Minutes

Voting Members Present:

Bob Andrews, Larry Banks, Steve Bassett, Joe Crum, Jim Cummings, Elizabeth Goll, Dan Griffin, Gary Griffin, Mike McCombs, Don Pittman, and Pete Quintela. Staff support was provided by Ann Stanton.

Meeting Activities:

The meeting was convened at 10:30 a.m. by Chair Steve Bassett. A quorum of eleven voting members was achieved. The Agenda was approved as read.

The TAC reviewed a request for declaratory statement, DCA08-DEC-112, by Lee Arsenault, The Vintage Group, Inc. DCA08-DEC-112 requested clarification of R303.5 of the Florida Building Code, Residential as to the meaning of the term “outside” and its meaning relative to venting of bathroom exhaust fans in a residential single-family two-story building.

The TAC noted the following relevant facts:

1. The corrugated metal vent extends into the attic cavity and terminates under a continuous soffit. It has no terminal fitting but is propped in place with insulation.

2. There is a non-binding opinion that concludes that the bathroom vent be ducted directly to the outside of the building; it opinion relies on the Mechanical code Commentary.

3. Pictures were shown and described showing dark, presumably mildewed areas, near bathroom exhaust vents in attics.

4. A number of building departments were questioned as to whether they allowed bathroom vents to be terminated in the attic, with most indicating it it was allowed. Testimony indicated that the sample, roughly 7 building officials, was not representative of the majority of building departments in Florida. Many building departments allow the vents to be run up to a ridge vent.

5. Testimony from Rick Dixon and Jim Cummings described the science involved in moisture control in attics: the problem is moist air with a high dew point meeting cold air, causing condensation. They believe that it is not a problem because most Florida attic conditions are not cold enough to cause condensation. Others pointed out that ducts are a source of cold air.

6. Bassett described in the impact of the night sky effect, even in south Florida you can get cold attic temperatures. Also, if you close up attics, you can drop the relative humidity in a home by 20%.

On a motion from Banks and a second from Quintela, the TAC voted 9-2 that the answer to Question 1 be as follows:

To the question, “When the Residential building code (R303.3) refers to “outside”, does it mean “outside of the conditioned space”?”, the answer is NO, according to the code definition of “outside” it means to the outside of the structure.

On a motion from Banks and a second from Quintela, the TAC voted 9-2 that the answer to Question 2 be as follows:

To the question, ”Does the practice of “terminating a bathroom exhaust vent into a vented soffit area” comply with the intent of the code?”, the answer is NO. Terminating a bathroom exhaust vent into a vented attic does not meet the intent of the code.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.