Proposed Research Project

Fire TAC

Reason:

With the adoption of the Florida Building Code - Residential 5^th edition the requirement for fire separation has become more stringent. Essentially projections less than 5 feet from the property line must be rated one hour to the underside and in no case may they be closer than 2 feet from the property line unless every Building in the sub-division is sprinkled (footnote a of table R302.1(2)). This has caused some catastrophic unintended consequences for local jurisdictions, developers and owners. ( note this is a change from section R302.1 exception 6 of the 2010 FBC-R)

Many jurisdictions have approved Planned Unit Developments and they are in various stages of competition. The plans for these PUD’s by the contractors and developers was to maximize the use of the land by means of zero lot line development rendered impossible by this code adoption. Particularly in sub-divisions currently under construction where it is impossible to go back and sprinkle these buildings let alone the financial impact that must be bared by the developer and contractor.

Further the requirement to provide a one hour rating to the underside of the projection less than 5 feet from the property line is problematic do to the fact, to my knowledge, there is no tested system to achieve this rating and the jurisdiction must rely on a prescriptive calculated system.

Townhouse design also becomes problematic because current astatic design often offsets vertically for visual appeal and historically the projections of the eaves extenting over the property line will no longer be permitted by the code.

Requested research:

1. Test the current prescriptive rating requirements for projections to see if they indeed provide 1 hour projection.

2. Research and test alternative methods for equivalent fire resistance.

3. Test the change in this protection as described in the 2015 redline version of the ICC Residential code to determine if this change is equivalent.

4. Research and provide recommendations for townhouse overhangs realizing a townhouse is an attached single family dwelling. Also realizing that the property rights issue regarding the overhang is not part of this research.

5. Investigate alternative means and methods that might be employed by Jurisdictions with current zero line property PUD’s and provide a cost effective method of alternative construction.