Compliance Tests
CodeComply.Ai automatically conducts over 60 different code compliance checks, with more in development, helping quickly identify violations. These automated checks include building and fire safety codes, accessibility requirements, and more.
The egress capacity test involves calculating the allowable capacity of each exit in a building, factoring in clear width, and applying the most restrictive egress capacity when components are in series.
The code mandates that occupants within a building must be within a specified exit access travel distance, determined subjectively based on natural paths and furnishings, with measurements taken from a remote point to the center of the exit doorway, curved around corners or obstructions with a 12-inch clearance, terminating at the entry point to egress components leading to exterior discharge, defined as exit access by the IBC.
The code establishes a maximum common path of travel distance that designers must ensure is not exceeded, measured from a remote point to where two distinct paths to exit are available, generally assuming a conservative path of travel; termination occurs where occupants have a choice between two distinct paths to an exit, which must remain remotely located from each other and are determined based on occupancy type, occupant load, and the presence of a sprinkler system, with assembly occupancies in NFPA 101 being dependent on occupant load for common path distance.
The code imposes a maximum dead end distance that designers must adhere to, defining a dead end as a corridor section not directly leading to an exit without a turnaround, limited to the most restrictive occupancy on the floor, with dead end distances determined by occupancy type and sprinkler system presence.
The code mandates that where a floor requires multiple exits, they must be sufficiently distant from each other to reduce the likelihood of obstruction during a fire event, with the distance based on the presence of a fire sprinkler system; while the IBC allows door measurement from any point, NFPA 101 requires measurement specifically from the leading edge of the doorway, with MWF recommending the latter for a more conservative approach.
Most accessibility codes mandate the provision of a turning space in toilet and bathing rooms, typically in the form of a 60" diameter circle or a T-shaped clearance, applicable to all restroom facilities excluding stalls, such as common area restrooms with multiple stalls and lavatories.
The code mandates that exit doors must swing in the direction of egress under certain conditions: NFPA 101 necessitates it for occupant loads of 50 or more, in exit enclosures, and high hazard contents areas, while the IBC requires it for occupant loads of 50 or more and in Group H occupancies.
Doors used in required means of egress must meet specific dimensional criteria, including a minimum clear width of 32 inches measured from the face of the door and the door stop, as outlined in IBC Section 1010.1.1 and NFPA 101 Section 7.2.1.2.3.2, with exceptions based on building occupancy type specified in these code sections.
Accessibility codes mandate a 60-inch wide and 56-inch long clearance around water closets to ensure wheelchair users have sufficient space for transfer, with ADA Standards prohibiting other fixtures within this space except in residential units, where lavatories may overlap with more lenient dimensions; FHA guidelines also permit lavatory overlap as long as the minimum distance between water closet and lavatory side walls is 33 inches.
Doors used in required means of egress must adhere to safety and usability criteria, with the maximum width of a swinging door leaf set at 48 inches nominal according to IBC Section 1010.1.1, while NFPA 101 does not specify a maximum door leaf width.
While it is safest for stairwells to lead people directly to the exterior of the building, interior discharge is permitted by code with certain limitations.
Stair landings must maintain the width of the stairway both perpendicular and parallel to the direction of travel, with the width measured parallel to the direction of travel being a minimum of the stairway width or 48 inches, whichever is less, while doors opening into the stairway must not reduce the landing width to less than half of the required width and cannot project more than 7 inches into the landing, as specified by the IBC.
Within corridors, smoke detectors cannot be located more than 15 feet from any point.
If the fire sprinkler system plan indicates at least one sprinkler head, it is assumed that associated sprinkler heads are necessary. The hazard criteria for each polygon include: 1) Sprinkler branch line distance exceeding 15 feet from adjacent branch line, resulting in inadequate protection area; 2) Sprinkler distance exceeding 15 feet from adjacent sprinkler on the branch line, also leading to inadequate protection area; and 3) Sprinkler distance exceeding 7 feet 6 inches from the wall, again resulting in inadequate protection area.
Fire extinguishers should be located along normal paths of travel and from any point inside the building an occupant should not be required to travel more than the maximum distance to reach an extinguisher.
A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method consisting of a water supply system providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, to which fire sprinklers are connected. The requirement for a fire sprinkler system is based on factors including occupancy, area, and use.
Hazard Criteria of a fire sprinkler system is determined by the contents within a room. Although not a perfect mapping, we can likely infer the Hazard Criteria based on the FoU. Each area is defined as: (1) Light Hazard, (2) Ordinary Hazard (Group 1), Ordinary Hazard (Group 2), Extra Hazard (Group 1), or Extra Hazard (Group 2).
A fire command center is required in high rise buildings. A fire command center is a room dedicated as the Fire Department response point, and serves as the center for their emergency operations.
Plumbing fixture counts, based on space function, permit sharing within specified vertical and horizontal limits; the process involves calculating occupant loads, dividing by gender, applying fixture-specific factors, allowing substitutions, and rounding cumulative totals for multiple occupancies.
Residential units adhering to FHA Design guidelines require a 30”x48” clear floor space adjacent to the shower control wall or adjacent to a bathtub, based on approach, with neither approach necessitating the clear floor space. Transient units under ADA Standards mandate a 30” clearance for the length of the bathtub or specific requirements for showers, including transfer-type, standard roll-in, or alternate roll-in, each with varying clearance specifications.
Generally, occupant egress doors must be pivoted or side-hinged swinging type, with exceptions outlined in IBC Section 1010.1.2 and NFPA 101 Section 7.2.1.4.1; if allowed by exceptions, special purpose horizontal sliding, accordion, or folding doors must comply with specified regulations. The permissibility of horizontal or vertical sliding doors in a means of egress depends on factors such as occupancy type and occupant load, with their use not prohibiting compliance as long as they are not required for egress capacity or travel distance compliance.
The code mandates that all exit doors have exit signs indicating the travel route to the exit, with signs placed in corridors so that no point exceeds 100 feet from an exit sign, as dictated by IBC Section 1013 and NFPA 101 Section 7.10; exceptions to exit sign requirements are outlined in IBC Section 1013.1, while hotels (Group R-1) must install low-level exit signs with specific mounting and height specifications according to IBC Section 1013.2.
Elevator pressurization systems are designed to generate a positive differential pressure such that smoke cannot enter a hoistway to spread freely from one floor to another.