Building Codes and Standards 1

[zjr5273]

I am a structural engineer designing in both New York City and New York State. I am trying to better understand when newly published codes and standards become adopted or accepted for either new york city or new york state. If they are not adopted or accepted right away, is there a way to be notified or where should I look to know when codes and standards change?

rzoppa

 

[dauwerda]

Ney York City:

https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/codes.page

New York State info:

https://dos.ny.gov/building-standards-and-codes

Usually keeping up with state level adoptions is not enough, many local jurisdictions will further modify codes or have newer versions adopted. Each new project should start with finding the local jurisdiction (usually city if inside city limits or county if outside city limits), and finding out what their specific criteria are.

 

[zjr5273]

Thank you,

Additionally, how are the latest reversion of ACI, AISC, etc. recognized? For example, NYC Building Code 2022 refers to ACI 318 though it is not specific to earlier versions of 318 or the latest 318-19. I would assume that it would recognize the latest version available at the time that the building is submitted to the building department or is this also specific to the local jurisdiction?

rzoppa

 

[driftLimiter]

Are you familiar with Chapter 35 of the IBC? This is the chapter where all reference standards that are adopted by the code is located.

NYC BC also has chapter 35 in there you can find that the reference version of ACI is 318-14.

Link

I will subtly suggest that this is fundamental to using the International Building Code and a practicing structural engineer aught to know this.

It would be uncommon in my experience that a local jurisdiction adopts a different version of a reference standard. Typically they will adopt things like that are increased from the model code such as higher wind speed, snow loads, or seismic requirements. Local jurisdictions often will ammend, append, or re-write special inspection requirements as well.

 

[dauwerda]

Chapter 35 (Referenced Standards) of the New York City Building Code tells you which edition they are referencing.
Looks like ACI 318-14

 

[JStephen]

ASCE 7 also does this to an extent, see the list in Chapter 23 of ASCE 7-16, for example, and note that it shows specific years for those documents.
The jurisdictions vary depending on where you are. There are state building codes in some states, county building codes in some counties, city building codes in cities. In Texas, there are "extra-territorial jurisdiction" areas that are beyond city limits but still subject to city building codes. Tribal lands may be exempt from other codes, or have their own codes. The federal government may be exempt from local codes. And there are areas that simply don't have any building codes.

 

[milkshakelake]

NYC building code was updated in 2022. I use the latest ACI, NDS, AISC, AISI, etc codes, though I don't really have to. They do refer to earlier codes in Chapter 35 but that hasn't been an issue lately.

Now this is an important point. If your building is using the 2014 NYC Building Code, it gets a lot more tricky. The 2014 code still applies to many new buildings that were recently filed, as well as older ongoing projects. In that case, you want to use ASCE 7-05 because the code is written around those load combinations, NOT ASCE 7-10 load combinations for wind. Similarly, use ACI 318-08 and the older code for masonry (ACI 530-08 if I remember correctly). The reason is to be consistent with all the codes, especially the masonry one, which is vastly different in the newer edition. 2014 code also uses 30 psf wind for C&C unless a more rigorous design is performed. You CAN justify it with newer codes, but it becomes a hassle when dealing with DOB, CEU, CSC, and FEU (the different building agencies here). However, one exception is seismic design, for which I use ASCE 7-10 with the 2014 code.

As for how to be updated on the codes, they release a new building code every 8 years. The DOB also issues bulletins, which are hard to keep track of and they expect you to know all of them by heart, which is impossible. But sign up for their newsletter to be updated. I can't find the link; you'll have to do some digging. It also has a list of every PE that had disciplinary action on their license, which is a good thing to review so you don't do the same things. Directive 14 Professional Certification is something you need to be very careful about.

When it comes to other parts of NY, it's going to vary from town to town. Like in Long Island, each region has their own building department and vastly different processes. It's the wild west out there. But their personnel are much more responsive and easy to talk to compared to NYC ones, so you can just call and ask.

Finally, there are a whole bunch of filings done with 1968 and 1938 codes. You need to get familiar with those when it comes to masonry, seismic, and wind design. This applies mainly for minor alterations where you don't add something like 10% to the lateral load or modify the lateral system. Thankfully, those codes are much simpler to understand and read. When it comes to masonry repairs, NYC DOB is very concerned about the lateral system. You either replace it exactly as is, or you replace it with a new lateral system that conforms to latest code. They don't like removing any kind of shear wall from an old building, even if it's a window opening.

Edit: A general note about practicing in NYC is that the DOB here is very strict on lateral design, support of excavation, and construction safety. It's moreso than the surrounding areas. When it comes to 2 story houses though, they are far more lenient when it comes to things like lateral and uplift design than the surrounding areas. The surrounding areas usually ask for uplift load paths for houses and are sticklers about wood connections.