 6 ft. above the shower floor. 4 ft. above the rim of a tub with shower, or 16 in. above the rim of a tub without a shower. Finish Flooring
44.-p. 116, Ref. Table XXXVII. Table XXXVII of nailing requirements for wood strip flooring has been revised to include provisions for nailing of /z in. thick flooring with 2 in. flooring nails spaced not more than 12 in. o.c.
45.-p. 117, Ref. 6. 174. Require-ments for carpeting (when used in lieu of other floor finishes) are now included. Glass Thichess
46.-p. 117, Ref. Table XXXVII. Table XXXVIII of allowable glass thick-ness has been extended to include re-quirements for glass thickness in storm or combination doors. Eighteen-ounce glass is not permitted, 24-oz. glass may be used for up to 60 united inches and 32-oz. glass may be used for up to 80 united inches. This is the same as speci-fied in the 1958 Standards except for the 32-oz. glass.
Painting
47.-p. 118, Ref. 6. 192(a). This sec-tion has been clarified to indicate that plaster in bathrooms, kitchens and laun-dry areas need not be painted.
Plumbing Fixfures
48.-p. 119, Ref. 6.245. A new speci-fication has been included to cover stainless steel plumbing fixtures.
Masonry Ties
49.-p. 119, Ref. 6. 343(b). Strap ties of Ve in. width 28-ga. will 1s1 be,per-mitted except for masonry veneer. Door Hardware
50.-p. 120, Ref. 6.351. Requirements for door hardware have been consider-ably changed. Briefly they include a re-duction of hinge size for interior doors from 3Vz in. x 3Vz in. to 3 in. x 3 in. Minimum hinge thickness is required to be 0.08 in. for interior door hinges and 0.10 in. for exterior door hinges. Ex-terior hinges must be either stainless steel or solid bronze or ferrous material suitably treated to resist corrosion. Bronze hinges must be of the ball-bearing type. Interior hinges may be of the same materials or may be of the ferrous type that have been suitably plated and need not have ball bearings. Window Hardware
51.-p. 120, Ref. 6. 352. Material for window hinges must conform to the
same requirements as for exterior door hinges.
Allowable Lumber Grades
52.-p. 125, Ref. Table XXXIX. Ta-ble XXXIX of the allowed grades of lumber for various end uses has been revised and a number of changes made. This table should be examined in detail to determine all of the changes in allow-able grades. Briefly, however, some of the changes include the following. The minimum gra.des of lumber for roof trusses must be at least as high as those required for rafters and joists. Nonload-bearing studs may be a grade lower than required for load-bearing studs. Some grades for load-bearing studs have been raised. Allowable grades for posts and beams are generally higher. Roof sheath-ing and subfloorsheath-ing grades have also been increased. Wall sheathing may be reduce.d by one grade where it is not required as a nailing base.
Polyethylene Film
53.-p. 126, Ref. 6.68(b). A reference to a specification for polyethylene film has now been provided (CSA 216l.l-T). Heating Ducts
54.rp. 132, Ref. Table XLI. Table XLI, listing:metal thicknesses for ducts, has been extended to include thick-nesses for tin plate. In addition, the former table for round ducts not closed in partitions now refers to en-closed ducts as well.
Domestic Hot Water Heaters
55.-p. 145, Ref. 7.65. Temperature-activated electrical cut-off devices (this does not include regular thermostats) may now be used in lieu of temperature re-lief valves in domestic hot water tanks. Pressure relief valves must also be pro-vided however.
Ventilation l)ucts
56.-p. 151, Ref. 7 .95(c) . When fresh air ducts are provided to the cold air return system, a method common in cer-tain areas of the country to reduce the possibility of condensation in winter, a manually operated damper, may be
in-stalled rather than an automatic damper. Elechical Services
57.-p. 153, Ref. 8.1. Sixty amp elec-trical service is now the minimum that must be provided, regardless of the type of range installed, unless a larger capac-ity is required to service the anticipated electrical loads.
58.-p. 153, Ref. 8.22. Carport light-ing is now required unless sufficient il-lumination is provided by the entrance light.
59.-p. 154, Ref. 8.25. A three-way wall switch is required at the foot and head of a basement or cellar stair con-taining four or more risers if the base-ment or cellar contains a habitable room, exterior entrance or built-in garage.
60.-p. 154, Ref. 8.3. Receptacles are no longer required in bathrooms.
61.-p. 154, Ref. 8.31. Only one du-plex receptacle is now required for the kitchen counter areas.
62.-p. 154, Ref. 8.37. A receptacle which may be combined with the light fixture must be provided for carports. Landscaping anil Site Improvement
63.-p. 155, Ref. 9.1(e). Ground sur-faces with gradients exceeding 6 ft. in
12 ft. must be landscaped or otherwise suitably retained, unless the surface is naturally protected against erosion by existing trees, shrubs, turf, or rock out-crops, etc.
64.-p. 157, Ref. 9.224. Fine soil or other workable material may now be used in lieu of sand beneath precast concrete, or stone walkways.
65.-.p. 157, Ref. 9.3. Only the speci-fied lawn areas need to be sub-graded. Top soil shall be saved from the dis-tributed areas, or shall be imported, and distributed over the disturbed area. Where top soil does not exist but where it is specified, it must be spread 4 in. thick over the area specified.
Thls poper is tr conlribution to the Division of Building Research, Nqtionsl Reseorch Gouncil, Ganadc, ond is publiCred wirh the opprovol of the
